Form 2848 Power of Attorney: What an Enrolled Agent Does for You

IRS representation is the professional practice of standing in for a taxpayer before the Internal Revenue Service on a specific matter. The taxpayer signs Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, and the IRS describes that form as authorization for "an individual to represent you before the IRS."^[1] Only a person eligible to practice before the IRS can be named on that form, and the same signature also lets the representative "receive and inspect your confidential tax information."^[2]

Day to day in a Miami practice, representation looks similar across matters. The client hands over a folder of unread notices; we file Form 2848 so the IRS talks to us instead of the client; we pull the client's full transcript history from the IRS; and we build a response that answers the letter on time. Getting a licensed representative onto the file changes the tone of the correspondence and, in most examinations, removes the client from direct contact with the assigned examiner. See our IRS representation page for how a matter is typically opened.

An Enrolled Agent (EA) is a federally licensed tax professional. Per the IRS, "An enrolled agent is a person who has earned the privilege of representing taxpayers before the Internal Revenue Service by either passing a three-part comprehensive IRS test covering individual and business tax returns, or through experience as a former IRS employee."^[5] The agency adds that "Enrolled agent status is the highest credential the IRS awards" and that holders must "complete 72 hours of continuing education courses every three years."^[5]

Two consequences matter for representation. First, the credential is issued at the federal level by the Treasury Department, so the same EA can act for a Miami business owner, an out-of-state real estate investor, or a foreign owner of a Florida LLC with no jurisdictional gap. Second, the license authorizes an EA to appear before every office of the IRS, from exam through appeals through collection. Our founder Joanny Ibarbia holds the Enrolled Agent credential; for the firm's return preparation scope, see individual tax return preparation.

The IRS uses two separate third party authorization forms and they are not interchangeable. Form 2848 is Power of Attorney: it lets a representative act for you before the IRS,^[1] and the same authorization gives that representative access to your confidential tax information.^[2] Form 8821 is Tax Information Authorization: it authorizes a designee to "inspect and/or receive your confidential information verbally or in writing for the type of tax and the years or periods listed on the form."^[4] The distinction is short: Form 2848 lets a professional speak for you; Form 8821 only lets a designee see your information.

An IRS audit is an examination of a taxpayer's books, accounts, and financial records to check that the return matches the underlying evidence. Selection for audit does not always mean the IRS suspects a problem; the agency uses several methods, from statistical scoring to third party document matching.

The scope conversation drives representation strategy. The IRS's guidance on how far back an exam can reach is clear: "Generally, the IRS can include returns filed within the last three years in an audit. If we identify a substantial error, we may add additional years. We usually don't go back more than the last six years."^[6] For business filers, the intersection of audit exposure and return preparation is where our business tax return preparation service usually lives, because a defensible return is the front line of any future examination.

When a proposed assessment or unpaid bill sits without response, the IRS moves from correspondence to enforcement. An unpaid tax bill starts the collection process, and the agency can then seize wages or a bank balance through a levy, and record a federal tax lien in the public record that attaches to your property.^[9] A levy pulls money directly from the source it is served on; a lien stays on record until the underlying liability is resolved.

Representation matters at this stage because a professional can move the file toward a defensible resolution (installment agreement, offer in compromise, CNC status, or a first time penalty abatement) before the collection tool hits. For an owner operator whose payroll trust fund exposure spills into a personal collection matter, work often starts with small business accounting on the books side and Power of Attorney on the representation side.

The IRS's guidance on past-due returns starts with one line, "File all tax returns that are due, regardless of whether or not you can pay in full." Route the past-due return to the same office you would use for an on-time filing.^[7] Filing first, resolving the balance second, is the sequence that protects you.

Two rules drive the timeline. First, the refund window is a hard 3-year clock counted from the return's original due date, and it covers not only a refund on withholding or estimated taxes but also refundable credits such as the Earned Income Credit.^[8] Miss the window and the refund is legally forfeit. Second, if you never file, the IRS may prepare a substitute return that leaves off deductions and exemptions, and then send a Notice of Deficiency CP3219N (90-day letter) proposing an assessment.^[10] For deep back year cleanup, catch-up bookkeeping rebuilds the books first so the returns filed are supportable, and our companion guide on how to file back taxes and unfiled returns walks through the compliance sequence in detail.

The intake is intentionally short. We ask for every IRS notice received in the past year, any prior year returns already filed, and your identity documents. We prepare Form 2848 to authorize representation before the IRS,^[1] or Form 8821 when the situation only calls for transcript access.^[4] Once the authorization is on file, we retrieve full IRS account transcripts, map every open tax year, and draft a response that answers the specific letter you received rather than a generic template.

For foreign owners of a US LLC or corporation, Form 2848 also covers a Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) examination when it arises from an income tax examination,^[3] which is a posture we see often in Miami. The information return exposure that surfaces during representation is walked through on our foreign-owned U.S. entity tax services page.