Form 2678 Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent

Form

2678

Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent

(Rev. October 2007)

OMB No. 1545-0748

Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service

Use this form if you want to request approval to have an agent file returns and make
deposits or payments of employment or other withholding taxes or if you want to
revoke an existing appointment.

For IRS use:

● If you are an employer or payer who wants to request approval, complete Parts 1
and 2 and sign Part 2. Then give it to the agent. Have the agent complete Part 3 and
sign it.
Note. This appointment is not effective until we approve your request. See the
instructions for filing Form 2678 on page 3.
● If you are an employer, payer, or agent who wants to revoke an existing appointment,
complete all three parts. In this case, only one signature is required.
Part 1: Why you are filing this form...
(Check one)
You want to appoint an agent for tax reporting, depositing, and paying.
You want to revoke an existing appointment.
Part 2: Employer or Payer Information: If you want to appoint an agent or revoke an appointment, complete this part.
1

Employer identification number (EIN)

2

Employer’s or payer’s name
(not your trade name)

3

Trade name (if any)

4

Address

—

Number

Street

Suite or room number

City

5

State

Forms for which you want to appoint an agent or revoke the agent’s appointment to file.
(Check all that apply.)
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form
Form

ZIP code

For ALL
employees/
payees

For SOME
employees/
payees

941, 941-PR, 941-SS (Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return)
943, 943-PR (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees)
944, 944-PR, 944-SS, 944(SP) (Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return)
945 (Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax)
CT-1 (Employer’s Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return)
CT-2 (Employee Representative’s Quarterly Railroad Tax Return)

Note: You may NOT appoint an agent to report, deposit, and pay taxes reported on Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal
Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return.
I am authorizing the IRS to disclose otherwise confidential tax information to the agent relating to the authority granted
under this appointment, including disclosures required to process Form 2678. The agent may contract with a third party,
such as a reporting agent or certified public accountant, to prepare or file the returns covered by this appointment, or to
make any required deposits and payments. Such contract may authorize the IRS to disclose confidential tax information
of the employer/payer and agent to such third party. If a third party fails to file the returns or make the deposits and
payments, the agent and employer/payer remain liable.

✗

Print your name here

Sign your
name here
Date

Print your title here
/

/

Best daytime phone

(

)

–

Now give this form to the agent to complete.
Cat. No. 18770D

Form

2678

©

(Rev. 10-2007)

Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2007)

Page

2

Part 3: Agent Information: If you will be an agent for an employer or payer, or want to revoke an appointment, complete this part.
6

Agent’s employer identification number (EIN)

7

Agent’s name (not trade name)

8

Trade name (if any)

9

Address
Number

—

Street

Suite or room number

City

State

ZIP code

Check here if the employer is a disabled individual or other welfare recipient receiving home-care services through a state
or local program.
Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this form and any attachments, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it
is true, correct, and complete.

✗

Print your name here

Sign your
name here
Date

Print your title here
/

/

Best daytime phone

(

)

–
Form

2678

(Rev. 10-2007)

Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2007)

Page

Instructions for Form 2678
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.
Use this form if you want to request approval to have an
agent file returns and make deposits or payments of
employment or other withholding taxes or if you want to
revoke an existing appointment. You cannot use a prior
version of this form. All prior versions are obsolete and will
not be accepted.
● If you want to appoint an agent, check the box in Part 1
that says, “You want to appoint an agent for tax reporting,
depositing, and paying,” and complete Part 2.
● If you are an agent and you want to accept an
appointment, complete Part 3. If you are a corporate officer,
partner, or tax matters partner, you must have the authority
to execute this appointment of agent.
Note. If the employer/payer will be making payments not
covered by the appointment, the employer/payer must file all
related returns and deposit and pay taxes for those
payments. When completing line 5, check the box(es) “For
SOME employees/payees.”
● If you are an employer, payer, or agent and you want to
revoke an existing appointment of an agent, check the box in
Part 1 that says, “You want to revoke an existing
appointment,” and complete Parts 2 and 3. However, only
one signature is required. If an existing appointment is
revoked, the IRS cannot disclose confidential tax information
to anyone other than the employer/payer for periods after the
appointment is revoked.

Filing Form 2678
Send Form 2678 to the address in the Where To File Chart
below for your location. We will send a letter to the agent
after we have approved the request. Until we approve the
request, the agent is not liable for filing any tax returns or
making any deposits or payments.

What are the reporting, deposit, and payment
requirements after the IRS approves the
appointment?
Agents must follow the procedures in Revenue Procedure
70-6 for employment taxes (unless you are a sub-agent for a
state agent under Notice 2003-70) and Revenue Procedure
84-33 for backup withholding. Agents for employers who are
receiving home-care services through a state or local
program are often referred to as “fiscal/employer agents” and
“household employer agents.” All agents, employers, and

3

payers remain liable for filing all returns and making all tax
deposits and payments while this appointment is in effect. If
an agent contracts with a third party, such as a reporting
agent or certified public accountant, to prepare or file the
returns covered by this appointment or to make any required
tax deposits or payments and the third party fails to do so,
the agent, employer, and payer remain liable.
Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask
for this information to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of
the United States. The principal purpose of this information is
to permit you to appoint an agent to act on your behalf. You
do not have to appoint an agent; however, if you choose to
appoint an agent, you must provide the information requested
on Form 2678. Our authority to collect this information is
section 3504. Section 6109 requires you and the agent to
provide your taxpayer identification numbers. Failure to
provide this information could delay or prevent processing
your appointment of agent. Intentionally providing false
information could subject you and the agent to penalties.
Generally, tax returns and return information are
confidential, as required by section 6103. However, section
6103 allows or requires the IRS to disclose or give the
information shown on this form to others as described in the
Code. For example, we may disclose your tax information to
the Department of Justice for civil and criminal litigation, and
to cities, states, and the District of Columbia for use in
administering their tax laws. We may also disclose this
information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal
and state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or
to federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to
combat terrorism.
You do not have to provide the information requested on a
form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless
the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or
records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained
as long as their contents may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue law.
The time needed to complete and file Form 2678 will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated
average time is 30 minutes. If you have comments concerning
the accuracy of this time estimate or suggestions for making
Form 2678 simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. You
can write to the Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products
Coordinating Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:T:SP, 1111
Constitution Ave., NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do
not send Form 2678 to this address. Instead, see the Where
To File Chart below.

Where To File Chart

Then use this
address ...

If you are in ...
Connecticut
Delaware
District of
Columbia

Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine

Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
New Hampshire

New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio

Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Vermont

Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Department of the Treasury,
Internal Revenue Service,
Cincinnati, OH
45999-0046

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California

Colorado
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho

Iowa
Kansas
Louisiana
Minnesota
Mississippi

Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Mexico

North Dakota
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Dakota
Tennessee

Texas
Utah
Washington
Wyoming

Department of the Treasury,
Internal Revenue Service,
Ogden, UT
84201-0046

No legal residence or place of business
in any state

Department of the Treasury,
Internal Revenue Service,
Ogden, UT
84201-0046