Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, is used to authorize a designated agent to assist an employer in making required tax deposits and tax information filings to federal, state, and local governments. The Form 8655 allows a Reporting Agent (RA) to exercise the authorities listed below on behalf of their clients:

Reporting Agents File (RAF) authorizations, additions, deletions, and/or corrections are processed in the Ogden Accounts Management Campus. Any employee with Integrated Data Retrieval System (IDRS) access can research the RAF, but only RAF employees can add, delete or update the RAF. All Forms 8655 are mailed to:
Internal Revenue Service
Ogden Accounts Management Campus
MS 6748 RAF Team
1973 N Rulon White Blvd.
Ogden, Utah 84404

The Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Section 3705, provides identification requirements for all IRS employees working tax related matters:

The authority for receipt and processing of Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, by Accounts Management is primarily provided in Treasury Regulations Section 31.6011(a)-7 and Section 31.6061-1, as described in Rev. Proc. 2012-32.

IRM 1.1.13.7.3, Accounts Management (AM), provides various guidance for Accounts Management employees including the following:

IRM 21.1.1, Accounts Management and Compliance Services Overview, provides guidance to employees assigned to the Accounts Management organization.

The Taxpayer Bill of Rights describes ten basic rights that all taxpayers have when dealing with the IRS. To help you understand what these rights mean to you and how they apply, read Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1.pdf, or visit https://www.irs.gov/taxpayer-bill-of-rights.

IRM 1.4.16, Accounts Management Guide for Managers, provides guidance for program management and review of programs assigned to Account Management.

Goals, measures, and operating guidelines are listed in the yearly Program Letter.

IRM 21.10.1, Embedded Quality (EQ) Program for Accounts Management, Campus Collection, Campus Examination, Field Assistance, Tax Exempt/Government Entities, Return Integrity and Compliance Services (RICS), and Electronic Products and Services Support.

Exhibit 21.3.9-1, Acronyms and Abbreviations Used in This IRM, contains a list of abbreviations and acronyms used in this IRM.

The following IRMs are used in conjunction with this section:

Reporting Agents (RAs) are payroll service companies operating under the provisions of Rev. Proc. 2012-32 to perform certain tax responsibilities of other businesses (taxpayers/clients).

In connection with these payroll services, RAs may file their client's employment tax returns electronically.

RAs, Batch Filers and Bulk Filers may make electronic FTDs for their clients. These FTDs are submitted through the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).

Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, is used by taxpayers to designate a Reporting Agent (RA) to take certain actions on their behalf:

Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, is used by the taxpayer to provide this authorization to a RA/Filer.

The receipt of a new Form 8655 does not revoke the prior reporting agent's authorization. The prior authorization will remain in effect for all periods from the beginning period through the ending period. It also does not revoke Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, on the Centralized Authorization File (CAF).

A RAF authorization starts with the "Beginning Period" indicated on Form 8655 and remains in effect through the end date. The tax period that appears on CC RFINK represents the "Beginning Period."

Form 8655does not authorize a RA/Filer to request a change of address for the client/taxpayer. Change of address requests must be submitted by the taxpayer/client (generally on Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party - Business). See IRM 3.13.2.4.6, Change of Address, for more information.

Form 8655 may be used to validate/verify one of the taxpayer entity items (name, address, or EIN) if two of the three items are known. For example, if the Reporting Agent wants the EIN verified, they must verify the name and address. The information can be shared with the Reporting Agent verbally, in writing with an appropriate C letter, or via fax.

Form 8655 can be obtained at www.irs.gov.

The Reporting Agent File (RAF) is a database that contains:

The RAF is researched by Reporting Agent Employer Identification Number (EIN) to determine whether a Reporting Agent is on the RAF.

The RAF is researched by taxpayer EIN to determine:

A Transaction Code (TC) 960 is set in a taxpayer’s entity record on Master File when a taxpayer account is added to the RAF, or if there is a change in authorities granted. The posting of the TC 960 establishes and/or updates the RAF Filing Indicators and EFTPS Indicators on the taxpayer's account discussed in IRM 21.3.9.2.5, RAF Filing Indicators and RAF EFTPS Indicators.

A TC 961 is generated when an account is removed from the RAF. This transaction turns off the RAF Filing Indicators and EFTPS Indicators by updating all field values to zeros. A TC 961 is only generated when a taxpayer’s relationship with a Reporting Agent ends and is not being replaced with another Reporting Agent.

It takes at least two cycles for the RAF Filing Indicators and EFTPS Indicators to be set at Master File by the RAF input. If the RAF input does not pass through Master File validation, or if the filing requirements and EFTPS Indicators mismatch, then the RAF TC 960 unposts. See IRM 21.3.9.7, Resolving RAF Unpostables, for a list of common RAF unpostables.

A programming problem was discovered and corrected in April of 2016. For an indeterminate period of time, certain TC 960 transactions were not systemically posted to Master File. Although Master File dropped the TC 960 transactions in the situations discovered, the RAF indicators for the impacted cases were in fact correctly set. Accordingly, there is no taxpayer or Reporting Agent impact arising from these missing transaction codes and no recovery effort is therefore anticipated. However, it should be kept in mind that the RAF must be researched as appropriate via Command Code RFINK anytime RAF Filing Indicators or EFTPS Indicators are present even if a TC 960 is not posted to BMFOLE.

Taxpayer account records on Master File contain RAF Filing Indicators and RAF EFTPS Indicators. These indicators:

RAF Filing Indicators and RAF EFTPS Indicators are shown on IDRS in two different locations: CC ENMOD and BMFOLE.

CC ENMOD shows this information in a sixteen-digit field titled RAF-INDS. Each digit represents the tax forms (position 1-7) and payments (position 8-16) as shown in the tables below for which the RA has authorization.

RAF Filing Indicators

Command Code BMFOLE reflects the same data described above but it is found under two headings and is displayed in a different format:

Refer to IRM 2.3.16, Command Codes RFINK and RAFRQ, for information concerning Command Code RFINK.

Refer to IRM 2.4.40, Command Codes RFRTM, RFADD, RFUPT, RFRMA, AFADT, AFUPT, and RFMRG, for information concerning these command codes.

CC RFINK is used to research the RAF history.

CC RFRTM is used to request the format for RFADD and RFUPT. This command code must be preceded by CC RFINK.

CC RFADD is used to add or modify authorization information on the RAF. This command code must be preceded by CC RFRTM.

CC RFUPT is used to update taxpayer information on the RAF. This command code must be preceded with CC RFRTM.

CC RFRMA is used to request the format for AFADT and AFUPT. This command code must be preceded with CC RFINK(R).

CC AFADT is used to add Reporting Agent information to RAF.

CC AFUPT is used to modify Reporting Agent information on RAF.

Paper Reporting Agent's Lists (RALs) and accompanying Forms 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, must meet the following conditions:

If the Reporting Agent's List (RAL) does not meet all the conditions above, then correspond with the RA/Filer for missing information, or return the RAL and Form(s) 8655 to the RA/Filer.

Use CC RFADD with definer "T" to add the accounts (Tax Return Modules and Payment Modules) to the RAF. The system will validate the EIN, name control and filing requirements. Underline or edit the name control on the Reporting Agent's List and Form 8655.

If you receive a terminal response error message:

When a mismatch cannot be resolved, return Form 8655 to the RA and annotate the Reporting Agent's List with the appropriate information.

Once all name controls are edited and all Forms 8655 are added to the RAF, return the edited copy of the Reporting Agent's List to the RA.

Forms 8655 will be maintained in the RAF area until sent to Files. Once in Files, they are maintained for one year after the processing year and are then destroyed as outlined in Document 12990, Records and Information Management Records Control Schedules, (RCS) 29 - Wage and Investment (W&I) Records, Item 346.

If a paper Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, is received with a revision date prior to May 2005, return the form to the RA/Filer using the appropriate letter and advise they are using an obsolete version of the form. Notify the RA/Filer that Form 8655 is available from the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

Review each Form 8655 filed on paper for completeness. Verify the following are present:

If Form 8655 is not complete, return the form to the RA/Filer using the appropriate letter requesting the missing information.

Rev. Proc. 2012-32 states "an authorization may be submitted on Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, with a revision date of May 2005 or later or on an approved substitute form."

Reporting Agents must seek approval in accordance with Publication 1167, General Rules and Specifications for Substitute Forms and Schedules, prior to making use of a substitute Form 8655.

If the substitute form is approved for use, the Reporting Agent is provided with an approval code which consists of three alpha characters and must be printed in the lower left margin of each substitute Form 8655 filed with the IRS. ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡

Section 01.03 of Publication 1474, Technical Specifications Guide for Reporting Agent Authorization and Federal Tax Depositors, describes the approved electronic signature (e-Signature) methods for Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization.

Because e-Signature methods have been published in Publication 1474, any Reporting Agent that implements the exact process described in Publication 1474 can submit electronically signed Forms 8655 to the IRS without prior approval.

Reporting Agents who adopt an approved e-Signature method as described in Section 01.03 of Publication 1474 are required to follow all other requirements for Authorizations, including but not limited to submitting paper copies of Authorizations to the Internal Revenue Service and retaining a copy or reproducible image of each completed, original Form 8655 as discussed in Section 03.01 of Publication 1474. However, RAs who adopt an approved e-Signature method as described in Section 01.03 of Publication 1474 and who are required to file Reporting Agent’s Lists electronically (exceeds the 100 per week submission threshold described in Section 01.05 of Publication 1474 and in Rev. Proc. 2012-32 (2012-34 I.R.B. 267)) will not be required to submit copies of such Authorizations when submitting the Reporting Agent’s List.

Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, may be received without a Reporting Agent's List (RAL). Take the following actions as appropriate:

The Accounts Management Campus will return a validated Reporting Agent's List to the Reporting Agent, if one is provided per Publication 1474, Technical Specifications Guide for Reporting Agent Authorization and Federal Tax Depositors, within 30 days of receiving a formal application (e.g., Form 8655).

After a RA's electronic file is run through the RAF26 and RAF70 programs, the RAF Function:

The formats for annotating the ADD Listing is shown in the table below:

After a RA's electronic file is run through the RAF26 and RAF70 programs, the RAF Function:

The formats for annotating the Error Listing are shown in the table below:

The IRS will generally validate and return ADD Listings to the Reporting Agent within 10 business days of receipt.

Error Listings are returned to the Reporting Agent within 30 days of receipt.

When a paper DELETE listing is received from a RA, manual processing is required as follows:

When a taxpayer wants to revoke an existing authorization, they must send a copy of the previously executed Form 8655 and re-sign the copy of the Form under the original signature. They should write REVOKE across the top of the form. A statement can be submitted in lieu of the form, provided the statement is signed by the taxpayer and indicates that the authority of the reporting agent is revoked.

A Reporting Agent can withdraw from authority by filing a statement with the IRS or by using a delete listing. The statement must be signed by the reporting agent (if filed on paper) and identify the name and address of the taxpayer and authorization(s) from which the reporting agent is withdrawing.

When documentation as described in paragraphs one and two above is received, take the following action:

RAF is systemically updated to end date the Reporting Agent record for each taxpayer identified in a delete type electronic file. The RAF9647I is a delete listing generated when processing of the electronic file is complete.

Only one copy of the DELETE Listing is needed — a copy is not sent back to the RA.

File DELETE Listings by date and RA name. Hold for one year, then follow local procedures for destruction.

Accounts that cannot be validated do not systemically delete from RAF and print out on DELETE Error Listing (RAF9643I). No action by the RAF Function is required.

CC RFINK may indicate the taxpayer is already on the RAF with another RA. This indicates the account was not deleted from RAF when the taxpayer terminated with the previous RA and the previous RA may need to be replaced by updating to the present RA with new Beginning/Starting period dates. Take the following action:

Whenever a business changes its name or any correction is made to its name line on Master File, the RAF must also be changed or updated. As appropriate:

The following guidance must be followed if the client is unable to sign Form 8655:

RAs who want to file their client's tax returns electronically must formally apply to the IRS for this privilege. These RAs must follow guidelines in Rev. Proc. 2012-32 or Rev. Proc. 2007-40 (whichever is appropriate) or subsequent revisions.

RAs and EFTPS filers who desire to make electronic FTDs for their clients must follow guidelines in Rev. Proc. 2012-34 or subsequent revisions.

RAs/Filers send their applications to the appropriate Accounts Management Campus per the Revenue Procedures.

As part of the application process, RAs/Filers must:

RAs filing more than 100 Form 8655 Authorizations per week must submit their RAL as an electronic file through Secure Data Transfer (SDT) instead of on paper. ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡ ≡

The RAF is a file of all authorized RAs, Batch Filers and Bulk Filers and their authorized clients. When the RA/Filer is approved for electronic filing of tax returns and/or FTDs, an account must be established on the RAF for the RA/Filer. Take the following steps to add a RA/Filer to the RAF:

When Reporting Agents are involved in a merger, take over, or buy out, forward copies of the purchase or acquisition documents to the Ogden RAF Function. The RAF function will examine the documentation and, on an as needed basis, will forward it to Counsel for advice. Since these acquisitions can be complex, determinations on the need for submission of new Forms 8655 for existing clients are made on a case by case basis.

Determine whether the notice is undeliverable or unclaimed.

Unclaimed mail is usually certified mail that has not been claimed by the recipient. Unclaimed does not necessarily mean undeliverable.

Undeliverable mail is identified as mail received that states:

If RA notices or letters are returned as undeliverable:

If telephone contact with the Reporting Agent or taxpayer reveals there is no longer an association with the taxpayer:

For current adds, deletes, or updates from both RAF26/70 and RAF Command Codes; RAF39 creates TC 960 and TC 961 transactions. These transactions post at Master File to set the RAF Filing Indicators and RAF EFTPS Indicators in the Entity record.

RAF39 is run weekly.

RAF39 Output Files:

RAF42 reads in RAF database information.

It creates a listing, RAF4201, containing name and address information for all RAs and their clients.

RAF42 is run weekly.

RAF42 Output Files:

This is a special program that is run at the request of the RAF Function.

RAF41 produces a list of taxpayers, by Reporting Agent, and the associated module information (MFT and Tax Period) as shown on the RAF database at the time of running.

The output information is sent to the Reporting Agent to aid them in database matching and reconciliation.

CC RAFRQ is used to order compare listings. The output file is on Control-D as RAFREPT COMPARE LISTING.

RAFREPT is sometimes called RAF COMPARE.

RAFREPT is run upon request.

RAFREPT Output Files:

This run sends client information to be added, revoked, end dated, or deleted from the RAF database. It processes ADDs and DELETES.

RAF26 is run upon receipt of an electronic file from a RA.

RAF26 Output Files:

This run reads the Reporting Agent ADD/DELETE file and produces the following listings and reports — the ADD listing, DELETE listing, ADD error listing, DELETE error listing, and RUN CONTROL report.

RAF70 is run every time RAF26 is run.

RAF70 Output Files:

RAF08 is run daily.

The run creates a report that contains RA, taxpayer and MFT information.

The report is created for each RA whose client(s) (TP) has revoked their authorization to a different Reporting Agent.

The report is sent to each of the old Reporting Agents.

RAF08 Output File:

RAF08 is sometimes called the RAF Revoke Listing.