In the wake of a recent security breach, the IRS announced that it will be suspending its Identity Protection PIN service until further notice. The IP PIN is a six-digit number providing an additional level of authentication for people who had been, or could become, victims of identity theft. However, this security measure itself became insecure when hackers accessed and possibly stole about 5 percent, or 137,000, of these PINs. While the service is suspended, the IRS said those who already have IP PINs should file their taxes as usual.

For taxpayers who have lost their IP PINs and have no way to file taxes otherwise, the IRS has the following guidance: 

• Lost or misplaced IP PIN letters.Taxpayers who are IP PIN holders but wholost their CP01A letters containing the IP PINwill need to call the IRS. If they can verify their identity, they will be mailed their IP PIN. If they have moved since Jan. 1, 2016, they must file a paper tax return, which will receive additional scrutiny and take longer to process because we don’t normally accept these returns without an IP PIN.   
• Florida, Georgia and District of Columbia participants.Taxpayers who live in Florida, Georgia or the District of Columbia and who already have retrieved an IP PIN should include it on their tax returns. Taxpayers in those locations who have not retrieved an IP PIN will be unable to access the tool at this time but may file their tax return as normal.
• Other taxpayers.Taxpayers who filed a Form 14039 citing non-tax identity theft issues (Box 2) and who already have retrieved an IP PIN should include it on their tax returns.