Signature

Form 5227 must be signed by the trustee or by an authorized representative.

If you, as trustee (or an employee or officer of the trust), fill in Form 5227, the Paid Preparer Use Only space should remain blank. If someone prepares this return without charge, that person should not sign the return.

Paid preparer. Generally, anyone who is paid to prepare a tax return for a CRT must sign the return and fill in the other blanks in the Paid Preparer Use Only area of the return. For all other trusts, completion of Form 5227's Paid Preparer Use Only area is optional.

If you have questions about whether a preparer is required to sign the return, please contact an IRS office.

The person required to sign the return as the preparer must:

• Complete the required preparer information,

• Sign it in the space provided for the preparer's signature (a facsimile signature is acceptable), and

• Give the trustee a copy of the return in addition to the copy to be filed with the IRS.

Caution: Enter the paid preparer’s preparer tax identification number (PTIN), not their SSN, in the “PTIN” box in the paid preparer’s block. Because Form 5227 is publicly disclosable, any information entered in this block will become public. For more information about PTINs, go to the IRS website at IRS.gov/PTIN .