Accessibility guide for online account

 

Contents

About this guide

This guide is intended to assist individuals with disabilities in their use of the online account application. The guide will provide direction in accessing the features available in online account using specific technologies, including screen readers, screen magnifiers and speech recognition software.

Application overview

Online account is a mobile-friendly digital tool focusing on providing on-demand tax account status and payment functionality to taxpayers. Taxpayers can access the following features from online account:

  • Their account status including total amount owed
  • Their balance due broken down by tax year and type
  • Payment options, including the ability to pay by bank account, credit card, or money order
  • Create or modify a payment plan
  • Recent payments made to their account
  • Summary of their most recent tax return

If there is an alert associated with your account, it will be presented at the top of the account home page. Screen reader users can access alerts using the "skip to main content" link in the application header. Each section of the application is labeled with a heading. These headings can be used to navigate the application. All buttons and links can be identified and accessed. 

Information for specific technologies, issues and guidance

Desktop screen readers

  • You may encounter a survey prompt requesting your feedback while using this site. We’re actively working to fix these known accessibility issues: 
    1. Redundant, complex information due to almost twice the number of form elements that are programmatically presented.
    2. Headings without a predictable hierarchy.
    3. The IRS logo and other graphics don’t have alt text.
    4. The “Powered by Medallia” link doesn’t indicate it will open in a new window.
  • When generating a PDF for Identity Protection PIN, an IRS logo is not detected or announced by screen readers.
  • When making a payment, messages resulting from input errors may occur. In the event the associated heading identifying the errors does not receive automatic programmatic focus on page load, the heading is immediately following the ’Make a Payment’ heading level 2.

JAWS

  • There are tabs on Withholding Compliance page that are inaccessible to two of three JAWS modes of operation. Tabs are identifiable and operable when using TAB and JAWS commands, but are not identifiable or operable when using by line navigation or Virtual HTML features.
Action Commands
Virtual HTML Features INSERT + F3
List Links INSERT + F7
Next Link TAB
Prior Link SHIFT + TAB
List Headings INSERT + F6
List of Form Fields INSERT + F5
List Buttons INSERT + CTRL + B
List Combo Boxes INSERT + CTRL + C
List Edit Boxes INSERT + CTRL + E
List Radio Buttons INSERT + CTRL + A
List Check Boxes INSERT + CTRL + X
List Tables INSERT + CTRL + T
Read from Beginning of Row to Current Cell INSERT + SHIFT + HOME
Read from Current Cell to End of Row INSERT + SHIFT + PAGE UP
Read the current row SHIFT + UP ARROW
Read the current column SHIFT + NUMPAD 5
List Frames INSERT + F9
List All Ordered, Unordered, and Definition Lists INSERT + CTRL + L

macOS VoiceOver (VO)

Action Commands
Find the next heading VO - Command - H
Find the previous heading VO - Command - Shift - H
Find the next control VO - Command - J
Find the previous control SHIFT + TAB
Find the next Table VO - Command - T
Find the previous Table VO - Command - Shift - T
Find the next Link VO - Command - L
Find the previous Link VO - Command - Shift - L
Find the next Paragraph VO - Shift - Page Down
Find the previous Paragraph VO - Shift - Page Up
Read the next Sentence VO - Command - Page Down
Read the next Line VO - Down Arrow
Read the previous Line VO - Up Arrow
Read everything visible in the window or the Dock, or on your desktop, depending on your location VO - Shift - W
  • No known issues at this time.

Mobile screen readers

Android TalkBack (TB)

  • TalkBack keyboard commands for Android 4.1 or higher
    • Navigation
      • Move to next item: Alt + Shift + Right arrow
      • Move to previous item: Alt + Shift + Left arrow
      • Move to first item: Alt + Shift + Up arrow
      • Move to last item: Alt + Shift + Down arrow
      • Click focused element: Alt + Shift + Enter
    • Global actions
      • Back: Alt + Shift + Backspace
      • Home: Alt + Shift + h
      • Recent apps/Overview: Alt + Shift + r
      • Notifications: Alt + Shift + n
      • Search the screen: Alt + Shift + / (forward slash)
      • Next navigation setting: Alt + Shift + Equals (=)
      • Previous navigation setting: Alt + Shift + Minus (-)
      • Open global context menu: Alt + Shift + g
      • Open local context menu: Alt + Shift + L
      • Stop TalkBack speech: Control
      • Pause or resume TalkBack: Alt + Shift + z

iOS VoiceOver (VO)

  • There are known issues where the following behaviors may occur:
    • VO does not announce the first column name for the first row of the table. In some instances, VO announces column names twice for some cells.

Screen magnifiers

ZoomText (ZT)

Action Commands
Virtual HTML Features INSERT + F3
Increase magnification ALT + NUMPAD PLUS
Decrease magnification ALT + NUMPAD MINUS
Turn color enhancements on and off CTRL + SHIFT + C
Font Enhancements (xFont, Standard and None) CTRL + SHIFT + F
  • No known issues at this time.

Speech recognition software

Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS)

Action Commands
Turn the microphone on or off Plus key (+) on the numeric keypad
Open the Correction menu Minus key (-) on the numeric keypad
Force words to be recognized as commands Press and hold down the CTRL key
Force words to be recognized as dictation Press and hold down the SHIFT key
Open the Naturally Speaking menu Asterisk key (*) on the numeric keypad
Put the microphone to sleep or wake it up Slash key (/) on the numeric keypad
Press-to-talk Zero key (0) on the numeric keypad
  • No known issues at this time.