Revalidate E-Services ID

[taxea]

Credit Card Number!

yes, you have to provide either a CC number, mortgage loan account number, or equity loan account number. They verify this through one of the credit bureau's to make sure it is you registering. Once you have successfully registered you can log in to E Services with your existing Log in and password.

All of this is because of the ID theft issues.

[FEDUKE404]

Providing information for IRS account verification

yes, you have to provide either a CC number, mortgage loan account number, or equity loan account number. They verify this through one of the credit bureau's to make sure it is you registering. Once you have successfully registered you can log in to E Services with your existing Log in and password.

All of this is because of the ID theft issues.

You do **NOT** have to provide a full credit card number, but merely the last eight digits of same. (Possibly similar "pieces" if you want to cite other accounts instead?)

One would assume your name is cross-referenced for verification. In fact, the on-screen information even states that a "soft check" of a credit bureau account (such as Equifax) will occur during the process of setting up and/or verifying your account.

FE

[Rapid Robert]

I have not gotten the 5903 letter. Is everyone going to get one? I logged into my E Services account in mid-November and changed the password without incident. I have not requested a transcript in th past year.

Does that mean I will not have to revalidate my account? Is everyone going to have to revalidate. I am so confused.

According to the criteria, you might not get a letter. If you have access to TDS part of eservices, it's not clear if "active in the last year" means you actually requested a transcript, or just logged in for other purposes.

I got the letter, decided to try online, it worked very simply, just as described by JmcdTax above. They wanted SSN, filing status and address from prior filed tax return, nothing else. They do NOT WANT the full credit card number, only the last eight digits. I assume same for other acceptable account numbers.

The other thing is, contrary to some claims about how pay as you go phones don't work, they can in fact work, as that is what I have. However, I've had the number a long time and it has managed to make its way onto my credit reports from TransUnion and Experian (and maybe Equifax, but it doesn't show on my copy). So what matters is not whether you have a pay as you go (pre-paid) phone, but whether it is linked to your name in the credit report world.

[FEDUKE404]

Phone for IRS verification

The other thing is, contrary to some claims about how pay as you go phones don't work, they can in fact work, as that is what I have. However, I've had the number a long time and it has managed to make its way onto my credit reports from TransUnion and Experian (and maybe Equifax, but it doesn't show on my copy). So what matters is not whether you have a pay as you go (pre-paid) phone, but whether it is linked to your name in the credit report world.

I don't know if you've tried to access anything (including your own personal tax information) via the "transcript" function, but my several recent ventures have each required me to type in a six-digit access code that is sent to my cell phone via a text message. This could be the way the entire (more secure) system functions going forward??

Also, I think it is the responsibility of the account user to update personal information so that both a current email address and cell phone number are available to the IRS.

FE

[Lion]

We froze all three of our credit reports after that Anthem hack a few years ago. Do you know which bureau they check? I'll have to unfreeze. It costs money to unfreeze and refreeze, so I don't want to pay all three.

[taxea]

I have not gotten the 5903 letter. Is everyone going to get one? I logged into my E Services account in mid-November and changed the password without incident. I have not requested a transcript in th past year.

Does that mean I will not have to revalidate my account? Is everyone going to have to revalidate. I am so confused.

Yes all preparers will get the letter. If you want to use EServices in the future you will need to revalidate. The letter wants us, pros, to register as an individual on the TP transcript site. This is one way that they are verifying our ID. Once you complete the revalidate you will be able to use E Services. You do not have to change your L/I or P/W on E Services if P/W is less than 6 months old. If you don't revalidate you will not be able to use E Services.

And, by the way, I didn't see any photo of any kind when I revalidated. You might want to check this with the E Services office. It could be a phoney site.

[ruthc]

Tracfone

I did get a letter and proceeded to revalidate my identity. I went through the steps without any problems until I entered my cell phone number. I also use a Tracfone which is in my name and am able to receive and do text messages (and all that other good stuff). I was surprised that it would not take my cell phone number so I had to complete the process as much as I could and they will be sending info to me via mail to complete the process. What would be the problem with a Tracfone?

[FEDUKE404]

Tracfone

I did get a letter and proceeded to revalidate my identity. I went through the steps without any problems until I entered my cell phone number. I also use a Tracfone which is in my name and am able to receive and do text messages (and all that other good stuff). I was surprised that it would not take my cell phone number so I had to complete the process as much as I could and they will be sending info to me via mail to complete the process. What would be the problem with a Tracfone?

What's a Tracfone ??

(Could be a real problem later on.)

While "trying out" the new system within the past week, I have logged in four separate times. To complete the log in, each time a numerical code was sent via a text message to my cell phone. Otherwise everything (now!) works quite well.

FE