IRS creating new ID system

The IRS is preparing to implement a new verification system for taxpayers. You will be able to use the single sign-on tool to access your IRS documents and make payments using IRS.gov as soon as next week.

The IRS had previously announced that it would require you to set up facial recognition as the identification method. However, there was a major outcry over the IRS requirement for everyone to use facial recognition since it would have been challenging for many people.

Late in 2022, the IRS agreed to work with the General Services Administration (GSA), which operates Login.gov.

When the system is fully integrated, you can log in to IRS.gov by using your Login.gov credentials. The credentials are also used at other federal websites such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Social Security Administration.

"There will be a one-time big hit—a tsunami of identity proofing that will happen at the front—that's going to be the big test," said Dominic Sale. Sale previously served as assistant commissioner of GSA Solutions, which is the group that is responsible for managing Login.gov 

"Once those accounts are proofed, though, the beauty is they won't have to reproof them every time they log in" to other government websites, Sale told FCW and Nextgov. "Will someone like IRS have to absorb some of that upfront? Possibly. I just hope to hell they're prepared to do it."

"The Login I left would not" be able to handle the increase in users, Sale said. "I can only hope that they would not assert that they could handle it and then not be able to handle it.” 

GSA created a pilot which provides identity proof in certain U.S. Postal Service locations. Currently, only a small number of post office locations provide this service. The GSA is assessing expanding the option in 2023. 

The IRS does not run Login.gov and couldn't provide technical help to users. The Login.gov team knows its system. However, the unit is not staffed to handle this event. 

"We need [a] definitive answer to how the IRS approaches customer support. This is a major risk to GSA and the public in terms of the weight and volume we may incur. Please advise," said one of the TTS staffers. "I've asked in person, over email and in the weekly meetings. The only answer I got in person was, 'We don't do customer support at IRS.'"

The new IRS taxpayer verification system should be easier for everyone to set up than the facial recognition system.  However, the IRS may not be prepared to assist everyone who needs help setting it up.

David Zubler is a tax accountant and Enrolled Agent in East Tennessee, providing tax strategies and representing clients before the IRS and has over 25 years of tax experience. He is the author of six tax books and has shared tax advice on national TV. He is the founder and president of Your Tax Care. The company provides business and tax education, including David’s one-minute tax tip radio recordings at YourTaxCare.com. David can be reached at (865) 363-3019 or contacted by email at david@yourtaxcare.com.