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Your IRS online account: how to set it up the right way and keep it up to date

Your IRS Individual Online Account is the IRS's own secure website for your tax records. Once it's set up, you can find last year's AGI, your IP PIN, your tax forms and your refund status in minutes, without calling the IRS.

Updated Reviewed by Camilo Soto, PTIN holder6 min read

Quick answer

The IRS Individual Online Account (IRS.gov/account) is free. You sign in with ID.me, using a driver's license, state ID or passport and a selfie, or a video call with an ID.me agent. You must be 18 or older.

Inside you can see last year's AGI and your transcripts, W-2, 1099 and 1095-A forms, your IP PIN, your refund status, balance and payments, and approve your tax pro's authorization requests. You can't change your address there: use Form 8822 or one of the other ways below. Keep your phone and email current in your ID.me account, and never share your login with anyone, including your tax preparer.

What you can do in your online account

  • Records and Status: your adjusted gross income and transcripts by year (see our prior-year AGI guide)
  • Tax forms the IRS received: W-2, 1095-A and 1099-NEC, -DIV, -INT and -MISC forms for recent years
  • Refund status, including amended returns, and optional email alerts when your refund status changes
  • Your IP PIN on the Profile tab (see our IP PIN guide)
  • Balance and payments: what you owe by tax year, up to 5 years of payments, same-day or scheduled payments up to 365 days ahead, and payment plans
  • Notices and letters: more than 200 kinds of IRS notices online, with the option to go paperless for some of them
  • Authorizations: approve and e-sign a power of attorney (Form 2848) or tax information authorization (Form 8821) sent by your tax pro
  • Bank account for your refund: if the IRS sends you a CP53E notice, this is where you add a bank account so your refund can be deposited
  • Trump account election: submit Form 4547 for a child's Trump account

What you need before you start

  • You're 18 or older
  • A personal email address you can open right now (not a work email you might lose)
  • A phone that can get texts, or an authenticator app, for the second sign-in step
  • Your Social Security number or ITIN
  • A driver's license, state ID, passport or passport card
  • A phone or computer with a camera for the selfie, or time for a video call with an ID.me agent

Create your account, step by step

  1. Go to IRS.gov/account and choose to sign in or create an account with ID.me. Type the address yourself; never use a link from an email or text.
  2. Create your ID.me login with your email and a password of at least 8 characters, then confirm your email.
  3. Turn on the second sign-in step (multi-factor authentication). An authenticator app is the safest choice; text messages work too. Save the backup codes ID.me gives you.
  4. Verify your identity. Take photos of your ID and a selfie (about 5 to 10 minutes), or choose a video call with an ID.me agent instead of the selfie.
  5. Confirm your details, including your SSN or ITIN, and agree to share your verified identity with the IRS.
  6. You're in. Bookmark IRS.gov/account and sign in the same way next time.

If ID.me can't verify you, look for alternative options on the IRS sign-in page. Many things, like transcripts by mail and IP PINs, can also be handled by phone or at an IRS office. As of October 2026, Login.gov doesn't work for the individual online account.

Keep your account up to date: a yearly checklist

  • Phone and email: update them in your ID.me account, not with the IRS. If you lose your phone number, update it before you get locked out.
  • Your address: check the address the IRS has on file every time you move. The IRS mails letters, IP PIN notices and transcripts only to that address. Change it as shown in the next section.
  • Each January: if you got your IP PIN online, sign in for the new year's PIN.
  • After you file: check that your return was processed, and save your new AGI and transcript.
  • Notices: turn on email alerts and read any new notice right away. Most have a deadline.
  • Authorizations: approve only requests from a tax pro you're actually working with.
  • Payments: check your balance and payment history for anything you don't recognize.

How to change your address with the IRS

Your online account shows the address the IRS has, but you can't change it there. Use one of these:

  1. File your tax return with your new address. The IRS updates its records when it processes the return.
  2. Send Form 8822, Change of Address. Mail it to the address in the form's instructions for the state you moved from. If your old address was in Florida, that's Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service, Austin, TX 73301-0023.
  3. Or send a signed letter with your full name, old address, new address and SSN or ITIN. On a joint return, both spouses sign.
  4. Or tell the IRS by phone or in person. They'll verify your identity first.

Allow up to 45 days (about 6 weeks) for the change. A Post Office change of address may update the IRS too, but don't count on it: tell the IRS directly. If a tax pro handles it for you, they need a power of attorney (Form 2848).

Working with your tax pro without sharing your login

Never give anyone your ID.me email, password or codes, not even your tax preparer. Here's how it works instead:

  1. Your tax pro sends an authorization request (Form 2848 or Form 8821) from their own IRS Tax Pro Account.
  2. You sign in to your online account, review the request and e-sign it.
  3. Your tax pro can then see the records you authorized through their own account.

How to spot IRS scams

  • The IRS doesn't start contact by email, text or social media to ask for personal or financial information.
  • The IRS never asks for your IP PIN.
  • If the IRS needs a bank account for your refund, it asks by mail (a CP53E notice) and you add it in your online account. IRS employees can't take bank details by phone.
  • When in doubt, sign in at IRS.gov/account yourself and check for notices there.

Common questions

Is the IRS online account free?

Yes. The account, transcripts and IP PINs are free. Only use IRS.gov; never pay a website to access your IRS records.

Can I see my refund in my online account?

Yes. It shows refund status, including amended returns, and you can turn on email alerts. You can also use Where's My Refund on IRS.gov or the IRS app.

Can I change my address in my online account?

Not as of October 2026. You can see the address on file, but you change it with Form 8822, a signed letter, your tax return, or by phone or in person. See how to change your address.

I don't have a driver's license. Can I still verify?

Yes. A state ID, passport or passport card works. If you can't verify with ID.me at all, look for alternative options on the IRS sign-in page, or call or visit the IRS.

Can my spouse use my account?

No. Each person needs their own account and their own ID.me login, even if you file jointly.

Is the IRS app the same as the online account?

The IRS app (it replaced IRS2Go in September 2026) checks your refund status without signing in. When you sign in, it also shows things like transcripts and your IP PIN.

ID.me says it can't verify me. What now?

Try the video call option with an ID.me agent. If that doesn't work, use the alternative options on the IRS sign-in page, order transcripts by mail, or call us and we'll help you with the next step.

Official sources

We checked this guide against these official pages:

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your situation. Tax rules change, so check the official sources or ask a tax pro. Nationwide Tax Pro is a private tax preparation company and an authorized IRS e-file provider. We are not affiliated with the IRS, HealthCare.gov or any government agency.

Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)Get your six-digit IP PIN online, by Form 15227 or in person, and replace a lost one. Prior-year AGIFind last year's adjusted gross income, and fix rejection code IND-031-04. IRS identity verification lettersLetters 5071C, 4883C and 5747C hold your refund until you verify. Here's how.

See all tax help guides

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