iStock/ThinkstockWhen it comes time to file your taxes, the IRS may, in certain cases, invite you to or request that you create a PIN so it can verify that it’s really you filing under your name.
“If you are filing electronically and you’re changing software brands, you’re working with a new tax preparer this year, you might be asked by the IRS to validate your electronic tax return, meaning verify your identity,” explains ABC News Chief Business and Economics Correspondent Rebecca Jarvis.
Instructions on how to do so are on the IRS website. But first, you’ll need to dig out some records.
“You’re going to need to find your 2015 tax return, which is the orignial return filed with the IRS, and create a new, five-digit, self-select pin, which will now serve as your electronic signature,” Jarvis says.
If you’re married and filing jointly using software, whoever has a PIN will be prompted to enter it. If you file on paper, this only applies to the primary taxpayer.
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