IRS relaunches web tool following data breach

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on Tuesday formally relaunched its “Get Transcript Online” service, following last year’s data breach that compromised the sensitive information of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers.

The web service, which allows taxpayers to access documents that summarize their tax returns, had been disabled last May, after the IRS discovered the breach.

The new “Get Transcript” web feature uses a multi-factor authentication procress. This enhanced authentication process is scheduled to be applied to other IRS web tools later in the year, and meets security standards set by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Office of Management and Budget, the IRS said.

“Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated and continue to gather vast amounts of personal information as the result of data breaches at sources outside the IRS,” Commissioner John Koskinen, said. “In the face of that threat, we must provide the strongest possible authentication processes, while trying to enhance the ability of taxpayers to legitimately access their data and use IRS services online.”  

In order for taxpayers to access the new “Get Transcript” feature, they will need an email address, a phone that can receive text messages and specific financial account information such as a credit card number. The new verification process will involve the IRS sending codes to taxpayers by email and text, the agency said.

People who are having difficulty validating their identity can request online to have their transcript mailed to them.