Find answers to your questions about your online account: General Account access Account balances Payment options and activity Tax records Notices and letters Identity theft and fraud Additional support General How can I update my email and mailing address? (updated September 13, 2022) Through the Profile Page within your online account, you can update your email address and opt-out/in for paper notice preferences. To change/update your mailing address, you can submit Form 8822 PDF by mail or get more information on address changes. Can an IRS Customer Service Representative access my online account? IRS Customer Service Representatives can't access your online account. They also don't have the same view as what is shown in online account. Where can I find information about filing a tax return or answers to tax law questions? For additional information about filing, see Tax Information for Individuals. For tax law questions specific to your individual circumstances, see the Interactive Tax Assistant (ITA). Is there chat assistance available? (updated June 28, 2021) Currently not but we’ll provide updates if there are any plans to develop this in the future. Does online account exist for business taxpayers yet? (updated October 3, 2023) Yes. Learn more or sign in to business tax account. Is online account available to international taxpayers? (updated November 21, 2022) Yes. This service can be used by individual taxpayers who have international addresses. Back to top Account access I’m unable to access my account with the information I provided – what can I do? Other ways to find your account information You can request an Account Transcript. Please note that each Account Transcript only covers a single tax year, and may not show the most recent penalties, interest, changes or pending actions. If you're a business, or an individual who filed a form other than 1040, you can obtain a transcript by submitting Form 4506-T, Request for Transcript of Tax Return. Find more assistance. Can I authorize someone else to access my online account? No. Only the taxpayer should log into their account. Credentials should never be shared with others. Why am I getting a message saying that the service is not available after I log into my online account? You may get a message saying the service in unavailable because of a system failure with our application or an error in retrieving your data. You may still see other options available even if you encounter this situation, such as the Get Transcript button or the Payment Activity tab. The Payment Activity tab currently links to sites, like Direct Pay, Pay by Card and Online Payment Agreement (OPA) which aren't affected by our unavailability. Back to top Account balances Will taxpayers receive communication when their installment agreement is satisfied? We send you a statement when each tax period is paid. We also send an annual statement of installment agreement activity. You can review your account for any current balance and payment history. Besides income taxes, what other tax liabilities does online account show? Online account shows details for any federal tax liability associated with your individual account, such as: Income tax owed on your Form 1040 Additional tax owed on your Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts Shared Responsibility Payment (for tax years 2014 to 2018), which applies if an applicable individual in a tax household lacked minimum essential coverage for any month Trust Fund Recovery Penalty What if I filed my tax return or paid my taxes late? If you filed your tax return or paid your taxes late, the IRS may have assessed one or more penalties on your account. In some cases, the IRS will waive the penalties for filing and paying late. However, you’ll need to ask the IRS to do this. Be prepared to explain to the IRS what issues you faced and why they caused you to file your tax return or pay your taxes late. You should also be prepared to show the IRS you’ve corrected the situation and you won’t have problems filing and paying on time in the future. Learn more about Penalty Relief. I filed a tax return with my spouse and all or part of my refund was applied to a debt that only my spouse owes – what do I do? You are considered an injured spouse if you filed a joint tax return and your share of the refund was (or will be) applied against a separate past due debt that belongs just to your spouse. The past due amount can be a federal debt, state income tax debt, state unemployment compensation debt, or child or spousal support payments. Learn more about Injured Spouse. What if I owe taxes because my spouse didn’t include income or claimed deductions that I am not entitled to on my joint tax return? When you file a joint tax return, you and your spouse are each individually responsible for the tax, penalties, and interest that arise even if you later divorce. If your spouse or former spouse improperly reported deductions or did not report income that you were unaware of, you may be an innocent spouse and may be able to request relief from the liability. Learn more about Innocent Spouse. Back to top Payment options and activity Where can I see the details of my payment plan? You can see your payment plan details on the home page of your account and also on the payment options page. Information displayed includes the type of plan you have, due date(s) and payment amount(s). If my online account shows I owe a zero-dollar amount, does this mean I don't owe at all? It depends. The information we provide is based on the data we have at the time you log into your online account. If the amount shown is zero, then this is correct as of the time you logged in but it can change later if the data changes, such as if there's an adjustment made to your account or your tax return has not yet posted showing the amount owed on that return. What types of payments can I make through my online account? (added December 22, 2021) You can make a payment toward an amount you owe, a quarterly estimated tax payment, a payment on a recently filed Amended Return (Form 1040-X), a proposed tax assessment (e.g., CP2000, Notice of Deficiency), or a payment for an extension to file your income tax return (available January – April). Are there any limits to the amount and number of payments I’m allowed to make through my online account? (added June 15, 2023) Yes, you can make payments up to 3 times a day and each payment is limited to $9,999,999.99. You will need to return after midnight ET to make additional payments (up to 3 for the day). Does online account provide me with an email confirmation showing that my payment was made? (updated December 22, 2021) Yes, if you make a payment using your online account you can opt to receive an email confirmation. You can also view your pending payment(s) in your online account under Payment Activity. If I file a joint tax return, can I see the information for my spouse or make payments on their behalf? (added December 22, 2021) Joint filers can see their balance, payment and tax records information for any tax returns they filed jointly. For tax years that have not yet been filed, each spouse will see their own information in their account. Estimated tax payments can be made by either spouse but will only show under the spouse who made the payment until a joint return is filed. Economic impact payments were an advance payment, so taxpayers will see their portion of the payment only. Can I make changes to the payment plan I currently have? (updated June 28, 2021) You may be able to: Change your monthly payment amount Change your monthly payment due date Convert a short-term plan to monthly payments Convert an existing agreement to a Direct Debit agreement Change the bank routing and account number on a Direct Debit agreement Reinstate after default Currently, you can make these changes using the Online Payment Agreement tool. What kind of payment methods are available? (updated December 22, 2021) Payments can be made through an ACH debit from your checking or savings account or using your debit/credit card. You can choose either of these methods when you log into your online account and select Make a Payment. If you select "Pay by Card" (on an external website) you will be redirected to a different website. How quickly will payments I made to my account show in my Payment Activity? (updated December 22, 2021) Your payments can be seen under the “Payment Activity" tab. Payments from your bank account made through your online account, IRS Direct Pay, your tax software, or your tax preparer show up immediately in your online account. Direct Debit Installment Agreement payments show up approximately four days before they will be withdrawn from your bank account. Debit/credit card payments will appear 1-2 days after your payment date. Check or money order payments may take up to three weeks to appear. Can the IRS consider accepting only part of what I owe? An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is an agreement between you and the IRS, where the IRS agrees to accept less than the full amount you owe. Learn more about Offer in Compromise. There are two main reasons the IRS may agree to accept less than the full amount you owe: Doubt as to Collectability: This means you don’t have enough income or assets to pay your debt in full. Effective Tax Administration: You can pay your full debt, but it would create an economic hardship, or would be unfair or inequitable. Another reason the IRS may accept payment of less than the full amount of tax owed is doubt as to liability (that is, you don’t believe you owe the tax, or you don’t believe the amount is correct). Use the IRS’s Offer-in-Compromise Pre-Qualifier tool to see if you qualify for an OIC. Back to top Tax records Does online account show the amount of my Economic Impact Payments? Yes, online account shows the amounts of your Economic Impact Payments along with help tips and a link to the EIP page on IRS.gov. For more information about these payments, see Economic Impact Payments. Are there fees associated with downloading/printing my transcripts? No, fees will not be assessed when you download/print your transcripts. Can I make a change to a tax return I’ve already filed? If you filed your tax return and then realize you made a mistake, you may need to amend the return, which may change your tax liability. Learn more and get help amending a return. Your tax return can be incorrect or incomplete for many different reasons; from simply forgetting to sign a form to not reporting income or incorrectly calculating a credit. It can also happen because of various errors when filing electronically. Depending on the nature of the error you need to fix and when you realize you need to change your return, there are different ways to fix an incorrect or incomplete return. Learn more about fixing an incorrect or incomplete return. Back to top Notices and letters Will all of my notices be available online? No, at this time only a select number of notices are available to view or download in your online account. Will I still receive a paper notice in the mail? Yes, taxpayers will still receive paper notices in the mail. However, we are working towards providing you the choice to only receive notices electronically. I received a notice in the mail from the IRS, what should I do? The IRS sends notices to advise of outstanding balances and changes to your personal tax account. If you received a notice, it is important to read it very carefully and to keep a record of it to refer to when addressing your notice. You’ll need to determine if you agree that you owe the balance. Learn more about understanding your notice. If you agree with the balance on your notice or online account, you’ll want to pay the amount due. You can use the available payment options to pay your balance or to create a payment plan. If you do not agree with the balance on your notice or online account, find more information on the Notices and Letters and if necessary you’ll need to respond to the notice and tell the IRS why you don’t owe the amount due. What if my notice contains incorrect information? Examples of incorrect information: Payment is missing Incorrect payment date is shown Payment applied to the incorrect tax year Balance is paid in full Incorrect balance is shown Incorrect installment agreement amount is shown Reflects a decimal point error (i.e. $225444442.44) Check your online account for recent payments. Check or money order payments may take up to three weeks to appear. Debit/credit card payments will appear 1-2 days after your payment date. You can also find up-to-date account balance information in your online account. If you need assistance, refer to your notice for the contact information to call and speak with an IRS representative. What if my notice doesn't reflect my current address? Address information is generally based on your last return filed. If your address is not listed correctly, please follow steps on your profile in your online account to request an address update. If you need assistance, refer to your notice for the contact information to call and speak with an IRS representative. What if my personal information is displayed incorrectly? Refer to your notice for the contact information to call and speak with an IRS representative. What action do I take if the notice I received does not belong to me? Refer to the notice for the contact information to call and speak with an IRS representative. What if the PDF notice is not readable? Refer to your notice for the contact information to call and speak with an IRS representative. If you can’t open your PDF or the contact information is unreadable, please visit Let us help you. Are all notices available online? Not all notices are available online, please continue to check your postal mail for IRS notices. You can sign up to receive email notifications when new notices are available on your profile in your online account. How do I go paperless? You can set your paperless preferences in your online account profile. Back to top Identity theft and fraud What if the person who prepared my tax return changed my tax return information without my permission? An IRS notice may alert you to a mistake on your tax return or that it’s being audited. You can verify the information that was processed by the IRS by viewing a transcript of the return to compare it to the return you may have signed or approved. You can access your tax records through account. If you are the victim of return preparer fraud or misconduct, you will need to demonstrate it to the IRS. Learn more about preparer issues. I believe that someone has stolen my identity – what do I need to do? Tax-related identity theft occurs when someone uses your stolen Social Security number to file a tax return claiming a fraudulent refund. You may be unaware that this has happened until you e-file your return and discover that a return already has been filed using your SSN. Or, the IRS may send you a letter saying we have identified a suspicious return using your SSN. Be advised that these situations may also occur for reasons other than identity theft. There are several steps you may need to take as outlined in the Taxpayer Guide to Identity Theft. Back to top Additional support I received an audit (examination) to my tax return, what do I need to do? If the tax you owe is because of an audit you didn’t know about or were not able to provide any information for, you might be able to ask the IRS to take another look at your records through the audit reconsideration process. Get help understanding audit reconsideration. How do I find a resolution if the amount I owe is causing a financial hardship or I have contacted the IRS and have not been able to resolve my tax issue? If you are having a tax problem that you haven’t been able to resolve on your own, the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) may be able to help. As an independent organization within the IRS, TAS protects taxpayers’ rights under the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS, and recommends changes that will prevent the problems from happening in the future. Review the Taxpayer Bill of Rights. You may be eligible for help if your IRS problem is causing financial difficulty or you believe an IRS procedure just isn't working as it should. Read more about the kinds of cases TAS works. TAS has offices in every state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. If you qualify for help, you will be assigned to one advocate who will be with you at every turn. TAS advocates work with the IRS to get your problems resolved and our services are always free. To speak to an advocate, call 877-777-4778 or contact your local office. Find your local TAS office. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITC) can represent you before the IRS or in court on audits, appeals, tax collection matters, and other tax disputes. Services are provided for free or for a small fee. The LITC assists low income individuals who have a tax dispute with the IRS, and provides education and outreach to individuals who speak English as a second language (ESL). In order to qualify for assistance from an LITC, generally a taxpayer’s income must be below a certain threshold, and the amount in dispute with the IRS is usually less than $50,000. Learn more about Low Income Tax Clinics. Is there any assistance for Disaster and Emergency Relief? If you’ve been affected by a recent disaster, learn about the most recent tax relief provisions to know your options. Didn't find your answer? Call an IRS customer service representative. You should have your information ready, including your tax return information. Let us help you – Telephone and Local assistance. You can also submit a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request to obtain the following: Your audit report form Your work papers Your notices Submit a FOIA request. Back to top
