Regulations under Internal Revenue Code Section 7216, Disclosure or Use of Tax Information by Preparers of Returns, became effective January 1, 2009. This regulation updated previous regulations that had been substantially unchanged since the 1970s and gave taxpayers greater control over their personal tax return information.
The statute limits tax return preparers’ use and disclosure of information obtained during the return preparation process to activities directly related to the preparation of the return. The regulations describe how preparers, with the informed written consent of taxpayers, may use or disclose return information for other purposes. The regulations also describe specific and limited exceptions that allow a preparer (through use of the IRC Section 7216 consent form) to use or disclose return information without the consent of taxpayers.
TaxSlayer Pro includes consent to use and consent to disclose forms, and if you are offering bank products to your clients you will see them available.
See here for IRS assistance in preparing your own section 7216 consent forms. These examples may not satisfy your legal obligations pursuant to IRC 7216, so we strongly suggest that you use these examples as a guide in creating your own 7216 disclosures and that you have them reviewed by a lawyer to ensure that they comply with IRC 7216. If you need additional information, contact the IRS Practitioner Hotline at 1.866.860.4259.
Does Everyone Need To Sign The IRC Section 7216 Consent Form?
If you are offering any services in addition to tax preparation (bank products, insurance, investments, etc.), the IRC Section 7216 consent to use form must be signed by each taxpayer prior to you discussing these services or sharing any of their information with another party. This includes ALL clients who apply for a bank product.
If you are offering only tax preparation services and no bank or other products, the 7216 consent forms aren't required and the program won't query you about them or attempt to generate them.
Can I Skip Or Disable The 7216 Print Question In TaxSlayer Pro?
Though it is not recommended, you do have the option to skip this question in the program.
To default the answer to the 7216 question to NO, or to skip being prompted, from the Quick Menu of TaxSlayer Pro select:
- Configuration
- Printer/Copies Setup
- Main Menu 7216 Question Default - Select Default Answer to No or Skip Question.
Additional Information: