The Internal Revenue Service announced on September 25, 2026 that its new mobile app has replaced the old one, IRS2Go. The new app adds ways to check a refund, see a balance, make a payment and read some IRS notices from a phone.
IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank J. Bisignano said in the agency’s news release that “the new IRS app puts more services at taxpayers’ fingertips.” The release describes the app as free on the Apple App Store and Google Play.
What the new app shows
According to the release, the app lets taxpayers check refund status and amended-return status, view available balance information, make payments and review payment activity, and view select notices and letters. It also gives access to available tax records and transcripts, and to certain profile and communication preferences, and it can issue an Identity Protection PIN.
The IRS says more features will follow, and it calls the launch “just the beginning.” For now the app covers only selected parts of the Individual Online Account that taxpayers can already reach on a computer.
The app does not replace IRS.gov. The release says the Individual Online Account, Business Tax Account and Tax Pro Account stay available on the website, and that phone and in-person help remain.
The question for most readers is simpler: where should a refund or an IRS letter be checked now? For refund status the answer is quick, because that part works with or without signing in. For anything tied to an account, the app asks for more.
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Is it a new app, or the old one with a new name?
Both descriptions fit. The release says the new app replaces IRS2Go, which helped taxpayers check refund status and find free filing resources for more than a decade, and that current IRS2Go users do not need to download a separate app. People with automatic updates turned on receive it through the normal update process.
The IRS’s own app page says the IRS app is the former IRS2Go, that the name changed and new features were added, and that all previous services are still available. It lists refunds and amended returns, payments, tax records, notices and letters, and profile updates among the features.
What it takes to sign in
The app page says the new features require signing in to an Individual account through an outside identity-verification service. The app opens a secure browser tab, and after identity verification the user is sent back to the app. The IRS’s online account page adds that a new user should have photo identification ready.
That same online account page lists what sits behind the login: key return information such as adjusted gross income, transcripts, refund and amended-return status, digital copies of notices, and a record of up to five years of payments. It also lets users make same-day or scheduled payments and apply for a payment plan.
On the payments side, the online account page says same-day payments can be made from a bank account, or scheduled up to 365 days ahead, and that a scheduled payment can be cancelled. Users can also see what is owed by tax year, which is the number most people want when a balance-due letter shows up in the mailbox.
Anyone who has not signed up for the online account before should expect that identity step to take some time, so it is better to do it before a notice with a deadline arrives.
Checking a refund without the app
The IRS refunds page says refund status appears 24 hours after a current-year return is e-filed, and typically within three weeks of e-filing. Mailed returns take six or more weeks from the day the IRS receives them. The IRS’s refund tracker works without signing in, but it needs the exact refund amount, a Social Security number or ITIN, the filing status and the tax year.
For amended returns the page points to the online account, the amended-return tracker page, or the phone line at 866-464-2050. The refund line is 800-829-1954.
The app is a place to look at account information, and the release says phone and in-person help remain available for questions it cannot answer. Because it launched with only selected features, a notice that is not listed there still has to be handled from the paper letter.
Notices: the app shows some, not all
The release says the app displays select notices and letters, not every one. The IRS’s notices page says taxpayers may get a notice or letter for reasons such as a balance due, a changed refund, a question about a return, identity verification or processing delays, and that certain notices and letters are available in the online account. The number to look for is the CP or LTR code in the right corner of the letter.
The page also says to read the notice carefully, keep a copy and act by the due date if the IRS asks for a response, since replying by that date protects appeal rights. Anyone whose letter does not turn up in a search, or who thinks it looks suspicious, is told to call 800-829-1040.
The IRS also warns about look-alike apps. It tells people not to download apps from ads or unsolicited messages and to use the official app store listings or links on IRS.gov.
Got a refund or an IRS letter the app does not explain?
The app answers where a refund stands. It does not tell a reader what a CP notice is asking for, what the deadline on it means, or what to do when the status screen stays stuck for weeks.
The IRS Refund Recovery Kit adds a notice decoder for reading IRS letters and a refund status tracker spreadsheet for keeping dates, amounts and phone calls in one place. It also covers the Form 3911 refund-trace steps for a refund that never arrived and the 3-year refund deadline.
Get the notice decoder and refund tracker spreadsheet for the IRS app era →
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- 21 Ways to Stretch a $2,087 Social Security Check
- 15 Places to Find Your Share of the $4.25 Billion States Give Back
- 15 Ways Out of 22% Credit Card Interest
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
