IP Pin Question

[Art]

Wife went on line and got IP Pin, but has only 5 digits. I thought all IP pins were 6 digits. Has any one heard of this ? I had her double check to verify that there were no preceding or trailing zero.

Art

[ATSMAN]

IP PIN is 6 digits but e-file PIN is 5 digits. Is she confusing the two?

[FEDUKE404]

Sure it was IP PIN ??

This topic has been discussed at length before. so you might want to find the thread.

Where "online" did the 5-digit number come from? It sounds as if what your wife obtained is a Self-Select PIN, which is helpful for less-complicated efiling.

To the best of my knowledge, I don't think you can get a (secure) IP PIN, suitable for use in the signature section of Form 1040 et al, online. The IRS must send those 6-digit Identity Protection PINs to you via snail mail. Folks who have been assigned an IP PIN generally have been involved in some kind of identity theft, which was previously brought to the attention of the IRS.

Using the wrong number(s) in the wrong place(s) on your tax return could really create some unintended headaches. . . .

FE

[David1980]

Actually there is a place to get an IP PIN, though see "Determine your eligibility..." on the IRS site.

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-An-Identity-Protection-PIN

It would be 6 digits.

[FEDUKE404]

Getting IP PIN online

Actually there is a place to get an IP PIN, though see "Determine your eligibility..." on the IRS site.

https://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Get-An-Identity-Protection-PIN

It would be 6 digits.

I stand corrected on getting IP PIN online, and agree the "determine your eligibility" rules should be carefully reviewed. Perhaps the IRS decided to make the process a bit easier, especially for the FL/GA/DC folks ?

CAVEAT: The section stating you must be able to "answer personal, financial, and tax related questions to confirm your identity" should be noted. Many of those questions are of the type taken from a (current) credit history report, such as "how much was your mortgage payment?" or "what was the type of vehicle you registered in County X ?" or "when did you establish ABC credit card?" . (They do a "soft" credit check, likely Experian?, to come up with the questions. It is very easy to slip up and then get locked out. . . I went through a similar process when signing up for an online Social Security account. I got locked out, talked to a friendly person in cyberspace who explained things to me, so I accessed my freebie Experian credit report and. . .saw some "familiar" questions. The next try I got ALL of the "right" answers.

FE

[David1980]

CAVEAT: The section stating you must be able to "answer personal, financial, and tax related questions to confirm your identity" should be noted. Many of those questions are of the type taken from a (current) credit history report, such as "how much was your mortgage payment?" or "what was the type of vehicle you registered in County X ?" or "when did you establish ABC credit card?" . (They do a "soft" credit check, likely Experian?, to come up with the questions. It is very easy to slip up and then get locked out. . . I went through a similar process when signing up for an online Social Security account. I got locked out, talked to a friendly person in cyberspace who explained things to me, so I accessed my freebie Experian credit report and. . .saw some "familiar" questions. The next try I got ALL of the "right" answers.

FE

Reliance on credit bureau information is actually why they pulled the online transcripts from the site. http://www.federaltimes.com/story/go...each/31872471/

The taxpayer identities were already compromised, the identity thieves were able to get credit reports using information they already had. Then, using the information from the credit reports they were able to answer the questions to pass the checks for the online transcript tool. The reward being access to the prior year transcripts. In order to create fraudulent returns that closely matched the prior year returns to avoid detection.

Hopefully with the online IP PIN tool they also verify something that isn't in the Experian or other credit reports. Prior year AGI / refund amounts maybe.