Form 2678 (Rev. 8-2014)
Page 3
Instructions for Form 2678
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code.
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 www.irs.gov/form2678.
Purpose of Form
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.
Do not use prior versions of this form. All prior versions are
obsolete. IRS will not accept them.
Can Employers Appoint Agents to Report,
Deposit, and Pay Federal Unemployment Tax
Act (FUTA) Tax?
Generally, employers cannot appoint an agent to report,
deposit, and pay FUTA tax. However, if you are an employer
who receives home care service, you may ask 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.
How to Complete the Form
Part 1: Why You Are Filing This Form
In Part 1, you will check a box to indicate why you are filing
Form 2678.
• If you are 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 are 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 are an employer or payer, enter your employer
identification number (EIN), name, trade name, and address.
• If you are an agent revoking an existing appointment, enter the
EIN, name, trade name, and address of the employer or payer
for whom you have been authorized to act. The employer's or
payer's signature is not 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 are only appointing an agent for some employees,
payees, or payments, check the box under For SOME
employees/payees/payments.
Example 1. You are an employer. You appoint an agent to file
returns and deposit FICA taxes and ITW related to biweekly
wage payments that you paid 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 are 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 are an employer or payer and you are 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 are 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, later.
Part 3: Agent Information
• If you are an employer or payer and you are requesting
authorization to appoint an agent, have the agent complete and
sign Part 3.
• If you are an employer or payer and you want to revoke an
existing appointment, complete Part 3. The agent's signature is
not required. Then send the form to the address for your
location under Where To File, later.
• If you want to accept an appointment as an agent or you are
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, later.
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.
Filing Form 2678
Send Form 2678 to the address for the employer's or payer's
location under Where To File, later. We will send a letter to the
employer or payer and to the agent after we have approved the
request. For agents of home care service recipients, we will
send the approval letter only to the agent.
The authorization to act as an agent is effective on the date
shown in the letter. Until we approve the request, the agent is
not 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
cannot 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 will send both the
employer or payer and the agent a letter confirming the
revocation. For agents of home care service recipients, we will
send the letter confirming the revocation only to the agent. The
revocation is effective on the date shown in the letter.