"bm30003700[at]aol.com" <bm30003700[at]aol.com> wrote:

- quote -

Yes, the power of attorney does not need to be on the
official IRS form. All that is required is that the POA
specifically authorizes the person to sign income tax
returns. I haven't researched this but I think the regs
also require that a copy of the POA be attached to any
return that is signed.

Lanny K. Williams, CPA
Nawarat, Williams & Co., Ltd.
Income Tax Services for Expatriate Americans

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I just reread form 1310 instructions. Under "Purpose of
Form" it states "Use Form 1310 to claim a refund of a
deceased taxpayer". My client's situation is that the
taxpayer is not deceased, merely the surviving spouse. He
is, however, incapable of signing for 1040. Form 1310 goes
on to state explicitly that a surviving spouse filing an
original return does not need to fle Form 1310. Surely
there must be situations where a person has granted power of
attorney to another, without using form 2848, and that power
of attorney includes power to sign tax returns?

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Thanks for the response. I was under the impression that having power
of attorney more broad than that provided for on form 2848 (ie signing
all documents on behalf of taxpayer) would be sufficient in
signing for taxpayer on the tax return, whether there was a refund due
or not.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

Thanks for the response. I was under the impression that
having power of attorney more broad than that provided for
on form 2848 (ie signing all documents on behalf of
taxpayer) would be sufficient in signing for taxpayer on the
tax return, whether there was a refund due or not.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

bm30003700[at]aol.com wrote:

- quote -

A properly completed POA (Form 2848) naming the attorney and
specifically granting that attorney the authority to receive
refund checks would have sufficed. Without the authority,
the attorney can not get the refund without the 1310.

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >

I prepared a tax return for a client where the taxpayer was
the surviving spouse.

A person signed as power of attorney for the taxpayer, as he
was unable to sign. IRS sent a note asking for completion
of form 1310, as there was a refund showing on the return.

The IRS letter was addressed to my client as though the
taxpayer was deceased, and the taxpayer's spouse was the
surviving spouse, even though the tax return clearly showed
the reverse to be the case.

Isn't Form 1310 called for when both taxpayers are deceased
on a joint return showing a refund? If the surviving
spouse were able to sign the return, as surviving spouse, a
1310 is not called for. I did not think that a person
signing on behalf of a surviving spouse changed that.

Also, in this situation, can a person signing on behalf of
the taxpayer be a trustee, rather than power of attorney?
What is the difference?

<< ================================================== ===== > << The foregoing is intended for educational purposes only > << and does NOT constitute legal OR professional advice. > << > << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting > << messages to this newsgroup are at www.asktax.org. > << Copyright (2006) - All rights reserved. > << ================================================== ===== >