Who signs Form 8879-TE
Form 8879-TE has three possible signers: the tax-exempt entity, a person subject to tax with respect to the entity, and the electronic return originator (ERO). For a Form 990 or Form 990-T the signer is an officer, which the form defines as any person authorized to sign the return under its instructions, such as a trustee.
For a Form 990, the Form 990 instructions say the return must be signed by the current president, vice president, treasurer, assistant treasurer, chief accounting officer or other corporate officer who is authorized to sign as of the date the return is filed. Check the signer's title against the officer list in Part VII of the prior year's Form 990. If the signer resigns before transmission, get the successor's name, title, signature and date on a new form.
Part I: which line and which return
Part I has ten check-box lines, 1a through 10a, each with a b-line amount. This guide covers four: 1a for Form 990, 2a for Form 990-EZ, 5a for Form 8868 and 6a for Form 990-T. Check one box only. Form 990, Part VIII, column (A), line 12 goes on 1b. Form 990-EZ, line 9 goes on 2b. Form 8868, line 3c (balance due) goes on 5b. Form 990-T, Part III, line 4 (total tax) goes on 6b.
Worked example. A calendar-year 501(c)(3) has $1,000 or more of total gross income from unrelated trades or businesses, so it files a Form 990 and a Form 990-T. Its Form 990 shows 412,860 on line 12 and its Form 990-T shows 21,000 on Part III, line 4. These are illustrative figures. Prepare two forms: on the first, check 1a and enter 412,860 on 1b; on the second, check 6a and enter 21,000 on 6b. The usual error is putting the 990-T's gross or taxable income on 6b. Line 6b is total tax.
Enter whole dollars on every line except Form 8038-CP and Form 5330, which may use cents. If the return's amount was blank, leave the b-line blank. If the return shows -0-, enter -0-.
Settle the return type from the thresholds first. Form 990 is required for gross receipts of $200,000 or more, or total assets of $500,000 or more, at the end of the tax year. An organization below both amounts can choose Form 990-EZ. Form 990-T is required for $1,000 or more of total gross income from unrelated trades or businesses.
Part II and Part III: the PIN
Part II has two PIN options, and the form says check one box only. Option one reads “I authorize” followed by the ERO firm name, “to enter my PIN,” a five-digit PIN box and “as my signature.” Option two has the officer enter the PIN personally. A form with both boxes checked, or neither, is not ready to transmit.
On option one, the ERO firm name goes on the authorization line, not the name of the person who prepared the return. The PIN is five numbers and may not be all zeros. Decision rule: if the officer is willing to have the firm enter the PIN, check option one; if the officer wants to type it personally, check option two.
Part III belongs to the ERO. It takes the ERO's six-digit EFIN followed by the ERO's own five-digit self-selected PIN, not all zeros, and the ERO certifies under Pub. 4163. The officer's PIN never goes into Part III. If the return also goes to a state charity regulator under the IRS Fed/State program, the PIN goes on the disclosure consent screen too.
Signing order for a 2026 Form 990
For a calendar-year 2026 Form 990, the due date is the 15th day of the 5th month after year end, which is May 15, 2027. That date is a Saturday, so the Form 990 instructions move the due date to Monday, May 17, 2027. If the organization files Form 8868, its automatic 6-month extension runs to November 15, 2027. A Form 8868 with payment is checked on line 5a, with the balance due from line 3c on 5b. The sources here do not say whether a Form 8868 filed with no payment needs its own Form 8879-TE, so check that in your software.
The sequence is: (1) the preparer finishes the return and schedules; (2) the preparer gives Form 8879-TE to the officer by hand, U.S. mail, private delivery service, email, Internet website or fax; (3) the officer verifies the accuracy of the return and its type in Part I, checks one Part II box, and signs and dates the form; (4) the officer returns the form to the ERO; (5) the ERO completes Part III, signs, dates and transmits.
The return's own signature and the paid preparer
The electronic return has its own signature block, separate from Form 8879-TE, and the PIN on the form is the officer's signature on the electronic return. A paid preparer signs separately, lists the PTIN and completes the Paid Preparer Use Only area, entering the PTIN and not the SSN.
The last line of Part II asks whether the IRS may contact the paid preparer. Check “Yes” for the individual, not the firm. That authorization ends no later than the due date, excluding extensions, for the 2026 Form 990.
Electronic funds withdrawal and revocation
Form 8879-TE authorizes an electronic funds withdrawal for Form 990-PF, Form 990-T, Form 1120-POL, Form 4720, Form 5330 and Form 8868 with payment. Form 990 and Form 990-EZ are not on that list, so do not set up a withdrawal on a Form 990 through this form. For a Form 990-T paid by withdrawal, the consent covers the account in the tax software, so match it to the account the officer approved.
Revocation runs through the officer. The officer must contact the U.S. Treasury Financial Agent at 1-888-353-4537 no later than 2 business days prior to the payment (settlement) date. Put that number and the cutoff in the client's payment schedule.
The 2026 revision
The form posted on irs.gov is the 2025 revision, printed “Form 8879-TE (2025) Created 5/1/25.” The About Form 8879-TE page lists it as current, and the check on 2026-11-10 found no 2026 revision. The PIN sentence reads “on the tax year 2025 electronically filed return,” so that wording is for 2025 returns.
Resolved rule for 2026 returns: do not sign the 2025 PDF for a 2026 return. Before each officer signature, check irs.gov/Form8879TE. If a 2026 revision is posted, use it and copy its Part II and Part III wording exactly. If only the 2025 revision is posted when the return is ready, hold transmission and tell the client in writing why.
The 2025 form says an entity or person subject to tax who does not use Form 8879-TE must use Form 8453-TE. This guide does not summarize Form 8453-TE, so read its current instructions before using it as a fallback.
Retention and copies
The ERO must retain the completed Form 8879-TE for 3 years from the return due date or the date the IRS received the return, whichever is later. For a 2026 Form 990 due May 17, 2027 and received that day, keep the form until May 17, 2030.
The form does not say whether “return due date” means the original or the extended date. Firm rule: when a Form 8868 extension is filed, keep the form until 3 years after the later of November 15, 2027 and the IRS received date. That covers both readings. The form may be retained electronically under Rev. Proc. 97-22, cited on page 9 of Internal Revenue Bulletin 1997-13. It is not sent to the IRS unless requested.
Failure modes and fixes
Signer no longer authorized on the filing date. Get the current officer's name, title, signature and date on a new Form 8879-TE before transmission.
Signed after transmission. Hold the return and do not backdate the officer's date to match the transmission date.
Two boxes checked in Part I or Part II, or the wrong PIN option. Void the form, reissue it and have the officer sign the new one before transmission.
E-file required but paper filed. The 2025 Form 990 instructions say a tax-exempt organization required to e-file that does not is deemed to have failed to file, even if a paper return is submitted.
Late return for an older year. Electronic filing is available only for the current tax year and the 2 prior tax periods. Outside that window, paper-file and show “The IRS no longer accepts e-file of the 20XX return year” at the top of page 1.