Those of you following along with the drama unfolding about getting setup with a new IRS online account are probably aware of the pushback from the public and Congress about the IRS using facial recognition to setup one of these accounts. Last week the IRS announced they would move away from using biometric data to confirm the user’s identity when setting up an account. Yesterday, they released more information about the changes.
On February 21, 2022, the IRS announced that they will still use the services provided by ID.me to authenticate users for setting up and using the IRS online account, however, users won’t be required to use facial recognition to use the service. The change will allow users to select an option for a live, virtual interview with agents of ID.me. No biometric data – including facial recognition – will be required if the taxpayer selects this option.
Users will still be able to use biometric data if they want to setup up their account automatically but the IRS and the ID.me service will no longer store the biometric data. The press release states that data used for account setup will be deleted once the account is created. They also go on to say that the biometric data from taxpayers who have already setup an account will be deleted.
You can read the IRS press release here.
To read about setting up an account and all the information you can find in your IRS Online Account, see my previous post.