Tax-related identity theft happens when someone else uses your Social Security number and last year’s AGI to file a tax return in your name, and the practice has been booming in recent years. In fact, the IRS flagged more than 1 million tax returns for suspected identity fraud in 2023.
Your IP PIN goes at the end of your Form 1040 next to your signature.
If you’re using tax software to file your tax return, each program will have a step in its filing process where it asks you for your IP PIN. If you and your spouse are filing jointly and both have IP PINs, you’ll need to enter them both.
If you file electronically and do not include your IP PIN, your tax return will be rejected. If you file with paper forms and forget to include your IP PIN, your return will be delayed for additional processing to verify your identity.
Each IP PIN only lasts for one year, so you’ll need to create a new PIN each tax season if you want continued protection against identity theft. The online tool for generating IP PINs is available from mid-January to mid-November.
If you’ve received an IP PIN from the IRS via CP01A notice, you’ll continue to receive a new PIN in the mail each year before tax season in December or January.
When the IRS expanded the IP PIN program to all Americans in January 2020, it announced that the agency would add the ability to opt out in 2022, but that change does not seem to have occurred. The latest info we can find about opting out of an IP PIN comes in an IRS release from April 2022 that says, “Once an individual is enrolled in the IP PIN program, there’s no way to opt-out.”
I created my own IP PIN for the first time during last year’s tax season. Sure enough, when I logged into my account this year, there was another six-digit code waiting for me.
Taxpayers who generated an IP PIN or received one from the IRS and later misplaced or forgot the code will need to retrieve it in order to file taxes electronically in 2024.
If you created an IP PIN using the IRS’ online self-service tool, you can simply return to the IP PIN generator to find your PIN again. Log into your IRS online account and visit the Get an Identity Protection PIN page again. The IRS warns, “You may be required to verify your identity again due to our increased account security.”
If you were sent a CP01A notice with an IP PIN and lost it or never received it, you’ll need to call a special IRS phone number: 800-908-4490. After the agency verifies your identity, you’ll receive your IP PIN in the mail within 21 days.
The IRS does have one odd exception to retrieving an IP PIN from a CP01A notice. You cannot retrieve the IP PIN after Oct. 14 if you haven’t filed a 1040 or 1040 PR/SS form for the current and previous year.
In that rare case, the IRS advises you to file your taxes on paper. Filing on paper without a required IP PIN will cause a processing delay but will also trigger identity verification for your tax return which will likely resolve your situation.
For more on taxes in 2024, see whether you need to pay taxes on Social Security benefits and learn about rule changes for reporting income from Venmo and PayPal.
