IRS Expands Features for Business Tax Accounts

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has added new features and expanded existing features in Business Tax Accounts (BTA), giving users more convenient and secure ways to manage their federal tax matters digitally.A BTA account can be opened by sole proprietors, individual partners, S corporations, C corporations, tax-exempt organizations, Indian tribal governments, and federal, state, and local governments. This year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has added “valuable and time-saving features” to the BTAs to help users manage tax obligations online, the IRS said in an Aug. 6 statement. For one, users can access a wide range of digital IRS notices through their BTAs.One of the recently added notices is “CP081B, We May Have a Refund for You,” which is issued when there is a missing tax return for a specific year and the user has some refund or credit for that year.BTA users also have access to “CP134R, Federal tax deposits discrepancy—Due a Refund” notice, which is issued when the government owes a refund to the taxpayer.Another notice added is “CP211A, Application to file extension of time approved.” The IRS issues the notice when a taxpayer’s Form 8868 has been approved.Designated officials of an entity can download the “Notice CP575, Notice of New Employer Identification Number,” which can be used at banks and financial institutions.Another feature added to BTA this year allows users to submit payments for an Offer in Compromise, a provision that allows taxpayers to settle their tax dues for less than the actual owed amount.A BTA account can be used to view and make payments towards a tax balance, schedule a payment, view recently processed payments, request a tax compliance check, view and download transcripts for payroll, and provide account access to eligible employees.“Business Tax Account is a key part of the agency’s digital first initiative,” IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in the statement.“By expanding online self-service options, BTA makes it easier for eligible businesses and organizations to manage their federal tax obligations securely and conveniently online without making a phone call or traveling to a physical office,” he said.According to the IRS, more businesses and organizational entities will be provided access to BTAs in the future.Back in April, the IRS had expanded BTA access to tax-exempt organizations, partnerships, Indian tribal governments, and federal, state, and local governments.Businesses and other entities opening BTAs can assign a designated official for these accounts. Such officials will have access to all account details and can act on behalf of the entity in the account, according to a July 28 update from the IRS.The designated officials can add and manage access for designated users. Such users will have limited access to BTAs and won’t have the authority to manage access like designated officials.In partnerships, a designated official must either be a managing partner of the LLC or a general partner.For an S Corporation and C Corporation, a designated official must be an officer or managing member of the entity, a current employee who received Form W-2 for the recent filing year, and a person having the authorization to legally bind the entity in agreements.A designated official for a government entity operating a BTA must be an elected official, the director of taxation, or an appointed official.For tax-exempt entities, only a board chairperson, a trustee of a trust, or an officer of the organization, such as a president or CEO, can be a designated official.All designated officials must revalidate their role every year in order to continue access to their BTA accounts. “If they don’t revalidate, the Designated Official will need to request access to the account again,” the IRS said.For eligible entities, except partnerships, a designated official must revalidate within six weeks starting June 15 every year. A designated official of a partnership is required to revalidate six weeks beginning Oct. 15.