The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced last week that it would extend some popular temporary flexibilities set to expire.
The acceptance of digital signatures, the agency said, will be extended indefinitely until a more robust technical solution can be deployed, and will extend the use of encrypted email when working directly with IRS personnel through Oct. 31, 2025.
The measures were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote secure communications, the agency said, and have since proven to be extremely popular with both tax professionals and tax payers. Both groups said the measures saved time and resources.
“We heard from tax professionals and taxpayers as well as our employees about how the flexibilities made it easier to comply with tax requirements and communicate with IRS compliance personnel,” said Doug O’Donnell, IRS Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement. “While these digital flexibilities were critical during the pandemic, it’s equally important to continue to offer options as the IRS moves toward a fully digital environment. We will continue to review our processes to identify areas where we can leverage technology to reduce burden on the tax community while maintaining critical security and protections against identity theft and fraud.”
The agency said its Internal Revenue Manual was updated to allow alternatives to handwritten signatures to be accepted in certain instances and to accept images of signature in compliance interactions. Additionally, the Interim Guidance Memorandum allows for the receipt and transmission of documents using encrypted emails when working person-to-person with IRS personnel.