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Get your taxes done using TurboTax
@ sginflorida wrote:This was OK for TY 2020 but not for TY 2021. Now you must provide both the AGI and the 5 digit code from last year, even if last year you did not use a code.
No, that's not the case; it's an either/or situation. Many people (if not most) when efiling do not even have the 5-digit PIN from last year. And many folks are efiling a return for the very first time or didn't file last year and wouldn't have one anyway. When verifying your return for efiling, you're not required to use your 5-digit Self-Select PIN from last year. However, you will be asked to choose a new 5-digit PIN on another screen where you sign the return, as I'll explain below. So first, see the following explanation:
When efiling, there are a couple of places where TurboTax might ask you about a 5-digit PIN. In the section where you verify your efiling, TurboTax may ask you to provide either the 2020 AGI or your prior-year Self-Select PIN. A lot of people didn't save their 2020 PIN, so many people (if not most) use the 2020 AGI instead to verify their 2021 return; i.e., you can choose the AGI field and use the 2020 AGI and leave the PIN field blank.
However, if you're asking about a later screen (may be titled "Signature ID") that asks you for a 5-digit PIN and also has your birth date and today's date, that screen says to use "any 5 digits of your choosing." In that field you can either use the same PIN as last year (for those who still have it), or you can make a new one. Whatever you enter there can be used again next year.
That being said, if you efiled a return last year and want to try to find your 5-digit Self-Select PIN from last year, you may be able to retrieve it if you have a full PDF of your 2020 return that includes the worksheets, or can download one from your Online TurboTax account if you used the Online version last year. Look for a worksheet called "Federal Information Worksheet", and the PIN "might" be near the bottom of page 4 of that worksheet. Desktop users (CD/download) should also be able to find that worksheet in the forms list of their 2020 program.