• Logging Into IRS.gov

    From Boris@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jan 17 11:30:39 2024
    Hi,

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an
    email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an "ID.me" account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture and upload either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
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  • From Bob Sandler@21:1/5 to All on Wed Jan 17 12:07:29 2024
    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an >email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an "ID.me" >account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture and upload >either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    It's relatively new. It started about a year and a half ago.
    There was a period of overlap when both the old and new ways
    worked, but now the old way does not work anymore. But
    setting up ID.me is a one-time exercise. Once you do it,
    signing in to your account is as simple as it used to be.

    Bob Sandler

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

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    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@21:1/5 to Boris on Wed Jan 17 14:26:03 2024
    Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an >email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an "ID.me" >account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture and upload >either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    When I file 990-N on behalf of specific nonprofits, I have a choice of
    using login.gov. Upon submitting the notice, I have to log out of both
    the IRS system and the login.gov system separately.

    login.gov is available for use with filing a limited number of notices.
    It was supposed to be expanded to more IRS filing systems but that's not happening any time soon.

    To notify Dun & Bradstreet of address changes of businesses, I had to photograph my picture ID and my face. This is going to become more and
    more common.

    I look forward to Big Brother requiring cheek swaps to analyze DNA to
    make positive identification.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stan Brown@21:1/5 to Boris on Thu Jan 18 00:10:49 2024
    On Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:30:39 EST, Boris wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Yup, me too. It was simple, and it came with 2-factor authentication
    if I recall correctly, so the need for the new system is not clear to
    me.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an "ID.me" account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture and upload either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    The old way does not work, or at least it didn't for me when I tried
    it out of curiosity in the first week of this year, using the
    credentials that had worked in September. It didn't say my
    credentials were wrong, but rather something to the effect that that
    form of sign-in was no longer accepted and ID.me was required.

    This has been coming for a while. Some time around the middle of last
    year, when it was still optional, I started to set up an ID.me
    account, but it failed verification on the photo part. I gave up
    because it was still optional -- then.

    On 2023-12-28 I got a letter 4869C saying that the old account could
    no longer be used, and I would _have_ to create an ID.me account, but
    the letter also said that service would not be available till 2024-
    01-08 because of weeks-long system maintenance. That made the timing
    pretty tight for getting my final 2023 estimated tax payment in. But fortunately whatever had glitched last year was fixed. (And the
    system had saved the information I'd already entered, so I could just
    edit rather than starting from scratch.)

    The process took me under an hour, using my web browser _and_ a
    smartphone with photo and video capability. An option exists for live
    help from a person, but I suspect the wait time would be long.

    And after I'd gone through that, the _only_ service that was working
    was making an online payment. It was not possible to see the status
    of my account, look at past tax returns, etc. There were menu links
    for a bunch of things, but every one said the service wasn't
    available.

    This is what happens when the Republicans in Congress get their way
    and starve the IRS of funds. The CBO found that giving the IRS more
    money would reduce the deficit because tax collection would be more
    efficient and more tax cheats would be caught. But the Republican
    Party doesn't want more tax cheats to be caught, and we can all guess
    why.

    --
    Stan Brown, Tehachapi, California, USA https://BrownMath.com/
    Shikata ga nai...

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Boris@21:1/5 to Stan Brown on Sat Jan 20 11:34:58 2024
    Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in news:MPG.4011dfe4945a4e28990284@news.individual.net:

    On Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:30:39 EST, Boris wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not
    an email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history,
    etc.

    Yup, me too. It was simple, and it came with 2-factor authentication
    if I recall correctly, so the need for the new system is not clear to
    me.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an
    "ID.me" account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a
    picture and upload either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    The old way does not work, or at least it didn't for me when I tried
    it out of curiosity in the first week of this year, using the
    credentials that had worked in September. It didn't say my
    credentials were wrong, but rather something to the effect that that
    form of sign-in was no longer accepted and ID.me was required.

    This has been coming for a while. Some time around the middle of last
    year, when it was still optional, I started to set up an ID.me
    account, but it failed verification on the photo part. I gave up
    because it was still optional -- then.

    On 2023-12-28 I got a letter 4869C saying that the old account could
    no longer be used, and I would _have_ to create an ID.me account, but
    the letter also said that service would not be available till 2024-
    01-08 because of weeks-long system maintenance. That made the timing
    pretty tight for getting my final 2023 estimated tax payment in. But fortunately whatever had glitched last year was fixed. (And the
    system had saved the information I'd already entered, so I could just
    edit rather than starting from scratch.)

    The process took me under an hour, using my web browser _and_ a
    smartphone with photo and video capability. An option exists for live
    help from a person, but I suspect the wait time would be long.

    And after I'd gone through that, the _only_ service that was working
    was making an online payment. It was not possible to see the status
    of my account, look at past tax returns, etc. There were menu links
    for a bunch of things, but every one said the service wasn't
    available.

    This is what happens when the Republicans in Congress get their way
    and starve the IRS of funds. The CBO found that giving the IRS more
    money would reduce the deficit because tax collection would be more
    efficient and more tax cheats would be caught. But the Republican
    Party doesn't want more tax cheats to be caught, and we can all guess
    why.


    The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is 274 pages, allocated $79.4 billion to the IRS. The Fiscal Reduction Act of 2023 rescinded $1.4
    billion, leaving the IRS $78.0 billion, much of which has nothing to do
    with enforcement.

    https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/12/would-increased-funding-for-the-irs-nar row-the-tax-gap

    At any rate, it's estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that the
    $80 billion in additional funding will bring in $180 billion in taxes,
    for a net of $100 billion, over 10 years, to help reduce the deficit.
    Big deal. Not much when compared to today's deficit of $509 billion,
    and especially the national debt of $34 trillion, both of which will be
    much larger 10 years from now. The debt is more important to reduce.

    The Inflation Reduction Act was just window dressing, which only
    increases government employment.

    Neither political party cares one bit about fiscal responsibility.
    After all, it's not their money.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Boris@21:1/5 to Adam H. Kerman on Sat Jan 20 11:34:07 2024
    "Adam H. Kerman" <ahk@chinet.com> wrote in news:uo99f1$25qut$1@dont-
    email.me:

    Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an >>email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an
    "ID.me"
    account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture and
    upload
    either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    When I file 990-N on behalf of specific nonprofits, I have a choice of
    using login.gov. Upon submitting the notice, I have to log out of both
    the IRS system and the login.gov system separately.

    login.gov is available for use with filing a limited number of notices.
    It was supposed to be expanded to more IRS filing systems but that's
    not
    happening any time soon.

    To notify Dun & Bradstreet of address changes of businesses, I had to photograph my picture ID and my face. This is going to become more and
    more common.

    I look forward to Big Brother requiring cheek swaps to analyze DNA to
    make positive identification.


    I share your attitude. I started to apply for the ID.me, but when it got
    to asking for my passport, etc., I bugged out. I only used irs.gov to
    pay taxes. I may just mail in vouchers. Don't know yet.

    So, did you get an ID.me?

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Stuart O. Bronstein@21:1/5 to Boris on Sat Jan 20 13:44:57 2024
    Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote in news:XnsB0FEC9E52A461nospaminvalidcom@135.181.20.170:

    Stan Brown <the_stan_brown@fastmail.fm> wrote in news:MPG.4011dfe4945a4e28990284@news.individual.net:

    On Wed, 17 Jan 2024 11:30:39 EST, Boris wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not
    an email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history,
    etc.

    Yup, me too. It was simple, and it came with 2-factor authentication
    if I recall correctly, so the need for the new system is not clear to
    me.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an
    "ID.me" account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a
    picture and upload either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    The old way does not work, or at least it didn't for me when I tried
    it out of curiosity in the first week of this year, using the
    credentials that had worked in September. It didn't say my
    credentials were wrong, but rather something to the effect that that
    form of sign-in was no longer accepted and ID.me was required.

    This has been coming for a while. Some time around the middle of last
    year, when it was still optional, I started to set up an ID.me
    account, but it failed verification on the photo part. I gave up
    because it was still optional -- then.

    On 2023-12-28 I got a letter 4869C saying that the old account could
    no longer be used, and I would _have_ to create an ID.me account, but
    the letter also said that service would not be available till 2024-
    01-08 because of weeks-long system maintenance. That made the timing
    pretty tight for getting my final 2023 estimated tax payment in. But
    fortunately whatever had glitched last year was fixed. (And the
    system had saved the information I'd already entered, so I could just
    edit rather than starting from scratch.)

    The process took me under an hour, using my web browser _and_ a
    smartphone with photo and video capability. An option exists for live
    help from a person, but I suspect the wait time would be long.

    And after I'd gone through that, the _only_ service that was working
    was making an online payment. It was not possible to see the status
    of my account, look at past tax returns, etc. There were menu links
    for a bunch of things, but every one said the service wasn't
    available.

    This is what happens when the Republicans in Congress get their way
    and starve the IRS of funds. The CBO found that giving the IRS more
    money would reduce the deficit because tax collection would be more
    efficient and more tax cheats would be caught. But the Republican
    Party doesn't want more tax cheats to be caught, and we can all guess
    why.


    The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is 274 pages, allocated
    $79.4
    billion to the IRS. The Fiscal Reduction Act of 2023 rescinded $1.4
    billion, leaving the IRS $78.0 billion, much of which has nothing to do
    with enforcement.

    https://www.pgpf.org/blog/2023/12/would-increased-funding-for-the-irs-
    nar
    row-the-tax-gap

    At any rate, it's estimated by the Congressional Budget Office that the
    $80 billion in additional funding will bring in $180 billion in taxes,
    for a net of $100 billion, over 10 years, to help reduce the deficit.
    Big deal. Not much when compared to today's deficit of $509 billion,
    and especially the national debt of $34 trillion, both of which will be
    much larger 10 years from now. The debt is more important to reduce.

    The Inflation Reduction Act was just window dressing, which only
    increases government employment.

    Neither political party cares one bit about fiscal responsibility.
    After all, it's not their money.

    Since Reagan brought in trickle-down economics, deficits have been
    reduced under Democratic presidents and increased under Republican
    presidents. That's not not caring a bit.


    --
    Stu
    http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Adam H. Kerman@21:1/5 to Boris on Sat Jan 20 15:55:59 2024
    Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:
    Adam H. Kerman <ahk@chinet.com> wrote:
    Boris <nospam@invalid.com> wrote:

    I used to be able to simply log in to www.irs.gov, using an id (not an >>>email), and a password, in order to make payments, see history, etc.

    Now, I can't get in the usual way. It seems like I have to get an >>>"ID.me" account, whereby I need to use my smartphone to take a picture >>>and upload either my passport or driver's license.

    Is this new? Does the old simple way still work?

    When I file 990-N on behalf of specific nonprofits, I have a choice of >>using login.gov. Upon submitting the notice, I have to log out of both
    the IRS system and the login.gov system separately.

    login.gov is available for use with filing a limited number of notices.
    It was supposed to be expanded to more IRS filing systems but that's
    not happening any time soon.

    To notify Dun & Bradstreet of address changes of businesses, I had to >>photograph my picture ID and my face. This is going to become more and
    more common.

    I look forward to Big Brother requiring cheek swaps to analyze DNA to
    make positive identification.

    I share your attitude. I started to apply for the ID.me, but when it got
    to asking for my passport, etc., I bugged out. I only used irs.gov to
    pay taxes. I may just mail in vouchers. Don't know yet.

    So, did you get an ID.me?

    You mean to identify myself to Dun & Bradstreet? Hm. I don't recall who
    their third-party contractor was.

    With IRS, on the handful of electronic filings that accept use of login.gov
    for identification process, it's been less intrusive than ID.me.

    --
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>
    << The foregoing was not intended or written to be used, >>
    << nor can it used, for the purpose of avoiding penalties >>
    << that may be imposed upon the taxpayer. >>
    << >>
    << The Charter and the Guidelines for submitting posts >>
    << to this newsgroup as well as our anti-spamming policy >>
    << are at www.asktax.org. >>
    << Copyright (2011) - All rights reserved. >>
    << ------------------------------------------------------- >>

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)