IRS Identity Protection PIN

[Theseus]

I am always concerned about fraudulent filing by someone else. So I found this while talking to IRS about something.

https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-frau ... ection-pin

Has anyone gotten the PIN? Is there any disadvantage in signing up for this? I am thinking of signing up for this and wanted to know BHs experiences.

[BogleTaxPro]

I have not signed up for this.

Once you opt in, you're opted in for life. You don't choose your own pin, and it changes every year. They will snail mail you a letter at the end of every year with your PIN for the next tax year. If you don't get your letter, you'll have to try to get it online or ask IRS to send you another letter (details here: https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-frau ... our-ip-pin).

[megabad]

My "protection" is to pay every year. If some scammer goes after a refund, it would throw up all kinds of red flags.

[inverter]

Yes, I signed up for a PIN. If you opt in voluntarily, I do not think you are required to get one every year. But, this allows someone who files for an extension and pays later to have similar security as someone who files quickly... i.e. less chance of someone filing a fraudulent return.

[barneycat]

We enrolled two years ago after someone submitted a fraudulent return in our name. Like mentioned above, we get a snail mail letter each year (got it early this month) with the PIN. No problems so far.

[tigermilk]

Got ours already for this year. Ben4 or 5 years now getting them after back-to-back fraudulent returns. Either last year or the year before we actually got 2 sets of PINs as someone fraudulently tried to get access, even with the PIN. Always a joy...

[Devil's Advocate]

I am always concerned about fraudulent filing by someone else. So I found this while talking to IRS about something.

https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-frau ... ection-pin

Has anyone gotten the PIN? Is there any disadvantage in signing up for this? I am thinking of signing up for this and wanted to know BHs experiences.

Yes I do get the PIN.

A few years ago my W2 came with the corner to the envelope peeled back in what appear to be an obvious attempt at stealing my information for a fraudulent claim. I called the irs and a few days later received my first PIN. Now I get them every year.

I would recommend.

DA

[Buddtholomew]

Me as well.
You enter the PIN in TurboTax if you file electronically.

[Tommy]

How it work with file jointly? Both spouses should have PIN or one sufficient?

[123]

How it work with file jointly? Both spouses should have PIN or one sufficient?

On a joint return Turbo Tax asks for the PIN of each.

[Yooper]

How it work with file jointly? Both spouses should have PIN or one sufficient?

On a joint return Turbo Tax asks for the PIN of each.

Tommy/123, Thanks for addressing this, I hadn't thought of that. Now I need to decide if it's too many moving parts to be worthwhile.

[anon_investor]

Got ours already for this year. Ben4 or 5 years now getting them after back-to-back fraudulent returns. Either last year or the year before we actually got 2 sets of PINs as someone fraudulently tried to get access, even with the PIN. Always a joy...

Did some one steal the pin from your mail? That would be my concern...

[2pedals]

How it work with file jointly? Both spouses should have PIN or one sufficient?

On a joint return Turbo Tax asks for the PIN of each.

Tommy/123, Thanks for addressing this, I hadn't thought of that. Now I need to decide if it's too many moving parts to be worthwhile.

My wife has had an IP PIN issued to her from the IRS for several years due to identity theft.. I don't have one. I only need to enter the 6 digit IP PIN for my wife. The section to enter the IP PIN in TurboTax can be found by searching for IP PIN and then selecting jump to IP PIN.

[mhalley]

I end up having to file at the last minute every year due to having to wait for a k1, thus filing ASAP i is not an option for me. when I showed up on one of the breaches several years ago I got the pin, so far it has worked well for me. This makes me sleep better at night.

[anon_investor]

Does anyone know if you still have to unfreeze your credit before creating an IRS account? If so which bureau? I know it used to be Experian.

[Mudpuppy]

A couple of years ago, it took me four hours of phone calls to the IRS to clear up a suspected fraudulent return and to get the paltry refund issued. Since it wasn't an actual fraudulent return, just their system flagging my legitimate return as potentially fraudulent, I did not qualify for the IP PIN program. I'm seriously considering signing up for the PIN now so I don't have to lose so much of my life to being bounced between IRS departments and waiting on hold endlessly each time.

[anon_investor]

Does anyone know if you still have to unfreeze your credit before creating an IRS account? If so which bureau? I know it used to be Experian.

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse (I unfroze Experian - I found a Wall Street Journal article from 2018 that mentioned Experian is used for the ID confirmation), in order to potentially facilitate obtaining the IRS Identity Protection PIN. The registration got all the way to the mobile phone part but did not recognize my spouse's phone (despite being post paid phone service in my spouse's name with the same carrier for 20+ years...), so the IRS is going to mail an activation number... Hopefully that is sufficient for me to set up the IRS account...

[diy60]

Does anyone know if you still have to unfreeze your credit before creating an IRS account? If so which bureau? I know it used to be Experian.

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse (I unfroze Experian - I found a Wall Street Journal article from 2018 that mentioned Experian is used for the ID confirmation), in order to potentially facilitate obtaining the IRS Identity Protection PIN. The registration got all the way to the mobile phone part but did not recognize my spouse's phone (despite being post paid phone service in my spouse's name with the same carrier for 20+ years...), so the IRS is going to mail an activation number... Hopefully that is sufficient for me to set up the IRS account...

I usually suggest to temporarily unfreeze all three (Equifax, Experian, Transunion), then there is no guesswork.

[diy60]

so the IRS is going to mail an activation number... Hopefully that is sufficient for me to set up the IRS account...

This is good to know. I've had an IRS PIN for about 5 years now, but since my mail seems to be arriving about 4 weeks late (if at all), I'm probably going to need to use the IRS online tool to retrieve my PIN, which of course requires registering for an account.

[anon_investor]

Does anyone know if you still have to unfreeze your credit before creating an IRS account? If so which bureau? I know it used to be Experian.

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse (I unfroze Experian - I found a Wall Street Journal article from 2018 that mentioned Experian is used for the ID confirmation), in order to potentially facilitate obtaining the IRS Identity Protection PIN. The registration got all the way to the mobile phone part but did not recognize my spouse's phone (despite being post paid phone service in my spouse's name with the same carrier for 20+ years...), so the IRS is going to mail an activation number... Hopefully that is sufficient for me to set up the IRS account...

I usually suggest to temporarily unfreeze all three (Equifax, Experian, Transunion), then there is no guesswork.

Yeah, we should have done that... laziness. I think the issue of the mobile phone not being recognized is not related to the credit freezes. At least my spouse did receive an email confirmation saying the activation code was being sent by snail mail, progress...

[anon_investor]

so the IRS is going to mail an activation number... Hopefully that is sufficient for me to set up the IRS account...

This is good to know. I've had an IRS PIN for about 5 years now, but since my mail seems to be arriving about 4 weeks late (if at all), I'm probably going to need to use the IRS online tool to retrieve my PIN, which of course requires registering for an account.

I set up my own IRS account a while back to get copies of my IRS tax transcripts, so it is pretty useful to have.

[TomatoTomahto]

My "protection" is to pay every year. If some scammer goes after a refund, it would throw up all kinds of red flags.

Are you sure of this? I’m not so sure that it’s a useful security measure.

[megabad]

My "protection" is to pay every year. If some scammer goes after a refund, it would throw up all kinds of red flags.

Are you sure of this? I’m not so sure that it’s a useful security measure.

You are asking a different question than I would. I would ask "does the PIN provide any significant additional protection?" My answer would probably be no if you are a net payer. If two returns are filed...which one do you think the IRS is going to use...the inconsistent one from a scammer that says IRS owes an unnaturally large refund...or the consistent one that says I owe the IRS a bunch of money...I would hope the IRS is at least moderately competent but I am not 100% sure.

[TomatoTomahto]

My "protection" is to pay every year. If some scammer goes after a refund, it would throw up all kinds of red flags.

Are you sure of this? I’m not so sure that it’s a useful security measure.

You are asking a different question than I would. I would ask "does the PIN provide any significant additional protection?" My answer would probably be no if you are a net payer. If two returns are filed...which one do you think the IRS is going to use...the inconsistent one from a scammer that says IRS owes an unnaturally large refund...or the consistent one that says I owe the IRS a bunch of money...I would hope the IRS is at least moderately competent but I am not 100% sure.

Which return will the IRS use? In my experience, and yes I am speaking from my kid’s experience, the first one they receive.

[megabad]

Which return will the IRS use? In my experience, and yes I am speaking from my kid’s experience, the first one they receive.

I have never met a "kid" that was a net payer. Was this one? A rejected 2nd tax return does not indicate to me that the IRS has accepted the first or that you can't simply amend. While it is certainly possible that this could happen to a net payer, it would require:

1) Either a scammer perfectly matching of W2/1099s/K-1s etc or an IRS system with zero checks and balances on analyzing returns
and
2) An IRS system designed NOT to go after "wealthy" net payers

I feel pretty good about betting against those, but there is always a chance. As another poster indicated, there is a clear downside to requesting a PIN. I choose to avoid that and take what I perceive to be a slight risk. If I was a typical American family that counted on a huge refund each year, I might feel very differently.

[TomatoTomahto]

TomatoTomahto wrote: ↑
Which return will the IRS use? In my experience, and yes I am speaking from my kid’s experience, the first one they receive.
I have never met a "kid" that was a net payer. Was this one?

You haven’t met my son. He has been a net payer while in college and thereafter. He understands safe harbor.

Anyway, I won’t convince you that the PIN is useful, and that’s not my job.

[GrowthSeeker]

About 5 years ago someone must have filed a return with my SSN trying to get my refund. The IRS wasn't fooled and they didn't get it. Now I have in IP PIN every year.
I just logged into my "account" at https://www.irs.gov/payments/view-your-tax-account
And under messages there is a copy of the snail mail letter in pdf format with this year's pin. It was dated January 4, 2021. Typically comes between mid December and mid January.

There's a place when doing TurboTax to add the pin.
If you don't have the pin, you can't file online, but you can still file a paper return but then I think you have to submit something later either with the pin or with other proof of identity; not sure about that part.

At first, I was annoyed at having to deal with this PIN, but now it's fine; another added layer (probably a very thin layer) of security.

[Mudpuppy]

My "protection" is to pay every year. If some scammer goes after a refund, it would throw up all kinds of red flags.

Are you sure of this? I’m not so sure that it’s a useful security measure.

You are asking a different question than I would. I would ask "does the PIN provide any significant additional protection?" My answer would probably be no if you are a net payer. If two returns are filed...which one do you think the IRS is going to use...the inconsistent one from a scammer that says IRS owes an unnaturally large refund...or the consistent one that says I owe the IRS a bunch of money...I would hope the IRS is at least moderately competent but I am not 100% sure.

Read my response up-thread. I spent four hours on the phone to convince the IRS to accept my legitimate return a couple of years ago, with the vast majority of that time spent on hold. I can only imagine how long it would take now, with the extended hold times due to the pandemic.

In my case, the IRS never said a fraudulent return was filed, but rather that something triggered in their fraudulent return algorithms and I needed to verify that my legitimate wasn't fraudulent. Everything in my legitimate return matched the W2s, 1098s, 1099s, etc. documentation. The bank for the tiny refund was the same bank I've used for decades. The addresses were the same addresses I've used since moving into this house. There was no new employer and no new financial accounts. I can't for the life of me figure out what triggered their fraud detection algorithm.

All I can say is do not count on processes or filing first to save you from an IRS headache. Also do not count on competency from the IRS. At least an hour was wasted when the initial IRS representative at the verification department transferred me to the audit department. I will say the audit representative was very friendly and checked as much as he could before having to transfer me back to the verification department (with another hold time since he couldn't transfer me to the front of the hold queue), but we were both perplexed as to why the first representative sent me his way when the IRS letter clearly stated it was a verification request, not an audit.

[obafgkm]

I was able to voluntarily receive a PIN today for the first time. I had already signed up for an account at irs.gov a couple years ago.

[anon_investor]

I was able to voluntarily receive a PIN today for the first time. I had already signed up for an account at irs.gov a couple years ago.

Did you receive the PIN immediately?

[RJ2010]

Thank you OP for the tip. I didn't know about this.

I just signed up and got pin immediately. It's pretty easy. you just need a phone and credit card number (for verification) under your name.
if you froze your Experian credit, you need to unfreeze. I just unfroze Experian and it worked. IRS website states it clearly.

[obafgkm]

Did you receive the PIN immediately?

Yes, I did.

[anon_investor]

Did you receive the PIN immediately?

Yes, I did.

Thanks, I am still debating whether to get the pin. But nice to know you will get it immediately if you have an IRS account.

[Theseus]

I was able to voluntarily receive a PIN today for the first time. I had already signed up for an account at irs.gov a couple years ago.

How is the account sign up process? Is it too complicated?

[obafgkm]

How is the account sign up process? Is it too complicated?

Not that I remember. But I think they needed to confirm my identity via the old “Which of these mortgage companies have you done business with?”-type questions. I hadn’t frozen any of my credit reports at that time (early 2018). And I have an email indicating that they were going to send an activation code through the US Mail for the online account.

[Michael Patrick]

My wife and I get PINs every year because we were identity theft victims. As has been said, they come in the US mail.

[3feetpete]

I too get a PIN in the mail every year since someone tried to file a false return using my SSN. It hasn't been a problem. The PIN actually protects the IRS more than it does the individual. If someone files a fraudulent tax return in your name it is the IRS that is defrauded, not the individual. A few years ago a friend had his identity stolen and someone successfuly got several thousand dollars tax refund in his name. The only impact to him was that it took a while to get his legitimate refund. And of course he had to freeze his credit and do all the other things necessary to prevent further fraud.

[anon_investor]

I was able to voluntarily receive a PIN today for the first time. I had already signed up for an account at irs.gov a couple years ago.

How is the account sign up process? Is it too complicated?

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse this week. I unfroze Experian (left Equifax and Transunion frozen). Got all the way to the mobile phone portion of the application, but the website would not accept the mobile phone, so the IRS is mailing out a letter with an activation number to complete registration.

[obafgkm]

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse this week. I unfroze Experian (left Equifax and Transunion frozen). Got all the way to the mobile phone portion of the application, but the website would not accept the mobile phone, so the IRS is mailing out a letter with an activation number to complete registration.

That's possibly the reason I received an activation number in the US Mail. This was in early 2018, and I had just purchased my first smartphone in Fall 2017 (on the Virgin Mobile USA prepaid network), so it may not have worked.

[anon_investor]

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse this week. I unfroze Experian (left Equifax and Transunion frozen). Got all the way to the mobile phone portion of the application, but the website would not accept the mobile phone, so the IRS is mailing out a letter with an activation number to complete registration.

That's possibly the reason I received an activation number in the US Mail. This was in early 2018, and I had just purchased my first smartphone in Fall 2017 (on the Virgin Mobile USA prepaid network), so it may not have worked.

Did they let you add your mobile phone to the account after you activated via the code? It is strange, my spouse has had the same mobile phone number with Sprint for 20+ years, maybe the T-Mobile merger messed it up...

[obafgkm]

Did they let you add your mobile phone to the account after you activated via the code? It is strange, my spouse has had the same mobile phone number with Sprint for 20+ years, maybe the T-Mobile merger messed it up...

They must have; I’ve been able to use the same phone/phone number for two-factor authentication for the IRS, including yesterday when I logged in.

[anon_investor]

Did they let you add your mobile phone to the account after you activated via the code? It is strange, my spouse has had the same mobile phone number with Sprint for 20+ years, maybe the T-Mobile merger messed it up...

They must have; I’ve been able to use the same phone/phone number for two-factor authentication for the IRS, including yesterday when I logged in.

Cool, hopefully I can complete the account set up once I get the activation code in the mail. Then we have to decide whether we both want to get IRS pins, leaning towards yes.

[VictoriaF]

I logged in to my IRS account where I can review my tax transcripts. There was no option to request the Identity Protection (IP) PIN. While I was logged in, in a separate tab, I got to the "Get An Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)" page, https://www.irs.gov/identity-theft-frau ... ection-pin , and clicked on the "Get an IP PIN" button.

I received the PIN on-line immediately, together with the reminder to print the page displaying the PIN.

Victoria

[AAA]

I just tried to set up an IRS account for my spouse this week. I unfroze Experian (left Equifax and Transunion frozen). Got all the way to the mobile phone portion of the application, but the website would not accept the mobile phone, so the IRS is mailing out a letter with an activation number to complete registration.

Some time last year I went through the procedure and it also broke at the final, mobile phone step. I checked with my phone provider and of course my name is correctly associated with the account. I changed caller ID so that my name showed up. Nothing I tried would get me past this point in the process and at the time they weren't mailing out ID's due to Covid. What exactly are they looking for with the mobile phone?

[AAA]

I didn't realize the PIN is different every year. If you go to your online account to get it do you still get the paper mailing?

Also, if you file jointly, does each filer have to have an PIN?

[diy60]

Also, if you file jointly, does each filer have to have an PIN?

Been filing MFJ with 1 IRS PIN for the last 5 years with H&R Block desktop software, never experienced any problems.

[BolderBoy]

Nothing I tried would get me past this point in the process and at the time they weren't mailing out ID's due to Covid. What exactly are they looking for with the mobile phone?

The IRS account you create will not do business with a VoIP phone at all. It will only do business with a "burner" cellphone after proper vetting by another mechanism is done first. My guess is that you may have such a burner mobile phone as defined by them. In that case you must ask for a document to be sent to your IRS-known address by USPS before you can logon. STOP at that point. Do not do anything else on the website or your account will be frozen and you'll have to start over with another request for a USPS document and there is a 14 day holding period before you can re-request another document.

The vetting process is for them to send you something in the mail with specific instructions about logging into the account you create; that is how they verify you are who you say you are. Now go back into the account you semi-set up before, enter the USPS-mailed info as requested. Now you are vetted by the website. Once you are vetted, THEN they will honor a burner-type cell phone number.

Took me 3 tries over 1.5 months (August-September 2020) before I got my PagePlus cellphone to be allowed by the IRS website.

[anon_investor]

Also, if you file jointly, does each filer have to have an PIN?

Been filing MFJ with 1 IRS PIN for the last 5 years with H&R Block desktop software, never experienced any problems.

I assume only one spouse has a pin?

[benway]

Also, if you file jointly, does each filer have to have an PIN?

Been filing MFJ with 1 IRS PIN for the last 5 years with H&R Block desktop software, never experienced any problems.

I assume only one spouse has a pin?

I just signed up for a pin and my spouse will this weekend. We file MFJ. My understanding of the FAQs is that if one spouse has it, only one PIN is needed. If both have it, both are needed.

[AAA]

Once you are vetted, THEN they will honor a burner-type cell phone number.

What is a burner-type cell phone? I have an iPhone through Verizon Wireless.