Talk:Treasury Regulations, Subchapter F, Sec. 301.7216-3

From TaxAlmanac

I first heard about this from an article on the intuit website that was sent to me in April. Since the effective date is 1/1/2009, it is now something we need to deal with and plan for how to get taxpayer consents when information from any tax return is needed even for your own use. The intuit article is at this link: http://accountant.intuit.com/practice_resources/articles/tax/article.aspx?file=tmdd_TaxRegClientComms

The article leads me to believe that we need to have consent forms ready for the clients to sign. We also may be able to cover some general consents up front with new clients and with continueing clients by having them sign a form once this tax year so that we have some compliance with this regulation.

I started a consent form, but would be interested in what others think should be included in a list of consents that the taxpayer is consenting to.

My initial list may be too general or non-descriptive, but I would like this to be a one page form. It is as follows. Perhaps for other one-time consents that come up, we will have to have a customized consent form.

 1. Future years tax planning needs or retirement account additions questions.  2. Future year tax preparation needs such as state taxes paid or refunds requested.  3. From my investment, financial planning, or other finance company professional that needs to know income tax consequences of different investment choices, loans or retirement plans.  4. From government agencies that are required to obtain information from me or otherwise have your authorization to request information.

Any further discussion of how tax preparers are dealing with this regulation would be appreciated.