U. S. Business Income Tax Return

Instructions for Form 8979
(Rev. September 2025)

Partnership Representative Designation or Resignation Form
Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code
unless otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to
Form 8979 and its instructions, such as legislation
enacted after they were published, go to IRS.gov/
form8979.

What’s New

The title of Form 8979 is being revised from “Partnership
Representative Revocation, Designation, and
Resignation” to “Partnership Representative Designation
or Resignation.” Part I has been revised to have only two
boxes: (1) for the partnership to designate an individual as
the partnership representative (individual PR) or
designate an entity as the partnership representative
(entity PR) and appoint a designated individual (DI) if the
PR is an entity, and (2) for the PR or DI to resign. Part II
has been revised to have only one section: for the
partnership to designate a PR and appoint a DI if the PR is
an entity. Part III has been revised to have only one
section: for the resignation of the PR or DI. Part IV has
been revised to have only two sections: (A) signature of
authorized person of the partnership, and (B) signature of
resigning PR or DI.

General Instructions
Purpose of Form

Form 8979 is used by the partnership to designate a PR
and appoint a DI (if the PR is an entity). A valid
designation of a PR automatically revokes an existing PR
designation (and DI appointment). Form 8979 is also used
by the PR or DI to resign.
A partnership must designate a PR on the partnership’s
return filed for the partnership tax year. At any time during
the partnership tax year, there can be only one designated
PR. The designation of a PR remains in effect until the
designation is terminated by a valid designation of a new
PR, a valid resignation, or a determination by the IRS that
the designation is not in effect.

Partnership Representative (PR)

A partnership may designate any person, including an
entity or itself, to be the PR. If the partnership designates
an entity as the PR (entity PR), the partnership is required
to appoint a designated individual (DI) to act on behalf of
the entity PR.
Both the PR and DI must have substantial presence in
the United States.
Note. A partnership that is subject to the centralized
partnership audit regime of the Bipartisan Budget Act of
2015 is a “BBA partnership.” All partnerships with tax
Oct 3, 2025

years beginning after 2017 are BBA partnerships unless
they make a valid election out of the centralized
partnership audit regime.
Note. If a new PR for a BBA partnership wants to appoint
a person as power of attorney to represent the PR in its
capacity as PR for the BBA partnership, it must submit a
Form 2848. This must be done even if that person was
previously appointed power of attorney by a prior PR of
the same partnership for the same taxable year. See the
Instructions for Form 2848.
Substantial presence in the United States. The PR
(and DI if the PR is an entity) must have substantial
presence in the United States. A person has substantial
presence in the United States if the person:
1. Makes themselves available to meet in person with
the IRS in the United States at a reasonable time and
place as determined by the IRS in accordance with
Regulations section 301.7605-1;
2. Has a U.S. taxpayer identification number (TIN);
and
3. Has a U.S. street address and a telephone number
with a U.S. area code.

Who May File
Partnerships. A partnership (through an authorized
person) may submit Form 8979 to designate a PR and
appoint a DI if the PR is an entity. In doing so, any prior
designation/appointment is revoked. Also, if no PR
designation is in effect, including because of a failure to
designate a PR on the originally filed Form 1065, the
partnership (through an authorized person for the tax
year) may submit Form 8979 to designate a PR and
appoint a DI if the PR is an entity.
If the Form 8979 is submitted with an administrative
adjustment request (AAR), the designation is treated as
occurring prior to the filing of the AAR and effective on the
date the AAR is filed. See the AAR bullet information
under When To File, later.
Authorized person. An authorized person is a person
who was a partner at any time during the partnership tax
year to which the revocation or designation relates.
Partnership representative (PR) or designated individual (DI). A PR or DI may submit Form 8979 to resign.

When To File

!

Form 8979 should only be filed as discussed
below.

CAUTION

Form 8979 may be submitted by a partnership in the
following situations.

• Directly to the current IRS employee point of contact
(for example, revenue agent, appeals officer, counsel)

Instructions for Form 8979 (Rev. 9-2025) Catalog Number 69667V
Department of the Treasury Internal Revenue Service www.irs.gov

after the issuance of either Letter 2205-D, Notice of
Selection for Examination; or Letter 5893, Notice of
Administrative Proceeding (NAP)—Partnership; or Letter
5893-A, Notice of Administrative Proceeding
(NAP)—Partnership Representative;
• With an administrative adjustment request (AAR) filed
for a reason other than only making a designation, prior to
the issuance of Letter 2205-D, Letter 5893, or Letter
5893-A;
• With a Form 8985, Pass-Through Statement —
Transmittal/Partnership Adjustment Tracking Report,
submitted by a pass-through partnership that has not
elected out of the Bipartisan Budget Act (BBA). Note. See
the Instructions for Form 8985 for how to submit Form
8979 in response to an exam, compared to in response to
an AAR filing;
• With Form 8988, Election for Alternative to Payment of
the Imputed Underpayment—IRC Section 6226; or
• Form 8979 may also be submitted any time a BBA
partnership makes a request of the IRS that requires the
partnership to extend a statute. Examples include, but are
not limited to, private letter ruling requests pertaining to
late elections to self-certify a qualified opportunity fund
and elections to postpone determination as to whether the
presumption applies that an activity is engaged in for
profit.
When submitted by a PR or a DI (that is, for purposes
of making a resignation), Form 8979 should only be
submitted directly to the current IRS employee point of
contact after the issuance of Letter 2205-D, Letter 5893,
or Letter 5893-A.
Note. If the IRS notifies the partnership that there is no
designation in effect, the partnership has 30 days from the
date the IRS mails the notification to submit Form 8979. If
the partnership fails to designate a PR (and appoint a DI, if
applicable), the IRS will designate a PR and appoint a DI,
if applicable.

Where To File

If Form 8979 is submitted with an AAR, see How to file an
AAR at IRS.gov/BBAAAR.
Otherwise, mail or fax Form 8979 to the attention of the
current IRS employee point of contact (for example,
revenue agent, appeals officer, counsel).
Note. Address information provided on Form 8979 will
not change your last known address with the IRS.
Use Form 8822, Change of Address, to change
TIP your home address or Form 8822-B, Change of
Address or Responsible Party—Business, to
change your business address. Both forms are available
at IRS.gov.

Specific Instructions
Partnership Information

Enter the partnership’s name, address, employer
identification number (EIN), and the tax year ending date
for the tax year to which the designation or resignation will
apply. If the post office doesn’t deliver mail to the street
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address and the partnership has a P.O. box, enter the box
number instead.
If you are filing this form with an AAR, check the box
immediately above Part I of the Form 8979.

Part I. Reason for Filing
Line 1. Designation/Appointment by the
Partnership With or Without Revocation
Check the box on line 1 if you are designating an
individual partnership representative (PR) or an entity PR
and appointing a designated individual (DI), if the PR is an
entity. In doing so, you are also revoking the current PR
and DI, as applicable, if there was a previous designation
and/or appointment.
If the designation is for an entity PR and the
partnership does not appoint a DI, then the
CAUTION designation is invalid and the current PR
designation remains in effect.

!

Line 2. Resignation of the Partnership
Representative (PR) or the Designated Individual
(DI)
Check the box on line 2 if you are resigning as the PR or
the DI.

Part II. Designation/Appointment by the
Partnership With or Without Revocation

See Partnership Representative (PR), earlier, for more
information on who can be a PR.

In Part II, the partnership provides the information
needed to do either of the following.
• Designate an individual PR. Enter the individual PR’s
name, U.S. mailing address, TIN, and a telephone number
with a U.S. area code. If an individual PR is designated,
there will be no DI; therefore, do not complete the lines for
the DI.
• Designate an entity PR and appoint a DI. If an entity PR
is designated, a DI must be simultaneously appointed.
Therefore, complete the lines for both the PR and DI.
Enter both the entity PR’s and DI’s names, U.S. mailing
addresses, TINs, and telephone numbers including U.S.
area codes.
Note. A valid designation or appointment automatically
revokes the prior PR designation and/or DI appointment, if
one exists.
Note. Both the PR and DI must have substantial
presence in the United States. See Substantial presence
in the United States, earlier, for more information.

Part III. Resignation

Complete this Part III if you are resigning as the PR or DI.
Enter the resigning PR’s or DI’s name, mailing address,
TIN and telephone number.
Note. If an entity PR validly resigns, the appointment of
the DI is also terminated. A valid resignation by either the
PR or DI will result in no PR designation being in effect. In
Instructions for Form 8979 (Rev. 9-2025)

this case, the IRS will ask the partnership to make a
designation. If the IRS has declared that there is no PR
designation in effect and no designation is made by the
partnership within 30 days of the IRS request to
designate, the IRS will make the designation. See
Regulations section 301.6223–1(f)(5).

Example 4. Resigning PR (Individual). John Lion is
the PR for GHI Partnership and would like to resign. John
should do the following.
• Sign and date on the first line.
• On the second line, enter his name followed by
“resigning Partnership Representative of GHI Partnership.”

Part IV. Signature Section
Section A. Signature for Designation/Appointment
by the Partnership, With or Without Revocation

Example 5. Resigning DI. JKL, Inc. is the entity PR
for MNO Partnership and Mary Swan is the DI for JKL, Inc.
Mary would like to resign. Mary should do the following.
• Sign and date on the first line.
• On the second line, enter her name followed by
“resigning designated individual of JKL, Inc. (partnership
representative of MNO Partnership).”

Complete this section if you are an authorized person
designating an individual PR or designating an entity PR
and appointing a DI with or without revocation. Enter the
information as requested, including the name and title of
the authorized person making the designation/
appointment on behalf of the partnership. You must sign
and date the form.
Note. If the authorized person is an entity, enter the name
and title of the signing individual who can legally bind the
authorized person under applicable state law.
Example 1. ABC Corporation is an authorized person
signing Form 8979 to make a designation. Jane Dove is
the president of ABC Corporation and can legally bind the
corporation under applicable state law. Jane should do the
following.
• Sign and date.
• Enter “ABC Corporation” as the authorized person.
• Enter “Jane Dove,” followed by “President,” which is her
title with respect to ABC Corporation.
Example 2. John Robin is an authorized person
signing Form 8979. He should sign and date on the first
line and enter his name on the second line. The third line
should remain blank because John is an individual and
not an entity.
Example 3. DEF, LLC is an authorized person signing
Form 8979 to designate a new partnership representative.
Mary Wren is authorized under applicable state law to
legally bind DEF, LLC. Mary should do the following.
• Sign and date.
• Enter “DEF, LLC” as the authorized person.
• Enter “Mary Wren,” followed by her title with respect to
DEF, LLC.

Section B. Signature of Resigning Partnership
Representative (PR) or Designated Individual (DI)

Example 6. Resigning PR (Entity). PQR, Inc. is the
entity PR for STU Partnership and Sally Tiger is the DI for
PQR, Inc. PQR, Inc. would like to resign. Sally (the DI)
should do the following.
• Sign and date on the first line.
• On the second line, enter “Sally Tiger, Designated
Individual” followed by “on behalf of PQR, Inc., resigning
Partnership Representative of STU Partnership.”
Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the
information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue
laws of the United States. You are required to give us the
information. We need it to ensure that you are complying
with these laws and to allow us to figure and collect the
right amount of tax.
You are not required to provide the information
requested on a form that is subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act unless the form displays a valid OMB
control number. Books or records relating to a form or its
instructions must be retained as long as their contents
may become material in the administration of any Internal
Revenue law. Generally, tax returns and return information
are confidential, as required by section 6103.
The time needed to complete and file this form will vary
depending on individual circumstances. The estimated
burden for business taxpayers filing this form is approved
under OMB control number 1545-0123 and is included in
the estimates shown in the instructions for their business
income tax return.
If you have comments concerning the accuracy of
these time estimates or suggestions for making this form
simpler, we would be happy to hear from you. See the
instructions for the tax return with which this form is filed.

Complete this section if you are resigning as a PR or DI.
Refer to the following examples.

Instructions for Form 8979 (Rev. 9-2025)

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