Manage access in Business Tax Account

Find how to manage access in Business Tax Account.

The level of access depends on the person’s role and the entity type:

Designated Official

The Designated Official role is only available for S corporations and C corporations.

A Designated Official can:

  • Access all account details
  • Act on behalf of the entity in the account
  • Add and manage access for Designated Users
  • Remove another Designed Official from the account

A Designated Official must be all of these:

  • An officer (president, vice president, CEO, CFO, COO, secretary, treasurer) or managing member of the entity
  • A current employee who received a W-2 for the most recent tax filing year
  • Authorized to legally bind the business or entity

An account can have more than one Designated Official. This can ensure continuity if a Designated Official dies or separates from the business. Each Designated Official must register separately.

  1. Have this information ready from the business:
    • Employer identification number (EIN)
    • The most recent income tax return filed
    • The physical or mailing address from the most recent IRS records
  2. Sign in to Business Tax Account. If you don’t have an IRS account, have your photo ID ready.
  3. Follow the steps to register as a Designated Official.
  4. When you get the PIN in the mail, sign in to activate your Designated Official role.

A Designated Officer or sole proprietor can authorize a Designated User. Follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Business Tax Account.
  2. Go to Profile and select Manage Access.
  3. Select Add User, then enter the Designated User’s name and SSN or ITIN.
  4. Select tax forms, tax periods and permissions the Designated User can access.
  5. Review, e-sign and submit.

The Designated User must sign in to Business Tax Account and e-sign to accept access.

The Designated Official must revalidate their role annually to maintain access to Business Tax Account. The revalidation period is 6 weeks in June and July. The Designated Official will get a notification in the business tax account during this period.

If they don’t revalidate, the Designated Official will need to request access to the account again.

Designated User

A Designated User must be authorized by a Designated Official or a sole proprietor.

A Designated User can:

  • Have access to specific tax periods authorized by the Designated Official
  • View and/or make payments related to tax forms authorized by the Designed Official

They can’t:

  • Manage access
  • Accept or reject authorization requests

A Designated User must be both:

  • An individual with a Social Security number (SSN) or individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN).
  • Authorized by a Designated Official or a sole proprietor

They don’t need to be a partner, shareholder or officer of the business or entity.

A Designated User must be revalidated by a Designated Officer or sole proprietor every January and June to maintain their role.

Page Last Reviewed or Updated: 06-Jun-2025