Pennsylvania’s tax power of attorney is filed on form REV-677, which the Department of Revenue sometimes catalogs as PA-1796. Pennsylvania Form PA-1796 lets you authorize another person — an attorney, accountant, family member, employee, or other designee — to receive your confidential tax information and act on your behalf before the Department of Revenue on the specific taxes and periods you list.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative REV-677 Without one on file, department staff cannot discuss your account with anyone outside it, including a spouse or an accountant who already prepares your returns.
Who You Can Appoint
The form lists seven categories of eligible representatives:
- An attorney in good standing with the bar of the highest court of their jurisdiction.
- A certified public accountant qualified to practice in their jurisdiction.
- A bona fide officer of the taxpayer organization.
- A regular full-time employee of the taxpayer.
- An immediate family member — spouse, parent, child, brother, or sister.
- A fiduciary such as a trustee or executor.
- Any other person you designate, with a written explanation of the relationship.
The category you pick controls what your signature has to look like. If your representative is an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent, your signature alone validates the form. For anyone else, including family members and employees, your signature must be witnessed or notarized.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative REV-677 A non-professional appointment with no witness or notary stamp can be disregarded by the department.
Filling Out the Form
Before you start, pull your Social Security Number or Federal Employer Identification Number, your name and address exactly as they appear on your most recent Pennsylvania return, and the same identifying details for the person you are appointing.
Part I: Taxpayer and Representative
Enter your name and taxpayer identification number exactly as the department has them on file. Mismatches between the name on the POA and the name in the system are one of the most common reasons authorizations get rejected. For a business, use the legal entity name and the FEIN, not a trade name or DBA.
For your representative, list a full name, mailing address, telephone number, and professional title or firm name where applicable. If you want the authorization to cover a firm so that different staff members there can call the department about your account, name the firm.
Part II: Tax Matters and Periods
Spell out each tax type and each period the representative can handle. Pennsylvania administers Personal Income Tax, Sales and Use Tax, Corporation Taxes, Employer Withholding, and several others, and each one you want covered should appear separately with the specific years or reporting periods attached. Shortcuts like “all taxes” or “all years” weaken the form and may not be honored. Precise entries make every later interaction with the department cleaner.
Signatures
Individual filers sign and date the form once. For a corporation, partnership, or other entity, the signer has to be someone with authority to bind the organization, such as a corporate officer, general partner, or authorized fiduciary. Your representative then signs the declaration in Part II, confirming eligibility under the category selected.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative REV-677
If the representative isn’t an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent, use the section at the bottom of the form for either a witness signature or a notary stamp. Leaving it blank is grounds for the department to reject the authorization.
When and Where to Submit It
Pennsylvania handles submission differently from what most filers expect. The Department of Revenue does not accept unsolicited power of attorney forms. There is no general address, email, or fax number for bulk filing. You submit the form only when a specific department representative requests it during a case — an audit, a collections matter, a refund inquiry, or any other interaction where staff need to confirm your representative is authorized to speak for you.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Once the Power of Attorney Is Signed, Where Do I File It?
In practice, your representative should keep the signed form on file and produce it when a department agent asks. Practitioners who mail in stacks of POAs as a routine step will find them disregarded; the department’s FAQ states that unsolicited forms submitted in bulk will not be processed.2Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Once the Power of Attorney Is Signed, Where Do I File It? When the department does ask for it, the agent will say how to deliver it, usually by fax or mail to their division. Follow those instructions rather than guessing at a bureau address.
Because the authorization goes to the agent on your case rather than into a central file, your representative may need to produce the form again if a different division gets involved later.
Electronic Third-Party Access Through myPATH
Separately from the paper POA, tax professionals and other third parties can register for electronic access to client accounts through Pennsylvania’s myPATH portal. Registration runs in four steps:
- Go to myPATH, select Sign Up, and indicate you are a third-party user during registration.
- Enter your name and mailing address, set up two-step verification, and submit your profile.
- Wait for a myPATH Access Letter to arrive by mail; allow five to ten business days.
- Log back in and enter the Letter ID from the Access Letter to activate the account.
Once the account is active, the third party can manage client accounts through the portal.3Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. How Do I Register as a Third Party User in myPATH? Electronic access complements the paper form rather than replacing it; the department may still ask for a signed REV-677 during a specific case.
Changing or Canceling the Authorization
Filing a new power of attorney for the same tax matters and periods automatically revokes any earlier authorization covering the same ground. The form carries language stating that it supersedes prior POAs on those matters unless you note an exception and attach the earlier form you want to keep active.1Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative REV-677
To revoke an authorization without naming a new representative, send a signed written statement to the department agent or division holding the current POA. The letter should include the representative’s name and address, a clear sentence revoking their authority, and your signature and date. There is no separate revocation form.
A representative can also withdraw by sending a written notice to the department. Either way, the change takes effect when the department processes it, not when you sign the letter.
What the Authorization Does and Doesn’t Cover
The Department of Revenue treats taxpayer information — returns, correspondence, audit findings, hearing records — as confidential under state and federal law, and shares it only for authorized tax administration purposes.4Department of Revenue | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Voluntary Compliance and Taxpayer Confidentiality A completed REV-677 creates a narrow, controlled exception. It opens only the tax types and periods you listed. Everything else in your file stays off-limits to the representative until you file a new or amended authorization that reaches it.