What You Can Do in the New IRS App
After you sign in, the IRS says the app gives you access to the following account information and self-service options:
- Check the status of your refund or an amended return
- View available balance information
- Make payments and review your payment activity
- View select IRS notices and letters
- Access available tax records and transcripts
- Manage certain profile and communication preferences
- Retrieve your Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
A few of these deserve a closer look.
1) Payments and Balance Information
Being able to see what the IRS shows as owed, and what it shows as paid, is the most useful feature for many clients. If you make a payment through the app, save the confirmation and send us a copy. We reconcile payments against your IRS account when we prepare your return, and a payment we do not know about can make your return look like it has a balance due that you already paid.
2) Notices and Letters
The app shows select IRS notices and letters, which means you may see a notice on your phone before the paper copy arrives. Please keep sending us any IRS correspondence you receive, whether it shows up in the app, your online account, or your mailbox. Most notices have a response deadline, and the clock starts on the date printed on the notice, not the date you read it.
3) Transcripts and Tax Records
Lenders often ask for IRS tax transcripts when you apply for a mortgage or other financing. Having them available on your phone can save a step, although we are still glad to help you pull and review them.
4) Identity Protection PIN
An IP PIN is a six-digit number that keeps someone else from filing a return using your Social Security number. A new IP PIN is generated each calendar year. If you have an IP PIN, we need the one assigned for the calendar year in which we file the return. So for a 2026 return filed in 2027, that is the 2027 IP PIN. If you signed up for an IP PIN online on your own, the IRS does not mail you a new one each year. You have to retrieve it yourself, and the app should make that easier. The IRS will never call, email, or text you asking for your IP PIN, so treat any message that does as a scam.
How to Get the IRS App
The app is free and available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. If IRS2Go is already on your phone, you do not need to download a separate app. With automatic updates turned on, IRS2Go becomes the IRS app through the normal update process. If you have automatic updates turned off, update IRS2Go through your app store.
The safest place to start is the IRS’s own IRS app page on IRS.gov, which links to the official store listings. Do not search the app store and tap the first result.
The new sign-in features are an extension of your IRS Individual Online Account, so you will need an online account to use them. If you have not set one up yet, our earlier post, Faster, Safer, Easier: Meet the IRS Online Account, explains why it is worth doing.
What the App Does Not Replace (Still Important)
IRS.gov and the Online Accounts Stay in Place
The app does not replace IRS.gov or the IRS online accounts. For now, it carries over only selected features of the Individual Online Account. Anything not on the list above still means logging in on IRS.gov, and the IRS has said it plans to add features to the app over time.
Business Accounts Are Not in the App
For now, the IRS Business Tax Account and Tax Pro Account remain on IRS.gov only. If you own a business, the app will not show your company’s balances, notices, or payments. Business payments and account work continue through the same channels you use today.
Your State Account Is Separate
The IRS app covers your federal account. Your Missouri income tax account, or an account with any other state, is not part of it.
Phone and In-Person Help Remain Available
The IRS will still help taxpayers by phone and in person when an issue needs individual attention or cannot be resolved through self-service. So will we.
Watch for Look-Alike Apps and Scam Messages
A new IRS app is exactly the kind of news scammers use. The IRS is warning taxpayers to expect look-alike apps, advertisements, and unsolicited messages claiming to offer access to IRS accounts. A few simple rules go a long way:
- Download the app only through the verified links on IRS.gov or the official IRS listing in the Apple App Store or Google Play
- Do not tap links in unsolicited texts, emails, or pop-ups about your IRS account, even if they look official
- Remember that the IRS will not ask for sensitive personal or financial information through an unsolicited text, email, or pop-up message
- If you are unsure whether a message or app is real, go to IRS.gov directly rather than following the link
One final security reminder: Please do not email or text us your IRS sign-in credentials. If we need information from your IRS account, we will work with you to access it securely.
Questions About Your IRS Account?
We are glad to walk you through the new app, review what the IRS shows for your balance and payments, and handle any notice you find there. Call us at 314-991-4770 or reach out to your Abeles and Hoffman contact.
