The IRS recently made an announcement of an error on their December 2015 Identity Protection PIN letters (IP PIN).
The letters stated that the IP PIN was for the 2014 tax year, when they are actually for the 2015 tax year.
An IP PIN is a unique 6-digit number assigned to taxpayers that have experienced identity theft. They help the IRS verify a taxpayer’s identity and prevent someone from filing a fraudulent return under another person’s Social Security number. For identity theft victims, a tax return will be rejected if it is missing or contains an incorrect IP PIN.
The IRS emphasized that taxpayers and preparers should still use the IP PIN numbers when filing 2015 returns despite the wrong date on the letter.
To read the announcement by the IRS click here. For more information on identity theft and IP PINs, please contact Brian McFarren at (231) 726-5815.