How to Find Your 5-Digit Self-Select PIN for Taxes

The 5-digit Self-Select PIN for taxes is a number you picked yourself the last time you e-filed, so the fastest way to find it is to open your prior-year return copy, check your tax software’s saved records, or ask the preparer who filed for you. If none of those turn it up, you don’t need it at all: the IRS will accept your prior-year Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) instead.¹

Where to Look for the PIN You Chose Last Year

The IRS does not assign the Self-Select PIN and does not store a copy you can request. You chose the five digits yourself when you e-filed, so the number only exists where your own filing records kept it.² Three places are worth checking:

The prior-year return copy you kept. The PIN is usually printed near the signature block or on the e-file authorization page.
Your tax software from last year. If you’re using the same program, open the saved return and look in the signature or e-file summary section.²
Your preparer, if a professional filed for you. They keep a copy and can look it up.¹

If nothing turns up, stop searching. Use your AGI.

Use Your Prior-Year AGI Instead

The IRS accepts either the Self-Select PIN or your prior-year AGI to verify your identity when you e-file.¹ Your AGI is on line 11 of your Form 1040.³ For a return filed in 2026, that’s the AGI from your 2025 Form 1040.

A few rules keep the AGI method from tripping you up:

Use the AGI from the original return, not from a Form 1040-X amendment.⁴
Enter $0 if you’ve never filed a return before and are age 16 or older.¹
Enter $0 if you filed last year but the IRS is still processing that return.¹

An AGI that doesn’t match IRS records will get your return rejected, so enter the exact figure, not a rounded one.

How to Get Your AGI From the IRS

If your prior return copy is gone and your software and preparer come up empty, request a tax return transcript from the IRS. It shows your AGI along with other filing details.⁵

Online

The fastest route is the Get Transcript Online tool on irs.gov. You’ll sign in to (or create) an IRS online account and pass identity verification, then download the transcript for the year you need.²

By Mail or Phone

If you can’t complete online verification, request a transcript by mail or by calling 800-908-9946. Delivery takes 5 to 10 calendar days.⁶

Don’t Confuse the Self-Select PIN With the IP PIN

People searching for a “5-digit PIN” sometimes end up looking at the wrong number. Two different PINs come up in e-filing:

The Self-Select PIN is five digits. You choose it yourself as your electronic signature. It can be any five digits except all zeros, and you can keep the same one from year to year or pick a new one.⁷
The Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN) is six digits. The IRS assigns it, and it changes every year. It’s a security measure that protects your Social Security number from being used on a fraudulent return.⁸

If you have an IP PIN, your software will prompt you for it, and it verifies your identity in place of the prior-year AGI or Self-Select PIN.¹ Anyone with a Social Security number or ITIN can voluntarily enroll in the IP PIN program through irs.gov; it isn’t limited to identity theft victims.⁸

If Your E-File Gets Rejected

A mismatch between the PIN or AGI you entered and what the IRS has on file will trigger a rejection notice from your software. Fix the entry and resubmit.⁹

The usual culprits are pulling AGI from an amended return instead of the original, rounding the AGI, or accidentally typing last year’s refund amount into the AGI field. If corrections still don’t get the return accepted, you have two ways forward:

Get an IP PIN through irs.gov. The IRS will accept it in place of the prior-year AGI or Self-Select PIN.⁹
Print, sign, and mail the return. Paper filing skips the electronic identity check, though processing takes longer.

Joint Filers

On a joint return, each spouse picks their own five-digit PIN. For AGI verification, both spouses enter the same total AGI from the original jointly filed prior-year return; the amount is not split. If you filed separately last year but are filing jointly this year, each spouse uses the AGI from their own prior-year return.²

Age Rule for First-Time Filers Under 16

If you’re under 16 as of December 31 of the tax year and have never filed a return before, you can’t use the Self-Select PIN method. Once you’ve filed once, the restriction no longer applies, and anyone 16 or older can use the Self-Select PIN whether or not they’ve filed before.²

1
Internal Revenue Service. Validating Your Electronically Filed Tax Return
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Internal Revenue Service. Self-Select PIN Method for Forms 1040 and 4868 Modernized e-File (MeF)
3
Internal Revenue Service. Definition of Adjusted Gross Income
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-X
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Internal Revenue Service. Get Your Tax Records and Transcripts
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Internal Revenue Service. Transcript Types for Individuals and Ways to Order Them
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Internal Revenue Service. Signing the Return
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN
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Internal Revenue Service. IND-031-04