872

Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax

Directory entry. The IRS does not publish Form 872 in its public forms catalogue — it is issued to a taxpayer by the examiner during an examination, so there is no about-form-872 page and no PDF under irs-pdf. The title above and the taxpayer-rights notification requirements were confirmed in IRM 25.6.22, Extension of Assessment Statute of Limitations By Consent, which is the linked source. Form 872 is a fixed-date consent: the extension ends on a stated month, day and year (IRM 25.6.22.5.7). The open-ended alternative is Form 872-A, Special Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Tax, which runs until terminated by Form 872-T (IRM 25.6.22.7.1). A consent restricted to specific items is a separate matter, and neither side is compelled to agree to one (IRM 25.6.22.4). Related consents are Form SS-10 for employment taxes and Form 872-D for tax return preparer penalties; a Form 872 on the taxpayer’s return does not extend a preparer penalty period (IRM 20.1.6.18).