Starting March 1, 2012 married couples will have to file separate powers of attorney for their tax representative.
It used to be that both spouses could sign one power naming a representative. You may recall that you signed near the top of page 2. That has changed because of increased sensitivity to privacy and data security.
There is another change on the power, but the change applies to tax representatives. The representative must now include his/her PTIN on the power. Tax advisors may remember that the IRS has discussed increased practitioner enforcement, including automatic referral to the Office of Professional Responsibility of a practitioner associated with a substantial understatement penalty. The PTIN is a way to identify a specific return to a specific tax preparer.
