Can you e-sign a tax return?
Yes, but on the IRS's terms, not an e-signature app's. When you e-file a federal return, you sign it with a five-digit PIN. If a preparer files for you, you usually authorize that with Form 8879, which you can sign electronically through software that verifies your identity. A short list of paper-only forms also accepts electronic signatures. A PDF of a return e-signed and mailed in is not one of the IRS's methods.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
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Why the IRS sets the rules
A tax return is a filing with a federal agency, and the ESIGN Act leaves agencies' filing standards and formats in place (15 U.S.C. § 7004(a)). The IRS publishes the electronic signature methods it accepts in the Internal Revenue Manual (IRM 10.10.1) and, for e-file providers, in Publication 1345. Those are the methods that count.
Signing an e-filed return with a PIN
| Method | How it works | Form 8879? |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Select PIN | You create a five-digit PIN and confirm your identity with last year's adjusted gross income or last year's PIN. Works with your own software or a preparer. | Not if you enter your own PIN; required if the preparer enters it for you |
| Practitioner PIN | You create a five-digit PIN through a preparer (an electronic return originator, or ERO), with no prior-year AGI needed. | Always required |
The Self-Select PIN method can be completely paperless when taxpayers type their own PINs into the return. If you don't have last year's AGI or PIN, the IRS suggests calling IRS Tax Help. Publication 1345 also says taxpayers must sign and date the Declaration of Taxpayer, their statement under penalties of perjury that the return is true, correct and complete, before the return is transmitted to the IRS.
Business and other returns
The PIN approach isn't just for individuals. The IRM's list of approved methods covers inputting a PIN for business and payroll returns including Forms 941, 940, 1065, 1120 and 990, along with Form 8879 and its family of variants for other return types. Other methods appear for specific forms: a stylus for Form 4506-T and Form 8655, and a scanned image of a handwritten signature for Form 8879-F, which authorizes e-filing a trust's or estate's Form 1041. State returns follow each state revenue department's own e-file rules.
E-signing Form 8879
Form 8879, the IRS e-file Signature Authorization, lets your preparer enter your PIN. You can sign it by hand or electronically. When you e-sign it, the preparer's software has to meet IRS requirements:
- Identity verification. For a remote signing, the software verifies identity, typically with knowledge-based authentication questions, under NIST Special Publication 800-63-4. For an in-person signing, the preparer confirms government photo ID unless they have a multi-year relationship with you.
- A record of the signing. A digital image of the signed form, the date and time, the method used and the identity check result, plus your IP address and username for a remote signing.
- Tamper-proofing. The signed record must be tamper-proof, and the preparer keeps it for three years and produces it if the IRS asks.
- A paper fallback. If you fail the knowledge-based questions three times, the preparer must get a handwritten signature.
- Separate checks for joint filers. Each spouse is identified and authenticated separately.
Paper forms that accept e-signatures
Some forms still can't be e-filed. For those, the Internal Revenue Manual lets taxpayers and representatives use electronic or digital signatures on certain forms that currently require a handwritten signature (IRM 10.10.1.6.2). The list in its Exhibit 10.10.1-2 includes, among others, Forms 706, 709, 3115 and 8283, and those forms must be signed and postmarked on or after August 28, 2020. The IRM says the deviation ends for a form once it can be e-filed or accept compliant e-signatures, so check the current exhibit before relying on it.
Powers of attorney are different again. Forms 2848 and 8821 can be e-signed only when submitted through the IRS's online tool; any copy mailed or faxed to the IRS needs a wet ink signature.
What to do
- 1
File electronically if you can
Use IRS-accepted software or a preparer and sign with a Self-Select or Practitioner PIN.
- 2
Have last year's AGI ready
The Self-Select PIN method uses it, or last year's PIN, to confirm who you are.
- 3
Sign Form 8879 in the preparer's system
If you work with a preparer remotely, sign the authorization through their software so the identity checks happen.
- 4
Check paper forms against the IRM list
For a form that can't be e-filed, confirm it's on the IRM's list before using an electronic signature.
Where SignMaster fits
SignMaster isn't tax software, doesn't file returns and isn't the IRS's system for Forms 2848 and 8821, so don't use it to sign a return or Form 8879. Accountants and bookkeepers can use it for the engagement around the return: engagement letters, fee agreements, client organizer acknowledgments and consent forms. Clients sign from an email link after agreeing to sign electronically, and you keep a signed PDF with a certificate of completion.
Questions? Answers.
How do I sign my tax return electronically?
With a five-digit PIN when you e-file. The Self-Select PIN method uses last year's AGI or PIN to confirm your identity; the Practitioner PIN method uses Form 8879 signed with your preparer.
Can I e-sign Form 8879?
Yes, through your preparer's software, which must verify your identity and keep a tamper-proof record. If you fail the identity questions three times, you'll need to sign by hand.
Can I e-sign a paper tax form and mail it?
Only for the forms on the IRS's list of forms that can't be e-filed (IRM Exhibit 10.10.1-2), signed and postmarked on or after August 28, 2020. Otherwise, sign paper forms by hand.
Does my tax preparer have to sign too?
Yes, if they're a paid preparer. Publication 1345 says the taxpayer and the paid preparer, if there is one, must sign an electronic return, just as they would a paper one.
Does the IRS accept typed or drawn e-signatures?
For Forms 2848 and 8821 submitted online, the IRS accepts typed names, drawn signatures, scanned handwritten signatures and signatures from third-party software. For returns, it uses its own PIN methods.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Manual 10.10.1, IRS Electronic Signature (e-Signature) Program · irs.gov
- IRS Publication 1345, Handbook for Authorized IRS e-file Providers of Individual Income Tax Returns · irs.gov
- IRS, Frequently asked questions for IRS e-file signature authorization (Forms 8878 and 8879) · irs.gov
- IRS, Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 online (electronic signatures) · irs.gov
- 15 U.S.C. § 7004, ESIGN Act and agencies' filing standards (govinfo) · govinfo.gov
General information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on your situation. For advice about a specific document, talk to a lawyer licensed where you are.