A small firm workflow for Form 8879 before you transmit the e-file

This page is general information, not legal advice. About Form 8879, the current Form 8879 PDF, Publication 3112, and the e-file mandate FAQ are the texts to read. Have counsel review your authorization process before you treat this as the firm's process. This page does not invent PIN rules, mandate thresholds, or retention years beyond those sources.

Form 8879 is the declaration document and signature authorization for an e-filed return filed by an electronic return originator (ERO). Complete it when the Practitioner PIN method is used, or when the taxpayer authorizes the ERO to enter or generate the taxpayer's PIN on the e-filed individual income tax return. (About Form 8879)

The Form 8879 PDF is specific about when you skip it. If the ERO is not using the Practitioner PIN method and the taxpayer enters his or her own PIN, do not complete Form 8879. In every other PIN path on that chart, you complete Parts I and II, and you complete Part III when the Practitioner PIN method is in use. You must receive the completed and signed Form 8879 from the taxpayer before the electronic return is transmitted or released for transmission. (Form 8879 PDF)

Corporate officers and EROs use Form 8879-CORP when the officer wants to use a PIN to electronically sign a corporation's electronic income tax return and, if applicable, consent to electronic funds withdrawal. That form covers Form 1120, Form 1120-F, and Form 1120-S. Other 8879 series forms exist for other entities. Use the current About page for the variant that matches the return you are transmitting. (About Form 8879-CORP)

Specified tax return preparers who reasonably expect to file 11 or more covered individual, trust, or estate income tax returns in a calendar year are required to e-file the covered returns they file, with the exceptions on that FAQ. EFINs are issued on a firm basis. That is not a PIN rule and it is not a reason to skip Form 8879 on a return you actually e-file. (E-file mandate FAQ)

Part II is the taxpayer declaration. The taxpayer verifies the prepared return, checks the box that either authorizes the ERO to enter or generate the PIN or states that the taxpayer will enter it, and signs and dates the form. The PIN must be five digits other than all zeros. Taxpayers may sign by handwritten signature, or by electronic signature if the computer software supports it. They return the completed form by hand delivery, U.S. mail, private delivery service, email, Internet website, or fax. The return is not transmitted until the ERO has that signed form. (Form 8879 PDF)

Confirm identity before you treat the signature as done. The Form 8879 notes for EROs say to confirm the identity of the taxpayer. For a joint return, one spouse may authorize the ERO to enter that spouse's PIN while the other spouse enters their own. It is not acceptable for a taxpayer to select or enter the PIN of an absent spouse. (Form 8879 PDF)

If you use Drake Portals and knowledge based authentication, that product path is the Drake Tax e-sign workflow. This page is the firm rule across any e-file software: no signed 8879, no transmit.

Part I is tax return information for the tax year you are authorizing. The ERO completes it from the taxpayer's return: adjusted gross income, total tax, federal income tax withheld from Forms W-2 and Forms 1099, the refund, and the amount owed. Form 1040-SS filers use the refund line only. Zeros may be entered when appropriate. The taxpayer declares that those Part I amounts are the amounts from the return being authorized. (Form 8879 PDF)

• Legal name and SSN on Form 8879 match the return you are about to transmit.
• Tax year on Part I is the year on that return, not last year's signed form reused.
• Part I dollar fields match the return, or the equivalent figures your software shows, before anyone clicks transmit.
• Form variant matches the entity: Form 8879 for the 1040 series listed on the PDF, Form 8879-CORP for the 1120 series listed on that About page.
• If the return changed after the first signature, the taxpayer gets a corrected Form 8879 before you transmit.

The Form 8879 PDF says to provide a corrected copy if changes are made to the return, for example based on taxpayer review. Do not transmit on a signature that belongs to a prior draft. Put that check in the same review checklist that already blocks e-file authorization while reviewer notes are open.

Do not send Form 8879 to the IRS unless the IRS asks for it. The ERO must retain the completed form for 3 years from the return due date or the IRS received date, whichever is later. After filing, enter the 20 digit Submission Identification Number assigned to the return, or associate Form 9325 with Form 8879. Form 8879 may be retained electronically under the recordkeeping guidelines in Rev. Proc. 97-22. (Form 8879 PDF)

Put the signed PDF, the SID or Form 9325, and the return in one client folder. A signature sitting in one preparer's inbox is not the file. Publication 3112 is the application and participation rulebook for authorized e-file providers. It does not replace the retention sentence on Form 8879. (Publication 3112)

A person stops the e-file when identity does not match, Part I no longer matches the return, a spouse has not signed, the form variant is wrong, or the client says a fact on the return is wrong. Tools can draft a chase for a missing signature. They do not prepare, file, or sign the return. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.

How that sits in the season board is the CPA firm tax season workflow. Consent to use or disclose return information for another purpose is still Form 7216 consent, a separate document, not a checkbox on 8879.

One row per client, tax year, and form variant. Duplicate a row if a joint return needs a second event, or if the return changed and you collected a corrected form.

Run this list before transmit, not after an acknowledgement:

• Form variant matches the return.
• Identity fields match.
• Part I amounts match this return.
• Signed Form 8879 is in the file.
• Corrected Form 8879 is in the file if the return changed.
• ERO Part III is complete if you used the Practitioner PIN method.
• Do not transmit until every row above is yes.

Download the Form 8879 pre transmit checklist and tracker. The tax season operator can draft the chase when the signed 8879 is still missing. Your staff approve what goes out. Your CPA reviews and signs every return.