Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return

Instructions for Form 2678
(Rev. December 2024)

Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to
Form 2678 and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
Form2678.

Reminders
Forms 940-PR, 941-PR, 941-SS, 943-PR, and 944 (sp)
references removed from line 5. Where authority is
granted for any form, it is also effective for related forms
such as the corresponding non-English language form,
amended return (for example, Form 941 (sp), 941-X, or
941-X (sp)), or payment voucher. For example, Form 2678
can be used to provide authorization for Form 940 (sp)
using the entry spaces for Form 940.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form 2678

Use Form 2678 if you want to:
• Request approval to have an agent file returns and
make deposits or payments of Federal Insurance
Contributions Act (FICA) taxes, Railroad Retirement Tax
Act (RRTA) taxes, income tax withholding (ITW), or
backup withholding; or
• Revoke an existing appointment.
Don’t use prior versions of Form 2678. All prior versions
are obsolete. The IRS will not accept them.

Can Employers Appoint Agents To
Report, Deposit, and Pay Federal
Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) Tax?

Generally, employers can’t appoint an agent to report,
deposit, and pay FUTA tax. However, if you’re an employer
who receives home care service, you may ask the IRS to
approve an agent to act on your behalf for FUTA tax
purposes. Check the box in the footnote in Part 2, line 5.
To appoint an agent to act for FUTA tax purposes, you
must also appoint the agent to act for FICA taxes and ITW
purposes.

Filing Form 2678

Send Form 2678 to the address for the employer's or
payer's location under Where To File, later. We’ll send a
letter to the employer or payer and to the agent after we’ve
approved the request. For agents of home care service
recipients, we’ll send the approval letter only to the agent.
Generally, the processing time frame, upon receipt, is 30
days.

Dec 13, 2024

The authorization to act as an agent is effective on
the date shown in the letter. Until we approve the
request, the agent isn’t liable for filing any tax returns or
making any deposits or payments.
Only one signature is required to revoke an agent's
appointment. If an existing appointment is revoked, the
IRS can’t disclose confidential tax information to anyone
other than the employer or payer for periods after the
appointment is revoked.
If an agent's appointment is revoked, we’ll send both
the employer or payer and the agent a letter confirming
the revocation. For agents of home care service
recipients, we’ll send the letter confirming the revocation
only to the agent. The revocation is effective on the
date shown in the letter.

Agent Responsibilities After
Appointment
Reporting, Depositing, and Payment
Requirements

Agents must follow the procedures for employment taxes
in Rev. Proc. 2013-39, 2013-52 I.R.B. 830, available at
IRS.gov/irb/2013-52_IRB#RP-2013-39, and for backup
withholding in Rev. Proc. 84-33. Agents for employers who
are home care service recipients receiving home care
services through a program administered by a federal,
state, or local government agency may also use this form.
These agents may be referred to as “fiscal/employer
agents,” “household employer agents,” and “home care
service recipient agents.”
All agents, employers, and 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.

Filing Schedule R (Form 940) and Schedule R
(Form 941)

An agent for a home care service recipient that files an
aggregate Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal
Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, must complete
Schedule R (Form 940), Allocation Schedule for
Aggregate Form 940 Filers, and file it with the aggregate
Form 940.
An agent who files an aggregate Form 941, Employer's
QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return, must complete
Schedule R (Form 941), Allocation Schedule for
Aggregate Form 941 Filers, and file it with the aggregate
Form 941.

Instructions for Form 2678 (Rev. 12-2024) Catalog Number 94017Z
Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

Where To File
Mailing Addresses for Form 2678
If your principal place of
business, office, or agency is
located in. . .

Address to mail
Form to IRS. . .

Connecticut, Delaware, District of
Columbia, Georgia, 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
Kansas City, MO
64999

Alabama, Alaska, Arizona,
Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Florida, 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 Center
Ogden, UT 84201

If no legal residence or principal
place of business in any state, use
the following address:

Department of
the Treasury
Internal Revenue
Service Center
Ogden, UT 84201

If you are filing Form 941 for an
exempt organization or government
entity send your Form 2678 to the
following address:

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

Specific Instructions
Part 1: Why You’re Filing This Form

In Part 1, you’ll check a box to indicate why you’re filing
Form 2678.
• If you’re an employer or payer and you want to appoint
an agent, check the box that says, “You want to appoint
an agent for tax reporting, depositing, and paying.”
• If you’re an employer, payer, or agent and you want to
revoke an existing appointment, check the box that says,
“You want to revoke an existing appointment.”

Part 2: Employer or Payer Information

• If you’re an employer or payer, enter your employer
identification number (EIN), name, trade name, and
address. Generally, enter the legal name of the individual
or, in the case of a business, the entity’s true name (as set
forth in the charter or other legal document creating it). For
example, if you are a sole proprietor, enter “Jordan Smith”
on the “Employer’s or payer’s name” line and “Jordan’s
2

Cycles” on the “Trade name” line. Leave the “Trade name”
line blank if it’s the same as your “Name.”
Note. If the name entered on line 2 is a business and the
box in the footnote in Part 2, line 5 (and/or the box below
Part 3, line 9) is checked stating that you're a home care
service recipient requesting approval of an agent to act on
your behalf for FUTA tax purposes, the form will be
rejected. An employer or payer who is a recipient
receiving home health care services through a state or
local program is always an individual, never a business.
• If you’re an agent revoking an existing appointment,
enter the EIN, name, trade name, and address of the
employer or payer for whom you’ve been authorized to
act. The employer's or payer's signature isn’t required.
On line 5, check the boxes for all forms for which you
want to:
• Request approval to appoint an agent to file on your
behalf, or
• Revoke an agent's existing appointment.

If you’re only appointing an agent for some employees,
payees, or payments, check the box under For SOME
employees/payees/payments.
Example 1. You’re an employer. You appoint an agent
to file returns and deposit FICA taxes and ITW for
biweekly wage payments that you paid to your employees.
However, you make bonus wage payments directly to your
employees, not through the agent. You should report the
bonus payments on a return filed using your EIN.

Example 2. You’re an employer. You appoint an agent
to file returns and deposit FICA taxes and ITW for
biweekly wage payments that you paid to your employees.
However, you make biweekly wage payments directly to
your company's executives. You should report the wage
payments to the executives on a return filed using your
EIN.
If you’re an employer or payer and you’re requesting
authorization to appoint an agent, sign and date Form
2678 in Part 2. Then give the form to the agent to
complete and sign Part 3.
If you’re an employer or payer and you want to revoke
an existing appointment, sign and date Form 2678 in Part
2. Complete Part 3. Then send the form to the address for
your location under Where To File, earlier.

Part 3: Agent Information

• If you’re an employer or payer and you’re requesting
authorization to appoint an agent, have the agent
complete and sign Part 3.
• If you’re an employer or payer and you want to revoke
an existing appointment, complete Part 3. The agent's
signature isn’t required. Then send the form to the
address for your location under Where To File, earlier.
• If you want to accept an appointment as an agent or
you’re an agent who wants to revoke an existing
appointment, complete Part 3 with your information. Then
sign and date the form where indicated. Send the form to
the address for the employer's or payer's location under
Where To File, earlier.
Note. If an agent is a corporate officer, partner, or tax
matters partner, the agent must have the authority to
execute this appointment of agent.
Instructions for Form 2678 (Rev. 12-2024)

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We
ask for the information on Form 2678 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 don't 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
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.
You’re not required 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.

Instructions for Form 2678 (Rev. 12-2024)

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, the District of
Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and territories 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.
The time needed to complete and file Form 2678 will
vary depending on individual circumstances. The
estimated burden for filers of Form 2678 is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0029 and is included in
the estimates shown in the instructions for their next tax
return.

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