The IRS has notified tax practitioners that, as of Sept. 25,  it will require a new electronic fingerprinting process for their e-file applications, Accounting Today reported. In an email it sent to  tax professionals Wednesday, the IRS announced that individuals would be required to use an IRS-authorized vendor for fingerprinting. Each new principal and responsible official listed on a new e-file application or added to an existing application needing fingerprints will have to schedule an appointment with the IRS authorized vendor.  

The cutoff date to mail paper fingerprint cards) to the IRS will be Aug. 15. These fingerprints cards also need to be postmarked by that same date, and the application has to be submitted prior to mailing the fingerprint cards. The IRS said that it won’t process fingerprint cards postmarked after that date.

Customer who need fingerprints will then have to wait until Sept. 25 to schedule an electronic fingerprinting appointment. On that date, they can do so by accessing the scheduling link located on the e-file application summary page. 

The IRS will provide instructions for scheduling an appointment when individuals submit  there applications on IRS.gov. The Become an Authorized e-file Provider page on IRS.gov will offer the most up-to-date information. 

According to Accounting Today, the fingerprinting process is one way the IRS has tried to improve its authentication procedures in order to fight identity theft. The IRS hopes  to avoid any uproar over biometric identification methods, of the sort that broke out earlier this year, after it began introducing selfie technology for accessing online taxpayer accounts. The IRS also plans to migrate its online services for tax professionals to the third-party provider ID.me this summer, even though members of Congress have raised objections to that authentication company.