Form 8879
Form 8879 is the IRS e-file Signature Authorization. It is how a taxpayer authorizes an Electronic Return Originator to enter their PIN and electronically file their return. Critically, Form 8879 is not sent to the IRS: the ERO retains it, which makes it a records and chase problem rather than a filing problem.
- Who handles it
- Electronic Return Originators — in practice, the accounting or tax firm — obtain a signed Form 8879 from each taxpayer before transmitting the return. The form is retained by the ERO rather than submitted.
- Filed through
- IRS e-file
- Applies to
- Accounting / tax firm
What the form asks for
- Taxpayer identifying information and return figures
- Taxpayer declaration and signature authorization
- Taxpayer PIN entry method
- ERO firm name, EFIN, and declaration
- ERO signature and date
The work behind the filing
Pre-fill the form from the return, not by hand
The 8879 restates figures that already exist in the prepared return. Rekeying them for every client is pure duplication, and a mismatch between the form and the return is a real problem. Caddi can read the prepared return and populate the 8879 for each client automatically.
Run the signature chase
Nothing transmits until the taxpayer signs, and in season a firm is chasing hundreds of signatures at once. Caddi can send the packet, track who has signed, escalate the non-responders on a cadence, and stop chasing the moment a signature lands.
File the signed copy to the client record
Because the 8879 is retained rather than filed, the retention is the compliance obligation. A signed PDF sitting in an inbox is not a record. Caddi can file each signed form to the right client folder with consistent naming and update the tracker.
Questions
What is Form 8879?
Form 8879 is the IRS e-file Signature Authorization. It is how a taxpayer authorizes an Electronic Return Originator to enter their PIN and electronically file their return.
Is Form 8879 sent to the IRS?
No. In normal circumstances the ERO retains Form 8879 rather than submitting it to the IRS, which is why it is a records retention and signature chase problem rather than a filing problem.
Why is Form 8879 a chase problem rather than a filing problem?
Because it is retained by the ERO instead of submitted, and it needs a signature from every taxpayer before the return goes out. The work is tracking who has signed, chasing who has not, and filing the executed copy to the right client record, all at once, for a whole book of clients.
Does Caddi file this form for me?
No. Caddi does not submit filings to IARD, FINRA Gateway, EDGAR, or any regulator, and it is not a substitute for your compliance program or your CCO. Caddi automates the work around the filing: gathering the underlying data out of your portfolio, CRM, and document systems, reconciling it against the prior filing, flagging what changed, and evidencing delivery. A human still reviews and files.
Related forms
The filing is the easy part
Caddi does not file forms. It runs the work around them: pulling the underlying data out of your portfolio, CRM, and document systems, reconciling it against the prior filing, and evidencing delivery. See it run on your own stack.
See the compliance specialistThis page describes what the form is and the work it creates. For requirements, deadlines, and whether any of it applies to your firm, see IRS — Form 8879 and instructions.