Secure fax for accountants and tax preparers

An accounting or tax office can run its fax line on Fax Pigeon from $4.99 a month billed annually: 200 pages, its own number and unlimited people for busy-season staff. The IRS lists fax as a way to file Forms 2848 and 8821 and to reply to CP2000 notices, and some clients send their documents that way. A BAA matters in one case: the firm serves a healthcare client.

What does a tax office actually fax?

Three kinds of fax carry weight. Authorizations go to the IRS: the power of attorney on Form 2848 and the tax information authorization on Form 8821. The IRS generally records both on its Centralized Authorization File (CAF). Replies go to the IRS when a notice sets a date for an answer, such as a CP2000 notice about income that does not match the return. Client papers come the other way, such as income forms and statements.

The numbers are regional, and the IRS says they may change without notice, so this page prints none. The current charts sit in the instructions for Form 2848 and Form 8821, which list three ways to file: online, by fax and by mail. The last two rows come from the IRS page on submitting the forms and its page on CP2000 notices.

Can a faxed Form 2848 carry an electronic signature?

No. The instructions for both forms say a form filed by fax or mail needs a handwritten signature, and the IRS accepts typed, digital and electronic signatures only when a form is submitted online. The signature is the one part of a filing a fax cannot supply, so it goes on the page before the page goes out.

The IRS's list of common reasons for rejecting a Form 2848 opens with missing signatures or signature dates and goes on to vague tax periods such as "All Years". A form with the box on line 4 checked is a different filing. It covers one specific use, the IRS does not record it on the CAF, and the IRS tells filers never to send one to a CAF unit. It goes by mail or fax to the IRS office handling the matter.

Does IRS Publication 4557 cover fax?

No. Publication 4557, the IRS guide to safeguarding taxpayer data, never mentions fax. Publication 5708, the template for the written security plan, mentions fax machines once, in a line about changing default passwords on devices with wireless capability. What 4557 does say is that protecting taxpayer data is the law. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act's definition of financial institutions includes professional tax preparers, and the FTC Safeguards Rule requires them to keep a written information security plan.

The plan has to address service providers. The guide describes the duty as selecting providers that can maintain appropriate safeguards, requiring them by contract to do so, and overseeing how they handle customer information. Its checklist adds a line on limiting access to customer information to employees who have a business reason to see it.

When does a tax office need a BAA?

When the firm serves a healthcare client and the work puts protected health information (PHI) in its hands. Under 45 CFR 160.103, a business associate includes a person who provides accounting services to or for a covered entity where the service "involves the disclosure of protected health information" to that person. HHS's business associate guidance names a CPA firm as an example when its accounting work for a health care provider gives it access to PHI. The test is the client and what reaches the firm. A law firm faces the same test.

A fax service that keeps a firm's faxes maintains any PHI in them on the firm's behalf, and HHS says a business associate must establish a BAA with its subcontractor before disclosing PHI to it. Every Fax Pigeon plan includes a signed BAA, executed at signup.

What should the line cost?

Billed annually, Basic is $4.99 a month for 200 pages, Standard is $9.99 for 500 and Plus is $16.99 for 1,000. Sent and received pages count together. An extra page costs 10¢ on Basic, 5¢ on Standard and 4¢ on Plus, billed on a separate invoice every 30 days on an annual plan, and faxes keep arriving past the budget. A 600-page month adds 400 extra pages on Basic, $40.00, and 100 on Standard, $5.00. Plus covers it.

Every plan includes unlimited people at no extra cost, so a seasonal hire adds nothing to the bill. The shared inbox has roles and assignment, and email notifications come per fax or daily. Each plan also includes a dedicated fax number, fax from your email and an AI summary of every inbound fax. The inbox is covered in Shared fax inbox for a small office.

Two faxes in the table run against a clock: the reply date on a CP2000 notice and a case that cannot wait. Every plan includes a delivery certificate for every delivered fax.

Form 2848 asks for each representative's fax number and has a box to mark a new one. A firm that ports its number in, free on any paid plan, has nothing to mark as new, and the five steps for porting before you cancel keep the old line receiving until the transfer lands, usually in 5 to 15 business days.

Who should switch?

A tax office whose fax runs through a machine and a phone line, where authorizations and notice replies go out and client papers come in. A firm whose headcount rises with the season, since every plan includes unlimited people. A firm that has taken on a healthcare client and needs a signed BAA with its fax vendor. All six plans are on the pricing page.

* Fax Pigeon prices and plan terms as of October 12, 2026.