7216 Consent Form Template for Offshore Outsourcing | HelloBooks A section 7216 consent starting point for sending return information to a preparer outside the US, built on Rev. Proc. 2013-14. For counsel review.
If an outside firm will work on your clients’ returns from outside the United States, you need each client’s signed consent before you send anything. This template lays out the consent in the order Rev. Proc. 2013-14 requires, with the mandatory statements marked so you can paste the exact text.
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Consent to disclose tax return information
[FIRM NAME] CONSENT TO DISCLOSE TAX RETURN INFORMATION Taxpayer name(s): ____________________ [MANDATORY STATEMENT 1, Rev. Proc. 2013-14 section 5.04(1)(b). Begin with:] Federal law requires this consent form be provided to you. [Paste the remainder of the section 5.04(1)(b) first statement word for word.] [MANDATORY STATEMENT 2, section 5.04(1)(b). Begin with:] You are not required to complete this form. [Paste the remainder of the section 5.04(1)(b) second statement word for word, including the duration sentence.] What we will disclose: [DESCRIBE THE TAX RETURN INFORMATION, e.g. "your [TAX YEAR] tax return information, including source documents and prior-year returns"] To whom: [NAME OF OUTSOURCING PROVIDER], located in [COUNTRY] Purpose: to assist us in preparing your [TAX YEAR] [FORM] return. [MANDATORY STATEMENT 3, section 5.04(1)(e)(i), if your SSN will NOT be disclosed or will be fully masked:] This consent to disclose may result in your tax return information being disclosed to a tax return preparer located outside the United States. [OR, if your SSN WILL be disclosed, use the statement in section 5.04(1)(e)(ii) word for word instead, and confirm both firms meet an adequate data protection safeguard under section 5.07.] Duration: this consent is valid until [DATE]. (If no date is entered, it is valid for one year from the date of signature.) [MANDATORY STATEMENT 4, section 5.04(1)(d):] If you believe your tax return information has been disclosed or used improperly in a manner unauthorized by law or without your permission, you may contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) by telephone at 1-800-366-4484, or by email at complaints@tigta.treas.gov. I consent to the disclosure described above. Taxpayer signature: ____________________ Date: __________ Spouse signature (joint return): ____________________ Date: __________
Under 26 CFR 301.7216-2(d)(1), a preparer may disclose return information to another preparer located in the United States, including its territories and possessions, to help prepare the return, as long as the other preparer does not make substantive determinations. That permission does not reach a preparer located outside the United States, so offshore outsourcing needs the client’s consent under 301.7216-3 first.
This is a starting point. Paste the mandatory statements from the revenue procedure itself, then have the firm’s counsel review the finished consent, including how it fits your engagement letter and any state privacy rules.
Templates are starting points for your firm to adapt. They are not legal or tax advice.
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