Accessibility guide for IRS2Go

Contents

• About this guide
• Application overview
• Information about specific technologies, issues, and guidance

  • iOS and iPad OS

  • Android operating system

About this guide

This guide is intended to assist individuals with disabilities in their use of the IRS2Go mobile application. The guide provides direction in accessing the features available in IRS2Go using specific technologies, including native screen readers (VoiceOver for iOS and iPadOS, and TalkBack for Android), and an external keyboard.

Application overview

IRS2Go is a mobile application for iOS, iPadOS, and Android phones and tablets. It lets taxpayers to check the status of their tax refund, make a payment, find free tax preparation assistance, sign up for helpful tax tips, generate a login security code, access IRS social media channels. 

Users can download the app by searching for “IRS2Go” in their device’s official app store or by following app store links at IRS2Go mobile app.

Both iOS and Android Applications will have the same features and functionality.

Information for specific technologies, issues and guidance

In addition to built-in mobile screen readers (VoiceOver and TalkBack) and keyboards, the application can be used with an external keyboard. The application works best with the native built-in mobile keyboards.

Here is the guidance for standard Actions and Commands when using screen readers with the external keyboard.

iOS and iPad OS

If you use Magic Keyboard or a Bluetooth keyboard with iPhone or iPad, you can use keyboard shortcuts to activate VoiceOver commands.

Additionally, you can use VoiceOver Help to learn the keyboard layout and the actions associated with various key combinations. VoiceOver Help speaks keys and keyboard commands as you type them, without performing the associated action.

Choose the VoiceOver modifier

The modifier is a key or set of keys you press with one or more other keys to enter VoiceOver commands. You can set the modifier to be the Caps Lock key or the Control and Option keys pressed at the same time.

1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver > Typing > Modifier Keys.
2. Choose the modifier for VoiceOver commands: the Caps Lock key or the Control and Option keys.

This modifier is abbreviated as “VO” in the tables below.

VoiceOver Actions and Commands for iOS and iPadOS with external keyboard:

Action	Shortcut
Turn on VoiceOver Help	VO - K
Turn off VoiceOver Help	Esc (Escape)
Select the next or previous item	VO-Right Arrow or VO-Left Arrow
Activate the selected item	VO-Space bar
Touch and hold the selected item	VO-Shift-M
Read from the current position	VO-A
Read from the top	VO-B
Pause or resume reading	Control
Copy the last spoken text to the clipboard	VO-Shift-C
Search for text	VO-F
Mute or unmute VoiceOver	VO-S
Go to the Home Screen	VO-H
Move to the status bar	VO-M
Open the notifications screen	Move to the status bar (VO-M), then Option-Up Arrow
Open Control Center	Move to the status bar (VO-M), then Option-Down Arrow
Open Search	Option-Up Arrow
Open the App Switcher	VO-H-H
Open the Item Chooser	VO-I
Change the label of the selected item	VO-/
Start, stop, or pause an action	VO-Hyphen
Swipe up or down	VO-Up Arrow or VO-Down Arrow
Adjust the rotor	VO-Command-Left Arrow or VO-Command-Right Arrow
Adjust the setting specified by the rotor	VO-Command-Up Arrow or VO-Command-Down Arrow
Turn the screen curtain on or off	VO-Shift-F11
Return to the previous screen	Esc

Quick Nav using the arrow keys

Turn on Quick Nav to control VoiceOver using the arrow keys.

IRS2Go has the following known accessibility issues on iOS and iPadOS:

Navigation:

• Screen titles are announced the first time the user is interacting with the screen. After the initial interaction with the screen, the user needs to swipe backwards to get to the page content as the focus is set to the bottom of the screen.
• In iOS version 13, the Back and Right arrows of the numeric keyboard are announced as "possibly".  
• Placeholder text disappears for input fields when data is entered. It may make it difficult to determine the purpose of the input field if the onscreen label is not present. To identify the field, delete the data entered to see the field label.
• After making or cancelling a phone call from the IRS2Go app, focus returns to the top of the screen, rather than to the Call button that was in focus.
• VoiceOver users may be unable to select an item from a drop-down (picker) menu on webpages loaded within the IRS2Go app. The workaround for this is to select the “Open in Safari” button from the Safari in-app browser toolbar, which is the last option at the very bottom of the in-app browser. Once the webpage has loaded in Safari, VoiceOver users will be able to select an item again.

Announcing of text in unexpected ways:

• Abbreviations for days and months may be read as it is written rather than announcing it as the whole day or month that it is abbreviating.
• The hyphen or dash separator in a phone number or Social Security Number may be announced as "minus", indicating it is a mathematical minus sign when it is not.

Refund status

• Only one telephone number can be accessed by tapping the paragraph that contains multiple phone numbers. 

Free tax prep site locator:

• The screen title is not announced when the Free Tax Prep Site Locator opens. The focus is instead set to the “current location” button, which can be double tapped to search for free tax preparation sites near the user’s current location.
• On the Free Tax Prep Site Locator, the “X” button to clear the ZIP Code input field is not accessible using a keyboard or VoiceOver. The workaround for this is to select the input field and press the delete key to remove the numbers in the field.
• On the Details screen, the hours in some locations are left blank and the Service Detail section is not formatted with a bulleted list to increase readability. 
• The phone number contained in the Service Detail section is not selectable with a tap.

Android operating system

TalkBack Actions and Commands/Gestures for Android devices with external keyboard:

Global actions

Navigation

IRS2Go has the following known accessibility issues on Android

Navigation:

• When navigating with an external keyboard, there is a loss of focus on all screens before the Refunds tab and after Security tab. Users need to tab multiple times before the focus is visible. With the TalkBack on, the users need to tab only once before the Refunds tab and after Security tab.
• On some screens, focus may go to the top of the screen instead of the previously selected control when navigating backwards such as the Get Status button.
• On the Refund Status page, the Navigate Up button visible focus is very hard to see.  Once the text is scrolled, it is not possible to go back to the Navigate Up button with a keyboard.   Use Alt + ctrl + backspace to go back to the refunds screen. Use Tab to navigate the text
• On the Privacy Notice/Get Status/ screens, it is not possible to select the Navigate Up button with a keyboard. Use Alt + ctrl + backspace to go back to the refunds screen.
• When you open the Accessibility page, and other screens displaying external web pages, the close button (X) is not easily accessible with a keyboard and for TalkBack users it could use a description as to what it does. Use Alt + ctrl + backspace to go back to the previous screens.
• Tabbing through the Tabs with Talkback on, Talkback announces the label of each Tab correctly, and when navigating the Tabs again it announces Unlabeled.
• Navigation tabs and buttons are missing a Role that is programmatically determinable. The workaround for the missing bottom navigation Role is provided in the form of the hints that are given to the user to double tap on a tab to go to the screen content.
• Placeholder text disappears for input fields when data is entered. It may make it difficult to determine the purpose of the input field if the onscreen label is not present. To identify the field, delete the data entered to see the field label.
• When navigating with controls menu by swiping the screen with 3 fingers and then swiping down to the Tabs, TalkBack announces “Unlabeled” rather than the Tabs labels.
• TalkBack doesn’t announce links when navigating with the Links Menu. The workaround is to swipe through the page content and identify links via hints that are announced by TalkBack.
• On the On the Payments and Tax Help screens, there are 3 elements (containing the heading and text) that are in the tabbing order and are not announced by Talkback. Continue tabbing to the heading to select.

Refund status screen:

• The page title is announced by Talkback as IRS2Go instead of Refunds.
• Middle and last 4 digits SSN fields are announced as unlabeled and then Talkback announces each field’s correct label.

Free Tax Prep Site Locator results screen:

• When viewing results, TalkBack announces the telephone number after swiping from the provider name’s heading, but does not indicate that the number announced is a phone number.

Phone numbers screen:

• After the screen title is announced, the next swipe selects the “navigate up” back button instead of selecting the screen content. The workaround is to swipe again to begin reading the content.