Form 8879-F (2018)
Page 2
Future Developments
For the latest information about
developments related to Form 8879-F
and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to
www.irs.gov/Form8879F.
Purpose of Form
A fiduciary and an ERO use Form 8879-F
when the fiduciary wants to use a
personal identification number (PIN) to
electronically sign an estate’s or trust’s
electronic income tax return and, if
applicable, consent to electronic funds
withdrawal. A fiduciary who doesn’t use
Form 8879-F must use Form 8453-FE,
U.S. Estate or Trust Declaration for an
IRS e-file Return. For more information,
see the instructions for Form 8453-FE.
Don’t send this form to the IRS. The
ERO must retain Form 8879-F.
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CAUTION
Form 8879-F can only be
associated with a single Form
1041.
ERO Responsibilities
The ERO will:
• Enter the name and employer
identification number of the estate or
trust at the top of the form;
• Complete Part I using the amounts
(zero may be entered when appropriate)
from the estate’s or trust’s 2018 income
tax return;
• Enter on the authorization line in Part II
the ERO firm name (not the name of the
individual preparing the return) if the
ERO is authorized to enter the officer’s
PIN;
• Give the fiduciary Form 8879-F for
completion and review (acceptable
delivery methods include hand delivery,
U.S. mail, private delivery service, email,
Internet website, and fax); and
• Complete Part III, including a signature
and date.
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!
CAUTION
You must receive the
completed and signed Form
8879-F from the fiduciary
before the electronic return
is transmitted (or released for
transmission).
Fiduciary Responsibilities
The fiduciary will:
• Verify the accuracy of the estate’s or
trust’s prepared income tax return;
• Check the appropriate box in Part II to
either authorize the ERO to enter the
fiduciary’s PIN or choose to enter it in
person;
• Indicate or verify his or her PIN when
authorizing the ERO to enter it (the PIN
must be five numbers other than all
zeros);
• Sign and date Part II; and
• Return the completed Form 8879-F to
the ERO. The acceptable delivery
methods include hand delivery, U.S.
mail, private delivery service, email,
Internet website, and fax.
The estate’s or trust’s return will not
be transmitted to the IRS until the ERO
receives the fiduciary’s signed Form
8879-F.
Fiduciaries can sign the form using a
scanned signature.
Important Notes for EROs
• Don’t send Form 8879-F to the IRS
unless requested to do so. Retain the
completed Form 8879-F for 3 years from
the return due date or IRS received date,
whichever is later. Form 8879-F can be
retained electronically in accordance
with the recordkeeping guidelines in Rev.
Proc. 97-22, which is on page 9 of
Internal Revenue Bulletin 1997-13 at
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-13.pdf.
• Enter the fiduciary’s PIN on the input
screen only if the fiduciary has
authorized you to do so.
• Provide the fiduciary with a copy of the
signed Form 8879-F upon request.
• Provide the fiduciary with a corrected
copy of the Form 8879-F if changes are
made to the return (for example, based
on the fiduciary’s review).
• EROs can sign the form using a
scanned signature. For more
information, go to www.irs.gov/Efile.
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We
ask for the information on this form to
carry out the Internal Revenue laws of
the United States. You are required to
give us the information. We need it to
ensure that you are complying with these
laws and to allow us to figure and collect
the right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the
information requested on a form that is
subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act
unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records
relating to a form or its instructions must
be retained as long as their contents
may become material in the
administration of any Internal Revenue
law. Generally, tax returns and return
information are confidential, as required
by Internal Revenue Code section 6103.
The time needed to complete this form
will vary depending on individual
circumstances. The estimated average
time is:
Recordkeeping . . . . 1 hr., 12 min.
Preparing the form. . . . . 1 min.
If you have comments concerning the
accuracy of these time estimates or
suggestions for making Form 8879-F
simpler, we would be happy to hear from
you. You can send us comments from
www.irs.gov/FormComments. Or you
can send your comments to the Internal
Revenue Service, Tax Forms and
Publications Division, 1111 Constitution
Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC
20224. Don’t send the form to this
address. Instead, keep it for your
records.
