The Internal Revenue Service on Friday announced that authorized tax professionals can now make certain payments for their business clients through Tax Pro Account, its secure online service for tax professionals.
Until now, tax professionals could see a business client’s balance and payment activity in the system but could not pay on the client’s behalf. The IRS said the change lets them finish more routine client tasks in the same place where they view client information and manage authorizations.
According to the IRS, tax professionals can now make five kinds of payments for business clients. These are a full or partial balance, a payment for an amended return, a payment for an extension, a payment on a proposed tax assessment, and a federal tax deposit.
The agency said tax professionals need authorization covering both the client and the tax matters involved. The announcement did not describe how that authorization is obtained beyond the service’s existing tools for managing authorization relationships.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said the change “will save time” for taxpayers who rely on tax professionals and make it easier for them to meet their tax obligations. That is the agency’s own assessment, and the announcement did not include figures on time saved.
According to the IRS, Tax Pro Account launched in July 2021. The service already lets tax professionals manage authorization relationships with taxpayers and link or request individual CAF numbers. It also lets them link business CAF numbers.
For individual clients, the service shows balance due, payment activity and audit status. For business clients, it shows balance due and payment activity. It also lets tax professionals make payments for individual and business taxpayers, and create and revise payment plans for individual taxpayers. The announcement did not say that payment plans for business clients are part of the new capability.
The IRS did not state any fees for making payments through the service. It also did not say how many tax professionals or business clients are expected to use the new option. The announcement gave no separate start date, saying only that tax professionals can now make the payments.