Form 2848: Giving Your CPA Power of Attorney for Form 5472

The IRS will not discuss your tax account with just anyone, even someone you hired. Form 2848 is the formal mechanism that opens the door. Once filed, the named representative can speak to the IRS on your behalf, receive notices and transcripts, and advocate for you on the specific tax matters and years listed on the form. For a foreign-owned single-member LLC owner dealing with a Form 5472 issue, that representative is usually a CPA or enrolled agent experienced in international information returns.

For the audit context in which a power of attorney typically becomes necessary, see our IRS audit representation page.

The distinction is between preparation and representation. Anyone you authorize can help prepare and submit your Form 5472 — that is a service, not IRS representation. Form 2848 becomes necessary the moment you want someone to stand in your shoes in front of the agency: answering a CP162 penalty notice, requesting penalty relief, or retrieving account transcripts to reconstruct your filing history.

If you have already received a penalty notice, the immediate steps are in what to do after IRS notice CP162.

The IRS restricts full representation to professionals with credentials it recognizes. For a Form 5472 penalty matter, the practical choices are a CPA, a tax attorney, or an enrolled agent. Each can be named on Form 2848 and can then correspond and negotiate with the IRS on your behalf. An ordinary tax preparer without one of those credentials has far more limited rights to act for you.

This is worth understanding before a problem arises: the firm that files your Form 5472 correctly each year may not be the same firm that represents you in a penalty dispute. Those are different services requiring different credentials — a point we are transparent about on the pricing page.

The form itself is short, but accuracy matters. A non-resident owner completes it using their foreign address and, if they have no US SSN or ITIN, their foreign taxpayer identifying number. The key fields are the taxpayer’s information, the representative’s information and credential, and the “matters” section where you describe exactly what the representative may handle — for example, Form 5472 penalties for specific tax years.

An overly broad or vague matters section can delay processing, so name the form and the years precisely. If the underlying issue is unfiled prior years, read catch-up filing for how those get brought current.

When the IRS assesses a $25,000 Form 5472 penalty — often through a CP162 notice — the clock starts on your response, and the stakes are high enough that most foreign owners should not reply alone. Because there is no statute of limitations on an unfiled Form 5472, multiple years can be assessed at once, and ignoring a 90-day notice adds another $25,000 every 30 days. Form 2848 is the instrument that lets a CPA or enrolled agent step in, request penalty relief, and argue your case.

We prepare and file Form 5472 so you never reach that point, but we do not offer penalty-abatement or IRS representation ourselves. If you are already facing a penalty, the routes are summarized on penalty relief and the full penalty mechanics on the Form 5472 penalty page.

Form 2848 solves a problem — IRS representation — that is far better prevented than managed. Virtually every foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 because funding the LLC counts as a reportable transaction, and the deadline is April 15 (October 15 with Form 7004). There is no e-file path: the pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached must be mailed to 1973 Rulon White Blvd, M/S 6112, Attn: PIN Unit, Ogden, UT 84201 or faxed to 855-887-7737.

Note this is separate from BOI reporting: under FinCEN’s March 2025 interim final rule, US-formed entities — including foreign-owned US LLCs — are exempt from beneficial-ownership reporting; only foreign reporting companies file. Form 5472 is an IRS obligation and still required. File it correctly every year and a power of attorney is something you will likely never need.

The economics are stark. Preventing the problem — an accurate, on-time Form 5472 each year — costs a flat $299. Fixing it after the fact means hiring a credentialed representative, often at hourly rates well into the hundreds of dollars, on top of the $25,000-per-year penalty itself. Prevention is not close. See the comparison on the pricing page or file now on the apply page.