Declaration of Tax Representative
Department of Taxation employees have a duty to protect the confidentiality of taxpayer information and may face serious consequences if that information is improperly divulged. They may disclose the information only in an authorized manner in accordance with applicable law. They may give the information directly to the taxpayer but may not provide the information to another person claiming to represent the taxpayer unless that person provides proof of such representation.
In most cases, the taxpayer must have designated the person as the taxpayer's representative on a properly completed Ohio Form TBOR 1, Declaration of Tax Representation, or its equivalent. The taxpayer must sign and date the declaration and may restrict the person's representation to certain matters if the taxpayer so specifies. Unless the taxpayer specifies an expiration date, the declaration expires one year after the taxpayer signs it.
A taxpayer or their representative should only submit a TBOR 1 when there is a tax matter that the taxpayer has with the Department that the taxpayer wants their representative to handle on their behalf. The TBOR 1 should be attached to any request or response provided by the representative on the taxpayer's behalf.
