Do I Need a PIN to File My Taxes? IP PIN Rules and How to Get One

For most people the answer is no: you don’t need a special PIN from the IRS to file your taxes. Two situations change that. If you e-file, you sign the return with a five-digit electronic signature PIN, which you either choose yourself or let your preparer handle. And if the IRS has placed you in its identity protection program, or you opted in on your own, you must also enter a six-digit Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) on every federal return you file that year. So the real question isn’t whether you need “a PIN” to file your taxes; it’s which one applies to you.

The Two PINs That Come Up at Tax Time

The five-digit signature PIN and the six-digit IP PIN are unrelated tools that happen to share a name.

The signature PIN is how you sign an e-filed return. With the Self-Select PIN method, you pick any five digits (except all zeros) and prove it’s really you by entering your date of birth along with either your prior-year adjusted gross income or your prior-year Self-Select PIN. With the Practitioner PIN method, your tax professional enters or generates the five digits for you after you sign Form 8879, and no prior-year authentication is required.¹ Either way, this PIN is a signature, not a security code.²

The IP PIN is different. It’s a six-digit number the IRS assigns to help prevent someone else from filing a fraudulent return under your Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.³ If you’ve been assigned one, you must include it on every federal return you file during that calendar year, including any prior-year returns you submit.⁴

Who Actually Needs an IP PIN

You need an IP PIN in two situations.

The first is automatic enrollment. The IRS enrolls you when its records confirm you were affected by tax-related identity theft. You’ll know because the agency mails a CP01A notice with your new six-digit code between mid-December and early January each year.⁴ If a CP01A shows up in your mail, you’re required to use the number on it.

The second is voluntary opt-in. Anyone with an SSN or ITIN who can verify their identity may opt in as a proactive security measure, and you don’t have to file a tax return to enroll.³ Know before you sign up that opting in is a commitment: you can’t later unenroll, and you’ll need to retrieve a fresh IP PIN every year and put it on every future return.

If neither situation applies to you, you don’t need an IP PIN to file. Your five-digit signature PIN at e-file time is enough.

How to Get an IP PIN

Three paths exist, depending on how you can verify your identity.

Online Through Your IRS Account

The fastest option is the IP PIN section of your IRS online account. If you don’t already have one, you’ll register and verify your identity using a photo of a government-issued ID such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport, plus a selfie taken with a smartphone or webcam.⁵ Once you’re verified, the six-digit IP PIN appears immediately.

By Mailing Form 15227

If you can’t create an online account, you may qualify to apply on Form 15227. The AGI on your most recent filed return must be below $84,000, or $168,000 if married filing jointly, and you need access to a telephone.³ An IRS agent will call the number you list to verify your identity, and the IP PIN arrives by mail in four to six weeks.

In Person

If Form 15227 isn’t an option and phone verification won’t work, schedule an appointment at a local Taxpayer Assistance Center. Bring one federal or state photo ID and one additional form of identification. If you’re requesting an IP PIN for a dependent, bring two forms of your own ID plus two forms of ID for the dependent, such as a birth certificate and Social Security card.³

You Get a New One Every Year

An IP PIN is valid for a single calendar year. The IRS generates a new number for your account each year, and last year’s code will not work.³ How the new number reaches you depends on how you were enrolled:

If the IRS enrolled you, a CP01A notice arrives by mail between mid-December and early January with the new IP PIN.⁴
If you opted in voluntarily, no CP01A comes. You log in to your IRS online account starting in early January to retrieve the new number.

Entering the IP PIN When You E-File

Tax software has a dedicated field for the six-digit IP PIN in the final steps of the return. On a joint return, if both spouses have been assigned IP PINs, both must be entered; if only one spouse has one, only that spouse’s code goes on the return. Dependents who have their own IP PINs need those numbers entered too. Any required IP PIN missing from the return will cause the e-file to be rejected.⁴

Guard the number. The IRS says you should share your IP PIN only with your tax professional, and only when you’re ready to sign and submit.³ The IRS will never call, email, or text to ask for it. Any request that claims otherwise is a scam.

If Your Return Is Rejected or You Can’t Find the PIN

If your e-filed return bounces back, read the rejection code. It will tell you whether the problem is with your IP PIN, your spouse’s, or a dependent’s.⁴ To fix it, retrieve the correct IP PIN through your IRS online account or the Get an IP PIN tool, enter it in your software, and resubmit.⁶

A separate kind of rejection can happen when you can’t authenticate your five-digit signature PIN because you don’t know your prior-year AGI or prior-year Self-Select PIN. In that case, getting an IP PIN lets you file electronically without meeting the prior-year authentication requirement.⁷

If none of the recovery routes work, you can still file a paper Form 1040 and mail it to the IRS service center for your state.⁸ The IRS will review the paper return to confirm you actually filed it, which adds significant processing time and delays any refund.⁶

If Someone Already Filed a Return Under Your SSN

Sometimes the reason you’re looking into all this is that a return you didn’t file has already gone in under your name. Signs include an IRS notice about a return you don’t recognize or an e-filed return rejected as a duplicate. Report it using Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit. You can attach the completed form to the back of a paper return and mail both to the IRS office for your state, or submit the form on its own.⁹

Once the IRS receives Form 14039, it works to remove the fraudulent return from your records, process your legitimate one, and release any refund. It also places an identity theft indicator on your account, which typically results in automatic enrollment in the IP PIN program going forward. Respond promptly to any follow-up requests to avoid extra delays.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 255, Signing Your Return Electronically
2
Internal Revenue Service. Self-Select PIN Method for Forms 1040 and 4868 Modernized e-File (MeF)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN
4
Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN)
5
Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services
6
Internal Revenue Service. Retrieve Your Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
7
Internal Revenue Service. Error Resolution for Identity Verification Failure
8
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Paper Tax Returns With or Without a Payment
9
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance: How It Works