As the IRS moves toward testing out its new direct file system pilot in the coming tax season, the agency said it will use ID.me identity verification technology to help identify participants in the pilot program, according to an IRS blog post.
The agency will be forgoing using login.gov – a single sign-on solution that was developed by the U.S. Digital Service – after concerns were raised in a September 2023 oversight report that found the online tool did not yet meet agency cybersecurity standards.
“For this pilot, the only credential service provider (CSP) currently available to the IRS that meets the Identity Assurance Level 2 (IAL2) standard for identity verification and sign-in services, as set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is ID.me,” the IRS said.
“As a result, for this filing season’s pilot, taxpayers will need to authenticate using ID.me to use Direct File. The Direct File pilot will join existing IRS IAL2 products using ID.me, including Online Account and Get Transcript Online. Taxpayers may choose to verify their identity via live chat from the outset, bypassing automated biometric collection,” added the IRS.
The IRS’s move to create the direct file system comes as the agency has been taking steps to modernize its technology services to better serve American taxpayers nationwide.
“It’s an exciting moment for the IRS to be deploying this type of product because it gives taxpayers another option,” said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel during an event on Dec. 7.
The IRS is putting the final touches on the pilot program before taxpayers in eligible states can file directly with the IRS.
“If the 2024 pilot is successful and a decision is made to continue Direct File in future years, we are committed to evaluating additional public and private options to ensure that future iterations of Direct File allow taxpayers the choice of how they authenticate their identity,” stated the agency.
