Start from the official account resource
Use the current IRS information about individual online accounts to understand available features and access instructions. Keep authentication details private, and do not provide credentials to a person merely because a conversation concerns taxes. Identify the tax period and account information relevant to the letter or question being examined. An account view should be read within its actual scope rather than treated as an explanation of every underlying document.
Record the question instead of relying on an undated memory
Keep an appropriate dated reference to the information reviewed and compare it with notices, return copies, and transaction evidence. Distinguish what is displayed from what you expected to see. If something is unclear, ask which official process or qualified review can explain it. Preserve the source context when supplying relevant information through a confirmed method. This guide does not provide account access, authenticate a screen, or establish that a listed entry settles the tax issue.
A document’s purpose does not travel reliably when its type and period are left behind.