Form 8879-PE

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service

IRS e-file Signature Authorization for Form 1065

▶ Do not send to the IRS. Keep for your records.

▶ See instructions.

For calendar year 2012, or tax year beginning , 2012, ending , 20 .

OMB No. 1545-2042

2012

Name of partnership Employer identification number

Part I Return Information (Whole dollars only)

1 Gross receipts or sales less returns and allowances (Form 1065, line 1c) . . . . . . . . . . 1

2 Gross profit (Form 1065, line 3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

3 Ordinary business income (loss) (Form 1065, line 22) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

4 Net rental real estate income (loss) (Form 1065, Schedule K, line 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

5 Other net rental income (loss) (Form 1065, Schedule K, line 3c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Part II Declaration and Signature Authorization of General Partner or Limited Liability Company Member Manager 

(Be sure to get a copy of the partnership’s return)

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I am a general partner or limited liability company member manager of the above partnership 

and that I have examined a copy of the partnership’s 2012 electronic return of partnership income and accompanying schedules and 

statements and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is true, correct, and complete. I further declare that the amounts in Part I 

above are the amounts shown on the copy of the partnership’s electronic return of partnership income. I consent to allow my 

electronic return originator (ERO), transmitter, or intermediate service provider to send the partnership’s return to the IRS and to 

receive from the IRS (a) an acknowledgement of receipt or reason for rejection of the transmission and (b) the reason for any delay in 

processing the return. I have selected a personal identification number (PIN) as my signature for the partnership’s electronic return of 

partnership income.

General Partner or Limited Liability Company Member Manager’s PIN: check one box only

I authorize

ERO firm name

to enter my PIN

do not enter all zeros

as my signature

on the partnership's 2012 electronically filed return of partnership income.

As a general partner or limited liability company member manager of the partnership, I will enter my PIN as my signature on 

the partnership's 2012 electronically filed return of partnership income.

General partner or limited liability company member manager’s signature ▶

Title ▶ Date ▶

Part III Certification and Authentication

ERO’s EFIN/PIN. Enter your six-digit EFIN followed by your five-digit self-selected PIN.

do not enter all zeros

I certify that the above numeric entry is my PIN, which is my signature on the 2012 electronically filed return of partnership income for 

the partnership indicated above. I confirm that I am submitting this return in accordance with the requirements of Pub. 3112, IRS e-file

Application and Participation, and Pub. 4163, Modernized e-File (MeF) Information for Authorized IRS e-file Providers for Business 

Returns.

ERO’s signature ▶ Date ▶

ERO Must Retain This Form — See Instructions 

Do Not Submit This Form to the IRS Unless Requested To Do So

For Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see instructions. Cat. No. 48314D Form 8879-PE (2012)
Form 8879-PE (2012) Page 2

IRS.gov

Should any unforeseen developments 

arise with regards to this form or its 

instructions after they are published, the 

IRS will create a page on IRS.gov at 

www.irs.gov/form8879pe to alert filers to 

the development and provide any 

necessary additional instructions.

Purpose of Form

A general partner or limited liability 

company member manager and an 

electronic return originator (ERO) use 

Form 8879-PE when the general partner 

or limited liability company member 

manager wants to use a personal 

identification number (PIN) to 

electronically sign a partnership’s 

electronic return of partnership income. 

A general partner or limited liability 

company member manager who does 

not use Form 8879-PE must use Form 

8453-PE, U.S. Partnership Declaration 

for an IRS e-file Return. For more 

information, see the instructions for 

Form 8453-PE.

Do not send this form to the IRS. 

The ERO must retain Form 8879-PE.

ERO Responsibilities

The ERO will:

• Enter the name and employer 

identification number of the partnership 

at the top of the form;

• Complete Part I using the amounts 

(zero may be entered when appropriate) 

from the partnership’s 2012 return of 

partnership income;

• Enter on the authorization line in Part II 

the ERO firm name (not the name of the 

individual preparing the return) if the 

ERO is authorized to enter the general 

partner or limited liability company 

member manager’s PIN;

• Give the general partner or limited 

liability company member manager Form 

8879-PE for completion and review—this 

can be done by hand delivery, U.S. mail, 

private delivery service, email, or Internet 

website; and

• Complete Part III, including a signature 

and date.

▲!

CAUTION

You must receive the 

completed and signed Form 

8879-PE from the general 

partner or limited liability 

company member manager before the 

electronic return is transmitted (or 

released for transmission).

General Partner or Limited 

Liability Company Member 

Manager Responsibilities

The general partner or limited liability 

company member manager will:

• Verify the accuracy of the partnership’s 

return of partnership income;

• Check the appropriate box in Part II to 

either authorize the ERO to enter the 

general partner or limited liability 

company member manager’s PIN or 

choose to enter it in person;

• Indicate or verify his or her PIN when 

authorizing the ERO to enter it (the PIN 

must be five digits other than all zeros);

• Sign, date, and enter his or her title in 

Part II; and

• Return the completed Form 8879-PE 

to the ERO by hand delivery, U.S. mail, 

private delivery service, or fax.

The partnership’s return will not be 

transmitted to the IRS until the ERO 

receives the general partner or limited 

liability company member manager’s 

signed Form 8879-PE.

Important Notes for EROs

• Do not send Form 8879-PE to the IRS 

unless requested to do so. Retain the 

completed Form 8879-PE for 3 years 

from the return due date or IRS received 

date, whichever is later. Form 8879-PE 

can be retained electronically in 

accordance with the recordkeeping 

guidelines in Rev. Proc. 97-22, which is 

on page 9 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 

1997-13 at 

www.irs.gov/pub/irs-irbs/irb97-13.pdf.

• Enter the general partner or limited 

liability company member manager’s PIN 

on the input screen only if the general 

partner or limited liability company 

member manager has authorized you to 

do so.

• Provide the general partner or limited 

liability company member manager with 

a copy of the signed Form 8879-PE 

upon request.

• Provide the general partner or limited 

liability company member manager with 

a corrected copy of the Form 8879-PE if 

changes are made to the return (for 

example, based on the general partner 

or member manager’s review).

• See Pub. 4163, Modernized e-File 

(MeF) Information for Authorized IRS 

e-file Providers for Business Returns, for 

more information.

Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We

ask for the information on this form to

carry out the Internal Revenue laws of

the United States. You are required to

give us the information. We need it to

ensure that you are complying with these 

laws and to allow us to figure and collect 

the right amount of tax.

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 Internal Revenue Code section 6103.

The time needed to complete this form 

will vary depending on individual 

circumstances. The estimated average 

time is:

Recordkeeping . . . . 4 hr., 46 min.

Learning about the law 

or the form . . . . . . . 12 min.

Preparing the form . . . . 16 min.

If you have comments concerning the 

accuracy of these time estimates or 

suggestions for making this form 

simpler, we would be happy to hear from 

you. You can write to the 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 the form to this 

address. Instead, keep it for your 

records.