What Form 8655 letters is
The Ogden RAF team does not name a letter number for a defective Form 8655; the manual says only that "the appropriate letter" is sent, and the agent receives an annotated ERROR listing (IRM 21.3.9.4.2, Oct. 1, 2026). Eight annotations each end "Not added to RAF": "Form 8655 not received," "Form 8655 illegible," "EIN not found," "Name and EIN mismatch," "Newer authorization on file," "Unauthorized signature," "No beginning periods," and "Missing signature and/or date"; an SSN in the EIN field comes back "Not an EIN" (IRM 21.3.9.4.2(2); 21.3.9.4.2.1). Separately, a Form 945 or 1042 authorization is dropped without a rejection when your entity has no such filing requirement: "do not add other accounts for which the taxpayer does not have a filing requirement" (IRM 21.3.9.3.1(3) Note). Any action your agent takes on your account "will generate a letter to the taxpayer's address of record confirming the account status" (IRM 21.3.9.1.1(1) Note), so a confirmation letter about an account change you did not make is normal, but a letter about a change you did not authorize is not.
The deadline
Paper listings are returned within 30 days, electronic ADD listings within 10 business days (IRM 21.3.9.3.6; 21.3.9.4.3). The signature on Form 8655 must be within one year of processing (IRM 21.3.9.3.2(2)).
What to do
Match the rejection to its cause. "Name and EIN mismatch" means the first four characters of the name the agent keyed do not match your primary name line on Master File; "The account may appear on the ERROR Listing simply because spaces were added or omitted ... or because abbreviations were used" (IRM 21.3.9.4.2.2(1)); fix the name, not the EIN. "EIN not found" calls for a Letter 147C. "Newer authorization on file" means an earlier agent's RAF input date is later than this form's signature date; revoke the old authorization (re-sign a copy with REVOKE across the top, IRM 21.3.9.5.2) and sign a fresh form afterward (IRM 21.3.9.6.1). For a silently dropped Form 945 line, establish the Form 945 filing requirement first and resubmit. Remember that Form 8655 cannot change your address; use Form 8822-B (IRM 21.3.9.2.2(6)).
What Form 8655 does and does not do
Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, lets a payroll provider or other agent sign and file employment and withholding tax returns (Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, 1042 and related), make deposits, and talk to the IRS about those accounts on your behalf. It is recorded in the Reporting Agent File at Ogden, and the agent's authority is limited to the forms and starting periods listed on it. It is not a power of attorney (that is Form 2848), does not cover income tax returns or information returns, and cannot change the business's address; an agent who files a Form 8655 with a new address is ignored on that point, and the change must go on Form 8822-B. One feature surprises clients: whenever the agent does something on the account (files, changes a deposit schedule, is added or removed), the IRS mails a confirmation to the taxpayer's address of record. A confirmation letter about an action your agent took is normal. One about an action no one authorized is the first sign of a problem.
Reading a rejection
A Form 8655 that cannot be processed comes back to the agent on an error listing with a one-line reason, and the agent should pass it to you because most of the fixes are on the client's side. The most common is a name and EIN mismatch, which means the first four characters of the name the agent typed do not match the IRS's name control for your EIN; spacing, punctuation and abbreviations are enough to cause it, so the fix is to give the agent your name exactly as it appears on your CP 575 or Letter 147C, and the name control calculator shows what the IRS is matching against. An EIN not found usually means a typo or a newly assigned EIN that has not posted. A newer authorization on file means a different agent was added after this form was signed; revoke that one in writing before re-signing. A missing or stale signature (the form must be processed within a year of signing) means a fresh form. And a Form 945 line that silently disappears from the authorization means the IRS has no Form 945 filing requirement on your account yet; file the first return or call to have the requirement established, then resubmit. The reporting agents guide covers the Form 945 side in detail.
Questions about Form 8655 letters
Who receives Form 8655 letters?
Payer. The Ogden RAF team does not name a letter number for a defective Form 8655; the manual says only that "the appropriate letter" is sent, and the agent receives an annotated ERROR listing (IRM 21.3.9.4.2, Oct.
What is the deadline on Form 8655 letters?
Paper listings are returned within 30 days, electronic ADD listings within 10 business days (IRM 21.3.9.3.6; 21.3.9.4.3). The signature on Form 8655 must be within one year of processing (IRM 21.3.9.3.2(2)).
What should I do when Form 8655 letters arrives?
Match the rejection to its cause. "Name and EIN mismatch" means the first four characters of the name the agent keyed do not match your primary name line on Master File; "The account may appear on the ERROR Listing simply because spaces were added or omitted ... or because abbreviations were used" (IRM 21.3.9.4.2.2(1)); fix the name, not the EIN. "EIN not found" calls for a Letter 147C. "Newer authorization on file" means an earlier agent's RAF input date is later than this form's signature date; revoke the old authorization (re-sign a copy with REVOKE across the top, IRM 21.3.9.5.2) and sign a fresh form afterward (IRM 21.3.9.6.1). For a silently dropped Form 945 line, establish the Form 945 filing requirement first and resubmit. Remember that Form 8655 cannot change your address; use Form 8822-B (IRM 21.3.9.2.2(6)).
Is Form 8655 letters about my own income tax?
No. This decoder covers information reporting and withholding: the notices a payer, filer or payee sees because of Forms 1099, W-2, 945 and the TINs on them. Individual income-tax notices follow a different track.
Have a different notice? The IRS notice decoder lists all 77 in the order they tend to arrive.