IRS expands its identity protection PIN program

An IP PIN is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers, and its aim is to prevent their Social Security number (SSN) from being used on fraudulent federal income tax returns. Moreover, it allows the IRS to verify taxpayers’ identities when they file their return, which prevents a criminal from filing a tax return using the IP PIN holder’s SSN.

The expansion of this identity protection personal identification numbers (IP PINs) program is said to be done to seven additional states. Originally, the program involved Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia, but it is now available in: California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, and Rhode Island, as these states report the highest number of identity thefts to the Federal Trade Commission.

In addition, the program permits taxpayers who in the previous year filed a tax return from one of those states to obtain an IP PIN by using the IRS’s Get an IP PIN tool to authenticate their identities. In order to obtain an IP PIN, taxpayers must validate their identities through Secure Access, a two-factor authentication process. The pilot program will not have a manual option for taxpayers who fail to authenticate their identities.