In August of 2017, the Kentucky Department of Revenue (“Department”) issued Form 20A100, Power of Attorney, that authorizes an individual to represent a taxpayer before the Department. Kentucky joins a long list of states that require taxpayer representatives to obtain a power of attorney before corresponding with the state’s tax department on a taxpayer’s behalf, including Indiana and Ohio. Form 20A100 authorizes representatives to communicate and receive confidential tax information from the Department regarding the taxpayer. Taxpayers may also submit Internal Revenue Service Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative). The new form is 2 pages long, and the Department has also issued instructions for its proper completion.

Kentucky’s form requests standard information such as the taxpayer’s name, address, phone number, and social security number or employer identification number. It also requests information regarding the taxpayer representative, including names, addresses, and telephone numbers. If the representative is a certified public accountant or enrolled agent, his or her identification number must be provided as well.

If the taxpayer is a consolidated tax return filer, the taxpayer should list any subsidiary that will be excluded from the authorization, if any. Otherwise, the form extends to all includible corporations in the consolidated return.

Taxpayers may designate specific tax types and tax periods for which the authorized representative may act on their behalf. Taxpayers may also leave that section of the form blank, which will authorize the representative to work with the Department for all tax types until the form is revoked.

In addition to allowing the representative to communicate with the Department and receive confidential tax information regarding the taxpayer, taxpayers may also authorize additional specific acts that a representative could perform on their behalf. These include signing a statute of limitations waiver, executing a protest, or representing a taxpayer in conferences before the Department, among other things.

The form must be signed and dated by both the taxpayer and the authorized representative. If the taxpayer is a business entity, the form must be signed by an individual with the authority to delegate a representative on the entity’s behalf. The form automatically revokes any prior power of attorney or authorization letter submitted to the Department unless a copy of the prior authorization is attached to the form.

Form 20A100 is an important step toward protecting confidential taxpayer information. By requiring a properly-executed form, the Department ensures that they will not give out confidential taxpayer information to those who may not be authorized to receive it. Taxpayers should take the necessary steps to review their records, gather any prior authorization letters they may have provided to the Department, and then complete Form 20A100 with their designated and current tax representatives. Taxpayers should take care to include all tax periods and types for which they believe they may need assistance, as leaving out a period may require them to fill out another form. Taxpayers in the midst of ongoing matters with the Department should complete and file the new form as soon as possible, as failure to do so could result in their representatives being unable to communicate with the Department or receive important updates regarding the taxpayers’ cases.