Setup an IRS Account Today!!

I highly recommend that anyone who hasn't already done so to get an account setup with irs.gov. It has been invaluable for people struggling with the Advanced Child Tax Credit, and will become even more necessary as the IRS completely fails to service taxpayers over the phone or in person. Online is the future and setting up an account is usually pretty easy, but when it isn't, it can be a slog. You don't want to find out you lost the easy lottery when you really need access. I just spent 2 hours finishing my account setup due to some unforeseen issue with my drivers license picture. I had to upload documents and do a video conference with a nice gentleman to show all my proof. Here's how it went:

At 2:35, estimated wait time: 1 hour and 2 min

At 2:40, estimated wait time: 50 min

At 2:45, estimated wait time: 1 hour and 2 min - Son of a B!!!!!

At 2:50, estimated wait time: 40 min - Jackpot!!!

At 2:55, estimated wait time: 1 hour and 5 minutes

Anyway, over an hour and a half later, I spend 5 minutes video chatting with a pleasant dude in dreads...and I was done.

So you can see why you might want to plan ahead.

Once you have the account setup, you can view your return transcript, get federal data from W-2 forms and, most important, see where the money is going into and out of your IRS "account" which is critical when the spam hits the fan.

Other things it helps with are making payments, setting up payment plans, viewing letters and notices, getting an identity protection PIN and eventually a whole ton more. 

Don't wait!!

I think I might eventually advise everyone to get an IP PIN, but am still hesitant since sometimes people lose track of them and fixing this is a nightmare...though having an IRS account setup and verified probably helps with this too.

Here's where to start: https://www.irs.gov/payments/your-online-account