austin3515 Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 Does anyone know if the IRS will acccept a faxed/photocopied version of a 5500-EZ? Client is out of town, and I want him to be able to just sign and fax back to me. Austin Powers, CPA, QPA, ERPA
Andy the Actuary Posted October 9, 2011 Posted October 9, 2011 "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will only accept a facsimile signature on tax returns as part of a return perfection process initiated by the IRS. This is a post-filing process in which the IRS requests additional documents or schedules on an already filed tax return." Based upon the IRS position on federal inome tax returns, they might not accept a facsimile signature on a 5500-EZ. The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.
austin3515 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Posted October 10, 2011 Thanks Andy! Where did you get that from? Austin Powers, CPA, QPA, ERPA
Andy the Actuary Posted October 10, 2011 Posted October 10, 2011 "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will only accept a facsimile signature on tax returns as part of a return perfection process initiated by the IRS. This is a post-filing process in which the IRS requests additional documents or schedules on an already filed tax return."Based upon the IRS position on federal income tax returns, they might not accept a facsimile signature on a 5500-EZ. I saw this and wanted to send you the original IRS source and find that what was said what not exactly what the IRS website said (http://www.irs.gov/taxpros/article/0,,id=114385,00.html), which was that except the aforementioned "perfection process," the IRS will not accept 1040 returns via fax. This statement is quite different from you can't file a copy and must file an original. My bad. So, I felt I owed it to you to check with some CPAs around town. The two I called each indicated he would have no problem filing a copy of a signed 1040. In fact, they alluded to electronic filing where there is no signed 1040 and the 8879 the taxpayer signs to authorize the practitioner to e-file could be faxed to the practitioner. One rather larger CPA firm even indicated it nukes the original of the 8879 and saves only a digitalized version. So, given that you can file the 5500-EZ online via the 5500-SF route, the preceding suggests to the contrary of what I originally hastily suggested, that you could submit a copy of the signed 5500-EZ. The material provided and the opinions expressed in this post are for general informational purposes only and should not be used or relied upon as the basis for any action or inaction. You should obtain appropriate tax, legal, or other professional advice.
austin3515 Posted October 10, 2011 Author Posted October 10, 2011 Andy, you are thorough! Thanks for the info! Austin Powers, CPA, QPA, ERPA
mwyatt Posted October 11, 2011 Posted October 11, 2011 Why don't you just e-mail the PDF version of the 5500EZ, have him print, sign and send directly to the IRS, and return a copy of the signed page to you as proof of filing?
austin3515 Posted October 11, 2011 Author Posted October 11, 2011 Just a different level of service for somoene who is away on vacation... Austin Powers, CPA, QPA, ERPA
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now