To verify your identity for the IRS online, go to the secure link printed on your IRS letter, create an ID.me account, upload a government-issued photo ID, complete a selfie that the system matches to your ID, and then authorize ID.me to send your verified status back to the IRS. You generally have 30 days from the date on the letter to respond, and your refund stays frozen until you finish.1Taxpayer Advocate Service. Letter 5071C
Check That Your Letter Offers the Online Option
Not every identity verification letter lets you verify online. Before you start, look at the letter number in the top corner.
Letter 5071C is the most common and offers both online and phone verification.1Taxpayer Advocate Service. Letter 5071C Letter 4883C directs you to call the Taxpayer Protection Program hotline; there is no online path.2Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your Letter 4883C Letter 5447C, sent to taxpayers with foreign addresses, offers phone and mail options. Letter 5747C requires an in-person visit only, and the IRS reserves it for higher-risk cases.3Taxpayer Advocate Service. Identity Verification and Your Tax Return Letter 6331C is another identity notice; follow the specific instructions printed on it.4Taxpayer Advocate Service. How to Handle a Notification of Tax-Related Identity Theft
If your letter doesn’t mention an online option, online verification isn’t available for your case and you’ll need to use the method the letter specifies. If you lost your letter, log in to your IRS online account to see whether a verification request is pending.
What to Have Ready Before You Start
The ID.me flow moves quickly once it begins, and it’s smoother if everything is within reach.
You need one primary photo ID: a driver’s license, state-issued ID card, U.S. passport, or another government-issued photo ID.5Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services Military IDs, temporary IDs, and paper documents aren’t accepted for online ID.me verification.6ID.me Help Center. Documents You Need for ID.me In-Person Verification
You’ll also want a secondary document confirming your address. Accepted options include a Social Security card, birth certificate, marriage certificate, vehicle registration, voter registration card, or a recent utility or medical bill showing your full name and current address. Bills must show a statement or due date within the past year.7Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your Letter 6483C
On the tax side, keep the return referenced in the letter nearby along with the prior year’s return. The IRS asks for your Adjusted Gross Income from line 11, your filing status, and your expected refund amount or balance due.8Internal Revenue Service. Definition of Adjusted Gross Income If you don’t have a copy of the return, request a free tax transcript through your IRS online account.
You’ll also need a working email address, a phone that can receive a verification code, and a device with a camera for the selfie step.
Step Through ID.me
Use the secure link printed on your letter rather than searching for the page. The link takes you to the IRS identity verification portal, which hands you off to ID.me, the identity provider the IRS uses for online authentication.9Internal Revenue Service. How to Register for IRS Online Self-Help Tools
Create an ID.me account with your email address and a strong password. Set up multi-factor authentication using a phone number or authenticator app. When prompted, upload photos of your government-issued ID. If you’re photographing the ID rather than scanning it, make sure all four corners are visible, glare is minimized, and the text is readable.
The next step is a selfie. The system compares your live image to the photo on your uploaded ID. Sit in a well-lit room, hold your face centered in the frame, and don’t wear anything that covers part of your face.
Once ID.me confirms your identity, the portal returns you to the IRS. You’ll answer questions drawn from the return in question: AGI, filing status, refund or balance due amount. Confirm the answers and submit.
If the Selfie Match Fails
The automated face match is where people get stuck. A few things help.
Update your browser to the latest version, then clear your cache and cookies. If it still won’t work, try a different browser entirely; switching sometimes resolves the issue on its own.10ID.me Help Center. Fix Video Selfie Issues During ID.me Verification
If the automated scan still fails, ID.me offers a live video call with an agent who verifies your face and documents manually. Have your original physical documents ready on camera, not photos of them.5Internal Revenue Service. New Identity Verification Process to Access Certain IRS Online Tools and Services
Don’t Skip the Authorization Step
After ID.me confirms your identity, you have to click the button that authorizes ID.me to share your verified status with the IRS. This is easy to miss because it feels like the process should be over. Without that click, the IRS never receives confirmation, and your return stays frozen. If you closed the window before authorizing, log back in to your ID.me account and complete the handoff.
If You Didn’t File the Return
If the letter references a return you didn’t file, someone likely used your Social Security number to file a fraudulent one. Don’t ignore the letter. Responding is how you stop the fraud.
The online verification tool lets you indicate that you did not file the return in question.1Taxpayer Advocate Service. Letter 5071C After reporting it that way, file IRS Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit. You can submit it electronically through IRS.gov or download the PDF and send it by fax or mail.11Internal Revenue Service. Form 14039 This puts a formal identity theft flag on your account. The IRS will remove the fraudulent return and, once resolved, send you a CP01A notice confirming the issue has been addressed. Resolution can take months, so file the affidavit early.
Spotting a Fake Verification Request
Because scammers know these letters exist, they mimic them. The IRS does not initiate identity verification by email, text message, or social media.12Internal Revenue Service. Ways to Tell if the IRS is Reaching Out or if It’s a Scammer If a message about identity verification arrives that way, it’s a scam.
Legitimate letters come by postal mail with a specific control number. If something feels off about a letter you received, don’t call any number printed on it. Instead, call the Taxpayer Protection Program directly at 800-830-5084, available Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, or log in to your IRS online account to confirm that a verification request actually exists.3Taxpayer Advocate Service. Identity Verification and Your Tax Return
What Happens After You Verify
Expect up to nine weeks before the IRS issues your refund or sends a final notice.3Taxpayer Advocate Service. Identity Verification and Your Tax Return The delay accounts for the additional security review your return goes through after a fraud flag.
The Where’s My Refund? tool and the IRS2Go app have real limits during this period. They show only whether your return was received, processed, or refunded. They do not show that your return is being held for identity verification, and they won’t confirm that the IRS received your verification.13Taxpayer Advocate Service. Where’s My Refund? Has Your Tax Return Been Flagged for Possible Identity Theft? Your tax transcript through your IRS online account gives more detail. Code 571 typically means the hold has been resolved; code 570 means processing is still paused.
If nine weeks pass with no refund and no communication, call the IRS to confirm nothing else is needed.
Prevent This Next Year With an IP PIN
Once you’ve been through identity verification, you can prevent a repeat by enrolling in the Identity Protection PIN program. An IP PIN is a six-digit code the IRS generates for you each year that must appear on any return filed under your Social Security number. Without the correct PIN, an e-filed return is rejected on the spot.14Internal Revenue Service. Get an Identity Protection PIN
Anyone with a Social Security number or ITIN can enroll. The fastest way is through your IRS online account, where you can choose continuous enrollment or one-time enrollment for the current year.15Internal Revenue Service. Frequently Asked Questions About the Identity Protection Personal Identification Number IP PIN Taxpayers with adjusted gross income below $84,000 (or $168,000 for married filing jointly) who can’t create an online account can submit Form 15227 and receive their PIN by mail within four to six weeks. Everyone else can request one in person at a Taxpayer Assistance Center.
Paper returns with the wrong PIN still get processed, but they take significantly longer while the IRS validates your information. It’s one of the few tools that stops fraudulent filings before they cause damage.