The IRS will soon require taxpayers to submit a facial recognition scan in order to access certain features and tax records online.
The update will require users to sign into the IRS website through an account with third-party firm ID.me and provide a government identification document with their photo, along with a selfie, to verify their identity, BizPacReview reports.
The IRS first announced their partnership with the third-party company in November, arguing the agreement will “improve accessibility” and security for users.
“Identity verification is critical to protect taxpayers and their information. The IRS has been working hard to make improvements in this area, and this new verification process is designed to make IRS online applications as secure as possible for people,” IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig said at the time.
“The IRS emphasizes taxpayers can pay or file their taxes without submitting a selfie or other information to a third-party identity verification company,” a spokesperson told CNBC. “Tax payments can be made from a bank account, by credit card or by other means without the use of facial recognition technology or registering for an account.”
Rather, users will have to submit a selfie in order to access tax records, view or manage payment plans and/or access the Child Tax Credit Update Portal.
