What is the function of Form 8879, IRS e-file Signature Authorization, when an electronic return originator e-files an individual income tax return?
- AIt is the document the electronic return originator mails to the IRS service centre after transmission so that the IRS can match the paper signature to the electronic record on file.
- BIt is the authorisation by which the taxpayer permits the electronic return originator to enter or generate the taxpayer's personal identification number as the signature on the electronic return. Correct
- CIt is the application a paid preparer completes with the IRS to obtain an electronic filing identification number before the preparer is permitted to transmit any return electronically.
- DIt is the acknowledgement the IRS sends back to the electronic return originator confirming that a transmitted return has been accepted for processing rather than rejected.
Why A is wrong: Mailing a signature document to the IRS recalls Form 8453, which transmits certain paper attachments, but Form 8879 is retained by the originator rather than mailed in, so this confuses the two forms and their handling.
Why B is correct: Form 8879 is the IRS e-file Signature Authorization through which the taxpayer authorises the originator to input or generate the taxpayer's PIN, serving as the taxpayer's signature on the e-filed return, which states the function accurately.
Why C is wrong: Obtaining the right to e-file is done through the IRS e-file application that yields an EFIN, so describing Form 8879 as that application confuses the firm's enrolment with the per-return taxpayer authorisation.
Why D is wrong: An acceptance acknowledgement is generated by the IRS after transmission, but Form 8879 originates with the taxpayer before transmission, so casting it as an inbound IRS confirmation reverses who creates it and when.