Electronic Signatures and the IRS

The year 2010 is fast-approaching and so is tax season. While we sift through our W2s and receipts, imagine being responsible for reviewing 200 million tax forms.  As if that thought isn’t scary enough, imagine that more than half are paper returns.

Although adoption of electronic filings has increased significantly over the last few years, there are many people that do not feel comfortable filing their returns electronically. To overcome this, the IRS is hard at work on expanding its electronic signature initiative. While the chief objective is to gain acceptance by taxpayers, the IRS wants to create a service-wide framework for electronic signatures and electronic tax documents.

A presentation recently posted on the Electronic Signature and Records Management Association’s (ESRA) blog “Electronic Signatures and the IRS,” outlines the IRS directive. Kevin Hatton, IRS Chief of Policy and Standards, prepared the presentation and describes how the IRS plans to support the electronic filing goals of the IRS Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) and the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA). The IRS’ main objectives include:

• “Help taxpayers understand that electronic signatures have the same acceptance and legality as paper signatures.”

• “Create a single framework to provide consistency and ease of use.”

• “Promote electronic signature methods by emphasizing their availability and benefits.”

ESRA supports the IRS in establishing greater utilization of electronic signatures for various types of tax documentation The association is a centralized educational resource for its members and the public with respect to the legal, regulatory and operational issues in relation to the use of electronic signatures and records. eOriginal is a founding member of ESRA.

Categories: Announcements, Electronic Signatures, Technology
Tagged: electronic filing, Electronic Signatures, eOriginal, ESRA, Government Paperwork Elimination Act, IRS

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