this post was submitted on 30 Jan 2024
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For your simple[r] tax needs: https://directfile.irs.gov

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[–] [email protected] 42 points 9 months ago (18 children)

I'm 100% for a simple IRS tax return but what the heck is with this?

To use Direct File, you need an IRS account with ID.me.

To get an ID.me account, you need to:

Take a video of your face

If you can't or don't want to take a video of your face, you can have a video call with an ID.me agent who will confirm that your face matches your identification.

Is that really necessary???

[–] [email protected] 24 points 9 months ago (5 children)

It's the same as going to a bank and letting the teller look at your face. It's to prevent someone from stealing your identity using a picture of your ID.

How can they verify the ID is real without physically seeing it? They look up the info but still need to verify that you are the person on the ID.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 9 months ago (1 children)

How have they been verifying mailed in tax forms with no pictures for decades?

Seems like it unnecessarily disenfranchises the poor and the elderly. You have to have access to equipment that can record you and the tech savvy to be able to use it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

How have they been verifying mailed in tax forms with no pictures for decades?

They haven't. Of course, the IRS deals with upwards 1 million potentially fraudulent claims per year. So, at some level, they're trying to avoid exacerbating the problem.

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