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Walkthrough 05 · 10 steps

Generating 2848 and 8821
Authorization Forms

TRH pre-fills Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) and Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) from the firm profile and client record. This walkthrough takes you from a blank client to a signed, ready-to-submit authorization in under a minute.

Placeholder screenshots: every image block is a description of what the final annotated screenshot should show. Real screenshots with arrows and circles will be added before publish.
STEP 1
Open the client and go to Authorizations
SCREENSHOT 1.1
Shows: Client detail page with the horizontal tab strip across the top (Overview, Transcripts, Notices, Authorizations, Resolution, Documents, Billing). The Authorizations tab is selected.
Annotations:
  1. RED ARROW pointing at the "Authorizations" tab
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the "+ New Authorization" button top-right
  3. GREEN CALLOUT: "All 2848s and 8821s for this client live here"
From the left-hand client list, open the client and click the Authorizations tab. Then click + New Authorization.
STEP 2
Choose 2848 or 8821
2848 (Power of Attorney) lets you represent the taxpayer — talk to IRS, sign agreements, respond to notices. 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) only lets you see information — no representation. If you only need transcripts, an 8821 is faster to get approved. If you plan to negotiate, file a 2848.
SCREENSHOT 2.1
Shows: Form-type picker modal with two large tiles: "Form 2848 — Power of Attorney" and "Form 8821 — Tax Information Authorization", each with a short description underneath.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the 2848 tile
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the "What's the difference?" help link
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Pick 8821 for transcript-only work; 2848 for representation"
Pick the form type. See the 2848 guide or the 8821 guide for the full comparison.
STEP 3
Select the tax form type(s)
SCREENSHOT 3.1
Shows: Form-type multi-select grid with checkboxes for 1040, 1040-X, 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 941, 940, 944, 706, 709, and "Civil Penalty".
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the 1040 checkbox
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the 941 checkbox
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Check every form type you need to cover — CAF only honors what's listed"
Check every tax form the authorization should cover. For a typical individual resolution case that's 1040. For a business payroll case add 941 and 940.
Common mistakeOnly checking 1040 when the client also owes payroll tax. The IRS will reject your request for 941 transcripts because the 2848 doesn't list 941.
STEP 4
Select tax year(s) / period(s)
SCREENSHOT 4.1
Shows: Year / period picker. Top half is a year-range picker (from/to) with quick-select buttons for "Last 10 years" and "Current + 3 future". Bottom half lists quarterly 941 periods if 941 was selected in the previous step.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the "Last 10 years" quick-select
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the future-years dropdown (max 3 years out for 2848)
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Future years max = 3 for 2848 — IRS will reject more"
Pick the years or quarters. TRH blocks you from entering more than three future years on a 2848 because the IRS rejects that automatically.
STEP 5
Representative info — auto-filled from firm profile
SCREENSHOT 5.1
Shows: Representative section of the form-builder with all the firm-profile fields already populated: Name, CAF number, PTIN, Firm name, Address, Phone, Fax (optional), Designation code (a, b, c, h, k, r).
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the CAF number field labeled "Pulled from Firm Profile"
  2. YELLOW ARROW at "+ Add second representative" for multi-rep firms
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Verify your CAF is current — stale CAFs are the #1 cause of rejected 2848s"
Your name, CAF, PTIN, and firm address come from the Firm Profile you set up during install. Click + Add second representative if more than one member of the firm needs to be listed.
Common mistakeUsing a CAF number from a prior employer. CAFs travel with the individual, but the firm address on file at the IRS must match. When you change firms, file a new CAF application or the 2848 will bounce.
STEP 6
Preview the generated PDF
SCREENSHOT 6.1
Shows: Right-side PDF preview pane inside the TRH form builder, showing the live-rendered Form 2848 with every field populated. Left side is the form-builder inputs; right side is the rendered IRS PDF.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN ARROW at the live-preview pane
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the "Zoom" and "Page 2" navigation controls
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Always scroll through page 2 — that's where the acts-authorized checkboxes live"
The preview updates live as you edit. Scroll through every page before you send it to the client — page 2 holds the "Acts Authorized" checkboxes that most people forget to verify.
STEP 7
Download or email for signature
SCREENSHOT 7.1
Shows: Action bar at the bottom of the form builder with three buttons: "Download PDF", "Email to client for signature", "Save draft". A dropdown next to "Email to client" offers DocuSign or a plain attached-PDF email.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around "Email to client for signature"
  2. YELLOW ARROW at the DocuSign toggle
  3. RED CALLOUT: "DocuSign integration requires a connected account in Settings"
Download the PDF, or send it directly to the client. If you've connected DocuSign in Settings → Integrations, TRH can push a signature request in one click.
STEP 8
Upload the signed copy back
SCREENSHOT 8.1
Shows: The Authorizations tab with a newly created 2848 row in "Awaiting signature" status. To the right of the status is an "Upload signed PDF" button.
Annotations:
  1. YELLOW ARROW at the "Upload signed PDF" button
  2. GREEN CIRCLE around the status pill (changes from "Awaiting signature" to "Signed — ready to submit")
  3. RED CALLOUT: "DocuSign uploads land here automatically"
When the client returns the signed PDF, click Upload signed PDF. DocuSign-signed copies are uploaded for you automatically.
STEP 9
Submit via Tax Pro Account
TRH does not submit the authorization to the IRS for you — you upload it through IRS Tax Pro Account (or fax it to the CAF Unit). TRH gives you the signed PDF in exactly the format the Tax Pro Account upload tool accepts.
SCREENSHOT 9.1
Shows: The Authorizations row expanded, with a "Submit to IRS" section that has two buttons: "Open Tax Pro Account in browser" and "Copy PDF path for fax cover". A help link says "How to submit via Tax Pro Account".
Annotations:
  1. GREEN ARROW at "Open Tax Pro Account in browser"
  2. YELLOW CIRCLE around the link "How to submit via Tax Pro Account"
  3. RED CALLOUT: "Tax Pro Account upload posts to CAF in ~48 hours; fax can take 5+ business days"
Click Open Tax Pro Account to launch irs.gov/tax-professionals/use-tax-pro-account in your browser. Upload the signed PDF there.
STEP 10
Track CAF sync status
SCREENSHOT 10.1
Shows: The Authorizations row showing a timeline: "Created → Signed → Submitted → CAF-confirmed". The last step has a green check and a date. A "Test transcript pull" button appears next to the confirmed row.
Annotations:
  1. GREEN CIRCLE around the "CAF-confirmed" timeline step
  2. YELLOW ARROW at "Test transcript pull"
  3. RED CALLOUT: "TRH checks CAF status every 24h by attempting a dummy transcript pull"
TRH polls the IRS once per day by attempting a lightweight transcript pull. When the CAF system recognizes your authorization, the status flips to CAF-confirmed and you're ready to pull real transcripts.
Done. The authorization is on file. Next: 03 — Pull your first transcript, or jump straight to 06 — Run a Resolution Analysis.
Not legal or tax advice. This content is published by Tax Resolution Hub for educational use by tax professionals. It is not legal, tax, accounting, or investment advice, and does not create an attorney-client or preparer-client relationship. IRS systems, forms, procedures, and statutes change — always verify against current IRM guidance, the client's actual transcript, and the facts of the specific engagement before acting.