How to Use Your Tax Account on IRS.gov

I like to say that your IRS online Tax Account is your friend. The IRS has slowly been adding capabilities to your online account. Which means there are customer service improvements. I expect improvements to continue since the more that can be done online, the less the strain will be on the IRS customer service phone lines. 

Here are some recent improvements:

1. Account access is transitioning to using ID.me. Those setting up new accounts must use ID.me, and those who use the old method will have to transition to ID.me by the summer of 2022. 
2. You can receive and view some notices and letters in your tax account now. I’m not sure which ones yet, but you can sign up for email notifications alerting you when new notices and letters are posted to your online account. 
3. You can now authorize through your online tax account third-party access to your tax records and power of attorney for tax matters. This is commonly done if you have hired a tax professional to assist you with a tax issue. 

Here are other important aspects of your online tax account:

1. You can access your tax records. 
   • View your tax records in the form of transcripts. 
   • See a summary of your last tax return if you just need some quick information without looking at the transcripts. 
   • Find information on how much you received in advance Child Tax Credit payments and in stimulus (Economic Impact Payments). 
2. You can make a payment or create a payment plan.
3. You can view your account balance if you owe, and you can view amounts owed by tax year. 

The transcripts can be especially useful if you need to resolve IRS issues for past tax returns. 

Even if you don’t see a need for an online tax account right now, I recommend setting yours up so you have it ready when you need it. And the ability to receive emails about tax notices and letters (right now, just for some) helps ensure you don’t miss important information. Please set up your tax account (or transition to ID.me access) here.