Has anyone heard about this "IRS Account Facial Recognition coming"
I saw this news article yesterday.
This is surely not going to be helpful with getting a lot of my clients to sign up for any online access.
Beginning in summer 2022, users who need to log on to the IRS' website to access the Child Tax Credit Update Portal, check online accounts, get their tax transcript, receive an Identity Protection PIN or view an online payment agreement will need to create an account with identity verification company ID.me.
Existing online accounts, which currently only require a simple email and password to access, will no longer work beginning this summer, the IRS said. At that point, users will be required to create an account with ID.me.
"Identity verification is critical to protect taxpayers and their information," IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said in a statement. "The IRS has been working hard to make improvements in this area, and this new verification process is designed to make IRS online applications as secure as possible for people."
The IRS has stressed that individuals will not actually be required to go through ID.me or use facial-recognition software to submit their tax returns. But taxpayers will still be forced to use this software in order to take advantage of some of the IRS' most basic tools. The agency is already urging taxpayers to create accounts "as soon as possible."
ID.me describes itself as a technology provider that offers secure identity verification by comparing a photo ID provided by users with a video selfie. It was launched in 2010 by military veteran Blake Hall and has quickly solidified its place in the identity-verification business, often on behalf of the U.S. government. Additional IRS tools will begin using ID.me verification "over the next year," the IRS said.
Users must provide ID.me with an email address, Social Security number, photo ID and take a selfie with a camera that will scan the user's face to verify their identity.
Presumably some of the " Additional IRS tools that will begin using ID.me verification "over the next year" would include our access, PTIN renewal and/or Efin update?
