Do I have to set up an online account to file my federal tax return?

It’s important to note that it is not necessary to set up an IRS account under the old or new authentication system to file your federal return. What setting up an account will do is give you access to your payment history or data from your most recently filed tax return, including your adjusted gross income. You can view information about stimulus payments received or advance child tax credit payments.

What do I have to do to prove my identity with ID.me?

There are two ways to prove your identity. You can use a self-service automated system using facial recognition. You will need an email address, Social Security number and a photo ID such as a driver’s license, passport or state ID. You also need a mobile phone with a camera or a computer with a webcam to take a selfie. You also have the option of verifying your identity during a live, virtual interview with an agent, the IRS says. This option does not include having to submit a selfie or biometric data. But you will still need to provide an email, and identifying documents. When creating an account, you select the option for a “Video Chat Agent.” Although the IRS is allowing people to opt-out of facial recognition, new account users will need to use ID.me. However, despite directions on the IRS account page, which is in the process of being updated, if you are using the legacy Secure Access system, hang tight; you don’t have to switch to ID.me. “If you already have an IRS account, your log-in credential will work at least through the summer,” according to Treasury spokeswoman Alexandra LaManna. In the intervening time, the IRS is working to set up an alternative authentication approach that’s not going to require people to use ID.me. “The IRS is actively pursuing other authentication options,” LaManna said.

Can I still use facial recognition for verification?

You have the option to verify your identity automatically through the use of biometric verification through ID.me’s self-assistance tool, which may be faster than waiting for an agent interview. “For taxpayers who select this option, new requirements are in place to ensure images provided by taxpayers are deleted for the account being created,” the IRS said.

What will happen to the facial recognition data I already submitted?

The IRS says that, by March 11, ID.me will automatically delete any existing facial recognition data from taxpayers who previously created an IRS online account. Additionally, by the March date, facial recognition data will be automatically deleted within 24 hours for people who create a new account and opt to use facial recognition to verify their identity.

How long is it taking for people to get a virtual interview?

When the system was first launched, one reader said he got a message that the wait time to be seen virtually by an agent was about four hours. However, the IRS says recent wait times, depending on the time of day and volume, have been reduced to about 30 minutes on average. The process without using an agent is taking about five to 10 minutes, an IRS official said.

Is the new verification system better?

People are having a substantially higher success rate in setting up an IRS account, something that got lost in the furor about the facial recognition debacle. The authentication rate for IRS online applications was 42 percent in fiscal 2020, according to Collins. The security measures for the legacy system can be difficult to get past for a lot of taxpayers. The vast majority of people who try to create an account fail because they cannot pass the authentication requirements, such as having a mobile account or credit in their name. Even when they do have the required methods to prove their identity, they still can’t get through the security checkpoints. Only 7 percent of taxpayers are using an IRS online account, Collins said in her 2021 report to Congress. But “well north of 70 percent” of users succeeded in setting up an account using ID.me, Collins said in an interview. “It was a very onerous and difficult process,” she said. Even Collins couldn’t set up an account under the old system. But using her smartphone, she was able to set up an account with ID.me in under 10 minutes. “I do understand the privacy concerns,” Collins said. “My concern is whatever way the IRS goes, whether they use ID.me , another outside vendor or do it internally, I want to make sure that we have the highest accessibility for taxpayers so that getting authenticated is not going to be more challenging going forward. I want the most amount of taxpayers to have access to their records without a challenge.”

Personal Finance

Despite privacy concerns, ID.me nearly doubled the number of people able to create an IRS account

The new platform makes it easier for more Americans — including low-income earners and minorities — to access their tax information. By March 11, facial recognition data will be automatically eliminated.

Perspective by Michelle Singletary

Columnist

February 25, 2022 at 7:00 a.m. EST

Although the IRS is allowing people to opt-out of facial recognition, new account users will still need to use ID.me. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

If information is power, then many taxpayers are powerless.

Millions of people have filed federal returns that are stuck in a massive backlog, which is holding up refunds and resulted in the automatic mailing of collection notices that may or may not be warranted. They check “Where’s My Refund?” and “Where’s My Amended Refund?” only to find bureaucratically written language that tells them nothing.

If you have a personal finance question for Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary, please call 1-855-ASK-POST (1-855-275-7678)

What the IRS backlog means for you

The agency’s online account system, as I reported last year, is a hot mess. Fewer than half of the individuals who tried to establish an online account with the Internal Revenue Service succeeded, according to Erin M. Collins, the National Taxpayer Advocate.

To help improve that access record and improve the security in setting up an account, the agency brought in the private company ID.me to register people. The launch was immediately criticized because it required taxpayers to scan their faces to create an ID.me IRS account.

The IRS backed off that facial recognition requirement, while still moving ahead with the ID.me authentication platform. The turnabout is causing some confusion. So, here’s what you need to know if you have a legacy IRS account or need to create a new one with ID.me.

Eight scary automated IRS notices that are being suspended — for now