A 7216 consent form for tax preparers: when you need it and how to collect it

This page is general information, not legal advice. Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3 and Rev. Proc. 2013-14 are the texts to read. Have counsel review your consent documents before you send them. This page does not state penalty amounts.

Section 7216 of the Code restricts tax return preparers from disclosing or using tax return information. Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3 says that unless section 7216 or Treas. Reg. 301.7216-2 specifically authorizes the disclosure or use, a tax return preparer may not disclose or use a taxpayer's tax return information before obtaining a written consent. The consent must be knowing and voluntary. Conditioning tax return preparation on a consent (except the narrow case of disclosing to another preparer who will assist in the return) makes the consent involuntary and invalid. (Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3, Section 7216 information center)

Rev. Proc. 2013-14 sets the format and the mandatory sentences for consents that cover a return in the Form 1040 series. It also says a taxpayer does not need to complete a consent form to engage a preparer for tax return preparation services only. Consent is for disclosure or use beyond that work. For taxpayers who are not Form 1040 series filers, a consent may be in any format, including an engagement letter, if it still meets Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(a)(3)(i). (Rev. Proc. 2013-14)

Work down this table for each client before you send a file anywhere or reuse the data. When both a use and a disclosure apply to a Form 1040 series client, you need two documents. A single written document cannot authorize both uses and disclosures. (Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(c)(1))

If they decline a solicitation consent, you may not ask again for a substantially similar purpose on that return. Consent is not retroactive. If the document does not state a duration, it lasts one year from the date they signed. (Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(b))

Every consent, paper or electronic, must include all of the following. (Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(a)(3)(i))

• Name of the tax return preparer and name of the taxpayer.
• If it is a disclosure: the purpose, and the specific recipient (unless the non Form 1040 class exception in 301.7216-3(a)(3)(iii) applies).
• If it is a use: the particular use, and each product or service if you will solicit with the data.
• The tax return information that will be disclosed or used. A consent to disclose an entire return must say the taxpayer can ask for a more limited disclosure.
• Taxpayer signature and date.
• A copy for the taxpayer at execution, or a chance to print or save it.

For Form 1040 series consents, Rev. Proc. 2013-14 adds format rules (separate written document, 12 point type on paper, screens that pertain only to that consent) and the mandatory sentences. Those sentences include that federal law requires the form, that they are not required to complete it to engage your tax return preparation services (with different wording when the disclosure is to another preparer who will assist in the return), how long the consent lasts, and the TIGTA complaint line. Copy the current PDF. Do not invent a paraphrase and call it the mandatory text. (Rev. Proc. 2013-14)

Put consent in the onboarding packet as its own document to sign. Do not bury it in paragraph 14 of the tax preparation engagement letter for a Form 1040 series client. Rev. Proc. 2013-14 allows the consent as an attachment to an engagement letter, still on its own written document. For a business return that is not in the Form 1040 series, the regulation allows the consent inside the engagement letter if every element in 301.7216-3(a)(3)(i) is there.

• TaxDome: send the consent as its own proposal or document to sign on the onboarding pipeline, with reminders, the same way you send the engagement letter. Store the signed PDF on the client. Do not automove into tax work until it is signed when the table above said you need it.
• Canopy or Karbon: send a document request or a signature request for that file. Same rule. The signed copy lives on the client, not in a random email.
• Drake Portals: you can add signature fields to a PDF and send it as a document to sign. That is a client signature on your consent PDF, not an IRS form number.
• Give them a way to print or save the completed consent at signing, which is how Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(c)(3) is satisfied electronically.

Do not start the return, and do not send the file to an overseas processor, until the signed consent is on the client. A later signature does not fix a disclosure you already made. Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(b)(1): no retroactive consent.

This is a sample outline for a disclosure consent, not an IRS form number and not a finished legal document. Counsel reviews yours before you send it. For Form 1040 series clients, Rev. Proc. 2013-14 requires a separate written document and mandatory sentences. Copy those sentences from the current PDF. Do not invent a paraphrase and call it the mandatory text. Use a separate document if the same client also needs a use consent. (Rev. Proc. 2013-14, Rev. Proc. 2013-19, Publication 5471)

Publication 5471 says consents are paper or electronic documents that name the preparer and the taxpayer, are customized to the specific use or disclosure, and are valid only if they are knowing, voluntary, signed, and dated. That publication is written for VITA/TCE partners. The regulation and revenue procedures it points to are the texts a paid firm still has to follow. (Publication 5471)

Is there an IRS Form 7216?No. People search "7216 consent form" because section 7216 is the Code provision. The IRS does not publish a numbered Form 7216. The consent is a document you write that meets Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3 and, for Form 1040 series clients, Rev. Proc. 2013-14. (Section 7216 information center)

When do I need a 7216 consent form? When you will disclose or use tax return information and neither section 7216 nor Treas. Reg. 301.7216-2 already authorizes that step. Common yes cases: sending a file outside the United States, sharing return information with a non tax service, or using the data to solicit another product. Preparing and filing the return in your own United States office does not, by itself, need a separate consent. Use the decision table above. This is not a complete list.

Can I bury the 7216 consent form in the engagement letter? For a Form 1040 series client, no. Rev. Proc. 2013-14 allows the consent as an attachment to an engagement letter, still on its own written document. For a business return that is not in the Form 1040 series, the regulation allows the consent inside the engagement letter if every required element is there.

How long does the consent last? If the document does not state a duration, Treas. Reg. 301.7216-3(b) says it lasts one year from the date they signed. Consent is not retroactive. A later signature does not fix a disclosure you already made.

What if the client declines? Do not make tax return preparation depend on a solicitation consent. If they decline a solicitation consent, you may not ask again for a substantially similar purpose on that return. Have counsel review the edge cases before you treat a declined consent as a reason to refuse the return.

Is this legal advice? No. Have counsel review your consent documents before you send them. This page does not state penalty amounts.

Download the consent decision table. One row per client. The tax season operator can draft the chase when the signed consent is still missing. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.