The IRS said Wednesday it’s now requiring taxpayers and financial institutions to authenticate their identities when they log in to use the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) website.
As of July 14, taxpayers are required to sign in or register with either of the IRS’s credential service providers—Login.gov or ID.me—to access the FATCA registration system.
Enacted in 2010 by Congress to target non-compliance by taxpayers using foreign accounts or foreign entities, FATCA requires most U.S. taxpayers holding financial assets outside the U.S. and certain foreign financial institutions to report assets and financial accounts to the IRS.
Taxpayers who already have a Login.gov or an ID.me profile will be able to sign in to the FATCA registration system as long as the email matches that of the responsible officer or point of contact on the FATCA registration, the IRS said.
Taxpayers who don’t have a Login.gov or ID.me profile will need to create one to access the system. The new authentication requirement complies with National Institute of Standards and Technology digital identity guidelines.
To create a new profile with either Login.gov or ID.me, taxpayers will need to verify an email address, create a password, and set up multifactor authentication to secure their FATCA account. Both ID.me and Login.gov have help desks to assist taxpayers who have difficulty using the systems.
For questions and assistance regarding Login.gov, visit the Login.gov help center. For questions and assistance regarding ID.me, visit Verifying for the Internal Revenue Service – ID.me Help Site.
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Tags: Income Tax, IRS, Taxes
