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Regulation of Representatives

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A taxpayer representative must follow standards of ethics and conduct. If a representative does not follow the required standards, we may suspend them from representing clients before us.

If a representative is suspended or barred by the Minnesota Department of Revenue, Internal Revenue Service, Minnesota Board of Accountancy, or the Minnesota Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, the representative’s name will be posted on our website.

Minnesota Rule 8052.0300 controls the practice of taxpayer representatives before the department.

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Standards of ethics and conduct for taxpayer representative [+]

Taxpayer representatives must:

Submit information to us when requested unless the information is privileged
Not interfere, or attempt to interfere, with us obtaining information in tax matters
Exercise due diligence when preparing, assisting in preparing, approving, and filing returns, affidavits, and any other documents relating to a tax matter and determining the correctness of representations made to us or to clients with reference to any tax matters
Exercise good faith in determining the correctness of representations made by clients to the representative about any tax matter when the representative has reasonable grounds to believe the client's representations are false or inaccurate
Not unreasonably delay matters before the Department of Revenue

For more information, see Minnesota Rule 8052.0300, subpart 4

Conduct for which a taxpayer representative may be suspended or barred [+]

A taxpayer representative may be barred or suspended from practice before the Minnesota Department of Revenue if they are incompetent or disreputable.

Incompetent conduct occurs when the taxpayer representative fails to:

Understand the state tax statutes, rules, and forms necessary to properly apply, discuss, or complete them and offer services in connection with a taxpayer's case before the department
Exercise due diligence to follow the standards of ethics and conduct required of the representative

For more information on when incompetent conduct can lead to suspension from representing taxpayers, see Minnesota Rule 8052.0300, subpart 5.

Disreputable conduct includes the following:

Being convicted of any criminal offense under state or federal tax laws or of any crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust
Willfully failing to file their Minnesota income tax return
Being dishonest in their dealings with a client or the department
Misusing or mishandling a client’s refund or funds received from a client
Attempting to influence the department by threats, bribery, or other coercive actions

For a full list of disreputable conduct, see Minnesota Rule 8052.0300, subpart 6.

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Last Updated

January 10, 2020

Regulation of Representatives

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