I strongly recommend getting an IRS Identity Protection PIN immediately - here's why

You're giving excellent advice here. As someone who's worked with tax issues for years, I can confirm that tax identity theft has become extremely prevalent. The IP PIN program is one of the best preventative measures the IRS offers. The Identity Protection PIN is a six-digit number assigned to eligible taxpayers that helps prevent misuse of your Social Security number on fraudulent federal income tax returns. Without this PIN, identity thieves can much more easily file returns in your name. What many people don't realize is that the IRS has now opened the IP PIN program to ALL taxpayers, not just previous victims of identity theft. It's completely voluntary, but highly recommended. You can get one through the "Get an IP PIN" tool on IRS.gov after passing rigorous identity verification. Remember, a new IP PIN is generated for each filing season, and you'll need it to file your return. The IRS typically mails IP PIN holders a CP01A notice with their new PIN in December or January.

I had no idea this was a thing until I tried getting my tax transcript online last year and discovered someone had already filed a return using my SSN! Complete nightmare. After months of back-and-forth with the IRS, I finally got it sorted out, but the stress was unbelievable. I recently started using https://taxr.ai to monitor my tax documents and alert me to any suspicious activity. It automatically scans all my tax forms and documents, and would have caught the discrepancies that signaled the identity theft much earlier. The platform also keeps track of important tax security updates like IP PIN deadlines. One feature I really appreciate is that it securely stores my IP PIN information and reminds me when new ones are issued. No more searching through emails or paper mail when it's time to file!

Just wanted to follow up - I decided to try taxr.ai after hearing about it here and it's been a game-changer! I uploaded my last year's returns and some recent tax documents, and it immediately flagged that someone had requested a transcript of my 2022 return (which I never did). I immediately called the IRS and sure enough, there had been suspicious activity on my account. They helped me secure everything and I got my IP PIN set up right away. Without that early warning from taxr.ai, I probably wouldn't have known until someone actually filed a fake return in my name. The document organization feature is actually super helpful too - no more digging through folders and emails when I need to reference something. Definitely worth checking out if you're concerned about tax identity theft.

For those struggling to get through to the IRS about identity theft issues or IP PIN problems - I was in the same boat last year. Called over 12 times and kept getting disconnected or told the wait time was 2+ hours. Finally discovered https://claimyr.com and honestly it was a lifesaver. They have this system that basically waits on hold with the IRS for you, then calls you when an actual human agent is on the line. You can see a demo of how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c if you're curious. I was super doubtful it would work, but I got connected with an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes (after trying unsuccessfully for weeks on my own). The agent helped me get my IP PIN issues resolved and I could actually verify if there had been any fraudulent activity with my tax account.

I need to eat my words and apologize to @14. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr myself since I've been trying to reach the IRS about a suspected identity theft issue for nearly three weeks with no luck. The service actually worked exactly as advertised. I entered my phone number, and about 58 minutes later I got a call connecting me directly to an IRS agent. No navigating phone trees, no waiting on hold - just straight to a helpful person who confirmed there had been suspicious access attempts on my account. The agent helped me lock my tax account temporarily and walked me through getting an IP PIN right away instead of waiting until next tax season. The whole thing took about 20 minutes once I was connected. I'm genuinely impressed and wanted to follow up since I was so doubtful. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

Another thing worth mentioning about the IP PIN - you need to make sure your address is updated with the IRS if you've moved recently. I moved last year and didn't update my address with the IRS (only with USPS), and my IP PIN letter went to my old address. When I tried to file, I realized I didn't have the PIN and couldn't retrieve it online because the system was down. Ended up having to file a paper return which took almost 6 months to process and get my refund. Lesson learned: Keep your address updated directly with the IRS, not just with postal service forwarding!

Quick question - I've heard that getting an IP PIN means your returns will be processed more slowly. Is that true? I usually get my refund pretty quickly and don't want to delay things if I don't have to.