The IRS has announced changes that promise faster refunds and stronger identity theft protections for taxpayers starting with the 2025 filing season. But let’s not kid ourselves—when it comes to the IRS, every silver lining comes wrapped in red tape.
Here’s the deal: taxpayers filing electronically and claiming dependents can now proceed, even if those dependents have already been claimed on another return, provided they include an Identity Protection Personal Identification Number (IP PIN). Previously, these cases required paper filing, which caused significant delays.
“This change will reduce the time for the agency to receive the tax return and accelerate the issuance of tax refunds for those with duplicate dependent returns,” the IRS said in its announcement. Translation: the IRS finally realized it’s 2023 and started acting like it.
The IP PIN—a six-digit code issued by the IRS—is supposed to ensure that only the rightful taxpayer can file using their Social Security number. That’s a good step toward combating fraud, especially since identity thieves have long exploited the IRS’s inability to keep up with modern scams.
To their credit, the IRS acknowledged the inefficiencies of their previous process. Requiring an IP PIN for duplicate dependent claims could prevent fraudulent filings or “honest mistakes,” a.k.a. your cousin “accidentally” claiming your kid as a dependent. But taxpayers need to act fast: the system for getting an IP PIN goes offline for annual maintenance on Nov. 23 and won’t return until January 2025. Because apparently, the IRS IT team needs six weeks to turn the lights off and on again.
While these changes apply to tax year 2024 and beyond, the IRS clarified that any duplicate dependent claims from prior years (2022, 2023) will still need to be filed on paper. That’s right, the same old snail-mail nightmare that ensures your refund will arrive just in time to fund next year’s tax bill.
Let’s not forget the obvious: the IRS is a government bureaucracy, and while this change might sound helpful, it’s also a stark reminder of how inefficient things have been. Republicans have long called for tax reform and a flatter, simpler system that would make identity theft and duplicate claims obsolete. Democrats, meanwhile, seem more interested in weaponizing the IRS against small businesses than fixing its inefficiencies. Maybe if the IRS spent less time auditing waitresses’ tips and more time streamlining processes, we wouldn’t need six-digit PINs to fend off fraudsters. But hey, at least they’re trying—just don’t hold your breath.
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