Form 2678

(Rev. October 2012)

Employer/Payer Appointment of Agent

Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service

OMB No. 1545-0748

Use this form if you want to request approval to have an agent file returns and make 

deposits or payments of employment or other withholding taxes or if you want to 

revoke an existing appointment. 

• If you are an employer or payer who wants to request approval, complete Parts 1 

and 2 and sign Part 2. Then give it to the agent. Have the agent complete Part 3 and 

 sign it. 

Note. This appointment is not effective until we approve your request. See the 

instructions for filing Form 2678 on page 3. 

• If you are an employer, payer, or agent who wants to revoke an existing appointment, 

 complete all three parts. In this case, only one signature is required. 

For IRS use: 

Part 1: Why you are filing this form... 

(Check one) 

You want to appoint an agent for tax reporting, depositing, and paying. 

You want to revoke an existing appointment. 

Part 2: Employer or Payer Information: Complete this part if you want to appoint an agent or revoke an appointment. 

1 Employer identification number (EIN) — 

2 Employer’s or payer’s name 

(not your trade name) 

3 Trade name (if any) 

4 Address 

Number Street Suite or room number 

City State ZIP code 

5 Forms for which you want to appoint an agent or revoke the agent’s appointment to file. 

For ALL 

employees/ 

payees 

For SOME 

employees/ 

payees (Check all that apply.) 

Form 940, 940-PR (Employer's Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return)*

Form 941, 941-PR, 941-SS (Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return) 

Form 943, 943-PR (Employer’s Annual Federal Tax Return for Agricultural Employees) 

Form 944, 944(SP) (Employer’s ANNUAL Federal Tax Return) 

Form 945 (Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax) 

Form CT-1 (Employer’s Annual Railroad Retirement Tax Return) 

Form CT-2 (Employee Representative's Quarterly Railroad Tax Return)

*Generally you cannot appoint an agent to report, deposit, and pay taxes reported on Form 940, Employer's Annual Federal 

Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return, unless you are a home care service recipient.

Check here if you are a home care service recipient, and you want to appoint the agent to report, deposit, and pay FUTA 

taxes for you. See the instructions.

I am authorizing the IRS to disclose otherwise confidential tax information to the agent relating to the authority granted under 

this appointment, including disclosures required to process Form 2678. The agent may contract with a third party, such as a 

reporting agent or certified public accountant, to prepare or file the returns covered by this appointment, or to make any 

required deposits and payments. Such contract may authorize the IRS to disclose confidential tax information of the 

employer/payer and agent to such third party. If a third party fails to file the returns or make the deposits and payments, the 

agent and employer/payer remain liable. 

✗ Sign your 

name here 

Date / /

Print your name here 

Print your title here 

Best daytime phone 

Now give this form to the agent to complete. ■▶

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see the instructions. IRS.gov/form2678 Cat. No. 18770D Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2012)
Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2012) Page 2 

Part 3: Agent Information: If you will be an agent for an employer or payer, or want to revoke an appointment, complete this part. 

6 Agent’s employer identification number (EIN) —

7 Agent’s name (not trade name) 

8 Trade name (if any) 

9 Address 

Number Street Suite or room number 

City State ZIP code 

Check here if the employer is a home care service recipient receiving home care services through a program administered by a 

federal, state, or local government agency. 

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this form and any attachments, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it 

is true, correct, and complete. 

✗ Sign your 

name here 

Date / /

Print your name here 

Print your title here 

Best daytime phone 

Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2012) 
Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2012) Page 3 

Instructions for Form 2678 

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code. 

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form 

2678 and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they 

were published, go to www.irs.gov/form2678. 

Purpose of Form

Use this form if you want to request approval to have an agent 

file returns and make deposits or payments of employment or 

other withholding taxes or if you want to revoke an existing 

appointment. You cannot use a prior version of this form. All 

prior versions are obsolete and will not be accepted. 

• If you want to appoint an agent, check the box in Part 1 that 

says, “You want to appoint an agent for tax reporting, 

depositing, and paying,” and complete Part 2. 

Note. Generally, employers cannot appoint an agent to report, 

deposit, and pay FUTA taxes. If you are a home care service 

recipient, you may request approval to have an agent act on 

your behalf for FUTA tax purposes by checking the box in the 

footnote on line 5.

• If you are an agent and you want to accept an appointment, 

complete Part 3. If you are a corporate officer, partner, or tax 

matters partner, you must have the authority to execute this 

appointment of agent. 

Note. If the employer/payer will be making payments not 

covered by the appointment, the employer/payer must file all 

related returns and deposit and pay taxes for those payments. 

When completing line 5, check the box(es) “For SOME 

employees/payees.” 

• If you are an employer, payer, or agent and you want to 

revoke an existing appointment of an agent, check the box in 

Part 1 that says, “You want to revoke an existing 

appointment,” and complete Parts 2 and 3. However, only one 

signature is required. If an existing appointment is revoked, the 

IRS cannot disclose confidential tax information to anyone other 

than the employer/payer for periods after the appointment is 

revoked. 

Filing Form 2678 

Send Form 2678 to the address for your location in the Where 

To File Chart, later. We will send a letter to the agent after we 

have approved the request. Until we approve the request, the 

agent is not liable for filing any tax returns or making any 

deposits or payments. 

Filing Schedule R (Form 940) and Schedule R 

(Form 941)

An agent for a home care service recipient that files an 

aggregate Form 940 must complete Schedule R (Form 940), 

Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 940 Filers, and file it 

with the aggregate Form 940.

An agent that files an aggregate Form 941 must complete 

Schedule R (Form 941), Allocation Schedule for Aggregate Form 

941 Filers, and file it with the aggregate Form 941.

What are the reporting, deposit, and payment 

requirements after the IRS approves the 

appointment? 

Agents must follow the procedures in Revenue Procedure 70-6 

for employment taxes (unless you are a subagent for a state 

agent under Notice 2003-70) and Revenue Procedure 84-33 for 

backup withholding. Agents for employers who are home care 

service recipients receiving home care services through a 

program administered by a federal, state, or local government 

agency may also use this form. These agents are often referred 

to as “fiscal/employer agents” and “household employer 

agents.” All agents, employers, and payers remain liable for 

filing all returns and making all tax deposits and payments while 

this appointment is in effect. If an agent contracts with a third 

party, such as a reporting agent or certified public accountant, 

to prepare or file the returns covered by this appointment or to 

make any required tax deposits or payments and the third party 

fails to do so, the agent, employer, and payer remain liable. 

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask

for the information on Form 2678 to carry out the Internal 

Revenue laws of the United States. The principal purpose of this 

information is to permit you to appoint an agent to act on your 

behalf. You do not have to appoint an agent; however, if you 

choose to appoint an agent, you must provide the information 

requested on Form 2678. Our authority to collect this 

information is section 3504. Section 6109 requires you and the 

agent to provide your identification numbers. Failure to provide 

this information could delay or prevent processing your 

appointment of agent. Intentionally providing false information 

could subject you and the agent to penalties. 

You are not required to provide the information requested on 

a form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless 

the form displays a valid OMB control number. Books or 

records relating to a form or its instructions must be retained as 

long as their contents may become material in the 

administration of any Internal Revenue law.

Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, 

as required by section 6103. However, section 6103 allows or 

requires the IRS to disclose or give the information shown on 

this form to others as described in the Code. For example, we 

may disclose your tax information to the Department of Justice 

for civil and criminal litigation, and to cities, states, the District of 

Columbia, and U.S. commonwealths and possessions for use in 

administering their tax laws. We may also disclose this 

information to other countries under a tax treaty, to federal and 

state agencies to enforce federal nontax criminal laws, or to 

federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies to combat 

terrorism. 

The time needed to complete and file Form 2678 will vary 

depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average 

time is:

Recordkeeping . . . . . . . . . . . 1 hr., 5 min.

Learning about the law or the form . . . . . . . 54 min.

Preparing, copying, assembling, and 

sending the form to the IRS . . . . . . . . . 13 min.

If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of these 

time estimates or suggestions for making Form 2678 simpler, 

we would be happy to hear from you. You can email us at 

taxforms@irs.gov. Enter "Form 2678" on the subject line. Or 

write to: Internal Revenue Service, Tax Products Coordinating 

Committee, SE:W:CAR:MP:T:M:S, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW, 

IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do not send Form 2678 to 

this address. Instead, see the Where To File Chart next.
Form 2678 (Rev. 10-2012) Page 4 

Where To File Chart 

If you are in ... 

Then use this 

address ... 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

District of 

 Columbia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Kentucky 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts 

Michigan 

New Hampshire 

New Jersey 

New York 

North Carolina 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

Wisconsin 

Department of the Treasury, 

Internal Revenue Service, 

Cincinnati, OH 45999 

Alabama 

Alaska 

Arizona 

Arkansas 

California 

Colorado 

Florida 

Georgia 

Hawaii 

Idaho 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Louisiana 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Mexico 

North Dakota 

Oklahoma 

Oregon 

South Dakota 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Utah 

Washington 

Wyoming 

Department of the Treasury, 

Internal Revenue Service, 

Ogden, UT 84201 

No legal residence or place of 

business in any state 

Department of the Treasury, 

Internal Revenue Service, 

Ogden, UT 84201 

Exempt organization or government 

entity

Department of the Treasury, 

Internal Revenue Service, 

Ogden, UT 84201-0046