For years, "call the IRS" was step one on half the problems your clients brought you. Now, quietly, that step is disappearing. On August 6, the IRS rolled out a major expansion of its Business Tax Account platform, and if you run a small firm, this is not a filler item to skim past. It is a workflow change you should make this month, not next tax season.
What Actually Changed
Business Tax Account, or BTA, used to be a thin online tool mostly good for checking a balance. The August update adds real substance. Eligible businesses can now pull digital copies of key notices, including the CP211A extension approval, the CP081B refund notice, and the CP134R deposit discrepancy notice, without waiting on mail or a phone queue. They can download EIN verification letters on demand, something that used to eat an entire afternoon when a bank or lender needed proof fast. They can view existing installment agreement details, and they can make payments on accepted Offer in Compromise settlements directly through the account.
IRS CEO Frank Bisignano called this part of the agency's "digital first" push, and that phrase matters. This is not a one-time feature drop. It is a signal about where the agency is putting its resources, and where the phone lines are not.
Why This is Your Problem, Not Just Your Clients’
Every hour your staff spends on hold is an hour not billed to advisory work. If your firm is still defaulting to phone calls or paper requests for EIN verification, notice copies, or OIC payment status, you are burning capacity the IRS just gave you a way to stop burning.
A firm does not get its own login to a client's BTA. The client has to set it up first. For a sole proprietor, that means the individual registers directly using the same identity verification IRS requires for online accounts. For a partnership, S corporation, or C corporation, only a Designated Official, meaning an officer or managing member who is a current W-2 employee with legal authority to bind the business, can register for full access. Once that account exists, the client goes into the profile management section and adds the firm or specific staff as a Designated User, which gives the firm defined access without handing over login credentials. For S corp and C corp clients, that Designated Official status has to be renewed every year in a set window, June 15 to July 29, so firms should track renewal dates the same way they track engagement letters. Separately, a standard Power of Attorney on Form 2848 still routes through the IRS Tax Pro Account for transcripts and notices, but does not by itself grant entry into a client's BTA.
What To Do This Month
First, identify which clients actually qualify for BTA access today. Access is strongest for sole proprietors with an SSN or ITIN and an EIN who file Schedule C or F. Single member LLCs are mostly excluded right now, since an LLC taxed as a sole proprietor does not qualify for BTA, and even LLCs that elect S corporation or partnership treatment do not yet have Designated Official access live. Do not promise this tool to every single member LLC on your client list until that changes.
Second, build BTA setup into new client onboarding. Make it a checklist item alongside engagement letters and e-file authorizations, not an afterthought you get to eventually.
Third, retrain your team on when to use BTA instead of the phone. If someone on staff still reaches for a hold queue out of habit, that habit is now costing you money.
Fourth, flag your offer in compromise and installment agreement clients specifically. These are the people who will feel the difference fastest, since payment and status information that used to require correspondence is now sitting in their account.
The Bigger Opportunity
Firms tend to treat IRS technology updates as compliance trivia. Treat this one as a service upgrade instead. You can now tell clients, honestly, that their firm handles IRS matters faster because you use the tools that make it faster. That is a real differentiator in a market where clients increasingly cannot tell one tax firm from another.
The IRS is not going to reverse course on digital first. Every year, more of what used to require a call will move online. The firms that build these tools into their process now will look efficient. The ones that do not will keep explaining to clients why they are still on hold.
Dr. Christine Gervais is a licensed CPA, using her skills to help businesses grow and achieve their fullest potential. Christine has a Master’s degree in accounting from Southern New Hampshire University in addition to holding her CPA license for over a decade. Notably, Christine is a nationally recognized speaker providing education to other CPAs on how to best serve clients as well as instruction on a wide variety of topics for business owners on how to maximize success. Christine prides herself on the value she can bring to clients with her extensive tax knowledge and provides strategic, forward-thinking financial strategies to help clients grow. When not behind her desk, you can find Christine spending quality time with her daughter and stepson or tending to the family’s excessively loved farm animals.
Subscribe to the TPN Newsletter!
Like what you're reading?
Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and we'll deliver content like this directly to your inbox.