What is the IRS Identity Protection PIN

The IRS Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number that is issued by the Internal Revenue Service to individuals who were

subject to some sort of ID theft. This number would be issued by the IRS and would be included on the taxpayer's tax return so as to prevent

any further fraudulent tax returns being filed under the taxpayer's name and social security number. Every year the IRS would send the taxpayer a new PIN number

that would have to be included on their tax return.

Prior to 2021, a taxpayer could only receive this PIN number by filing an Affidavit with the IRS stating that they were the victim of some type of 

ID Theft. While this method provided some relief to taxpayer's moving forward it was not proactive.

Starting in 2021, taxpayers may now request from the IRS a PIN number to be used on their tax return even without being the victim of ID Theft. This will be a tremendous method 

for taxpayers to protect their tax return filings moving forward. If a taxpayer makes this request to the IRS, they will issue a 6 digit PIN number to be included on the tax return and if the number 

is not on the tax return, then the IRS will not accept the tax filing. A PIN is valid for only one year and a new PIN will be issued each year.

Taxpayers who want a PIN for the 2021 filing season should go to the IRS website and use the "Get an IP PIN Tool" feature. A taxpayer will have to input some personal information and there will be some questions to verify the identity of the taxpayer. 

Taxpayers can also complete Form 15227 to request a PIN instead of the online registration.

A taxpayer only has to sign up for a PIN one time and every subsequent year the IRS will mail the taxpayer a new PIN number to be used on their tax return.