Your US accountant cannot talk to the IRS for you until Form 2848 or 8821 is on file. From outside the United States, those forms fax to the International CAF Team. Here is the current number and the rules that make the filing stick.
📠 Fax the IRS Now From $2.99Taxpayers outside the United States who authorize a US tax professional file Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) or Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization) with the IRS International CAF Team. As of 2026, the international CAF fax number is +1 267-466-1017; the previous number, 267-941-1017, is no longer in service, which is exactly why you verify on IRS.gov before every send. Faxed forms require a handwritten signature. OverseasFax delivers yours from 93 countries for $2.99.
The IRS will not discuss your account with your accountant, enrolled agent, or attorney until an authorization is on file in the Centralized Authorization File (CAF). Form 2848 grants power of attorney, letting your representative speak and act for you before the IRS. Form 8821 is the lighter version: it lets a person or firm receive your tax information without representing you. If you live abroad, own a US LLC from overseas, or are a US expat with a stateside CPA handling your returns, one of these forms is the key that makes the relationship work. Filings from outside the United States route to a dedicated unit: the International CAF Team.
As of 2026, Form 2848 and Form 8821 filings from outside the United States are faxed to the International CAF Team at +1 267-466-1017. This page's standard warning is not theoretical on this form: the previous international CAF number, 267-941-1017, was retired and the old line went dead. A fax to a dead number simply fails; a fax to a reassigned number is worse. So treat the number above as a dated starting point and confirm the current one in the Form 2848 instructions on IRS.gov, in the "Where To File" section, immediately before sending. Domestic filers use different, state-based CAF numbers listed in the same instructions; this page covers the international route.
Signature rule: a faxed or mailed Form 2848 or 8821 must carry a handwritten signature. Electronic signatures are only accepted through the IRS online submission tool. Sign the paper form with a pen, then scan it.
The IRS runs an online Submit Forms 2848 tool, and if you can use it, it is a fine channel. The catch for people abroad: it requires a verified IRS online account, and US identity verification is precisely what many non-US persons and long-term expats cannot complete, since it leans on US phone numbers, US credit history, and US documents. Mail from abroad works but takes weeks and offers no proof of arrival. That leaves fax as the channel that works from anywhere with dated proof: minutes to deliver, an email confirmation with a timestamp, and CAF processing that typically runs 5 to 15 business days once received.
Complete Form 2848 with your details as the taxpayer, your representative's details and CAF number, and the specific tax matters and years covered; both you and the representative sign, by hand. For Form 8821, you sign and specify whose information the designee may receive. Scan the signed form as one clear PDF at 300 DPI or higher. A typical filing is 2 to 3 pages, which OverseasFax covers within the base $2.99 to any US number.
For foreign owners of US LLCs, this is the third fax in a familiar sequence: Form SS-4 to get the EIN, Form 5472 every April, and Form 2848 the day you hire a US professional to handle it for you. All three go to the IRS by fax from abroad, and all three carry the same discipline: verify the number on IRS.gov, send a clean 300 DPI PDF, keep the delivery confirmation. Founders and expats fax us these forms from the UK, Germany, UAE, and the rest of our 93 countries, from any browser, with no fax machine or account.
Upload your hand-signed 2848 or 8821, enter the International CAF fax number, pay $2.99. Timestamped email confirmation in minutes.
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