Inland Revenue's online user service will be offline for a chunk of the weekend as it upgrades its identity authentication system.
Taxpayers were sent an email on Wednesday confirming myIR, the online service that allows Kiwis to access their tax statements, pay tax or their student loan, or receive messages from IR, will be offline between 1pm on Saturday and 8am on Monday. The self-service phone line and its Gateway Service will also be unavailable.
"We are updating our external authentication system," it said. "This is the system used to confirm your identity when you access Inland Revenue’s external systems and services (including myIR, our self-service phone line and Gateway Services)."
Once the upgrades have been completed, IR says users will notice several changes.
The myIR login screen will look different, but the login process won't change.
"You will still be able to log in using your current user ID and password, though these won’t pre-populate the first time if you’d had them saved, so make sure you have them handy. "
The IR website is promising the login page "will have a new look and feel".
Anyone who uses software that connects to IR via a gateway service will have to re-authenticate themselves with their user ID and password.
"Make sure you have these details ready. If you are having trouble logging in and you are sure your details are correct, then contact your software provider for assistance."
The new external authentication system will support two-step verification, which adds an extra layer of security.
"You will be able to turn on two-step verification in your myIR profile. When two-step verification is enabled, a unique code will be issued as part of the login process. This code can be sent to either your email or via a third-party authenticator app."
Other changes include:
- Alert bubbles next to clients' names
- The 'search' tab will become the default landing page
- New minimum password requirements
