Received an IRS Letter or Certified Mail

Find the notice number first

Look at the top right corner of the letter, or sometimes the bottom. You'll see something like CP14, CP2000, LT11, or Letter 1058.

That number tells you what the letter is and whether it carries a deadline. Two letters can read as though they're equally urgent while only one of them starts a clock.

What the letter is comes from the notice. What it means for you depends on what happened on the account before it.

What's the letter about?

Most IRS correspondence falls into a few categories.

A balance is owed. CP14 is usually the first bill. CP501 and CP503 are reminders. CP504 states an intent to levy and can reach a state tax refund. These generally lead toward the final notice described below. See Back Taxes Help.

The IRS intends to levy. LT11, Letter 1058, CP90, and CP297 are final notices that carry the right to a hearing and a deadline for requesting it. This is the category that matters most. See Notice of Intent to Levy.

The IRS proposes a change to a return. A CP2000 proposes changes based on information reported to the IRS by third parties. It's a proposal rather than a bill, and it has a response deadline.

The IRS proposes additional tax formally. A Notice of Deficiency, sometimes called a 90-day letter and issued as CP3219A or CP3219N, carries a deadline to petition the U.S. Tax Court. See IRS Notice of Deficiency.

A return is being examined. Audit letters ask for documentation or schedule an appointment. See IRS Audit Representation.

A return is missing. CP59 and similar letters say the IRS has no record that a required return was filed. See Unfiled Tax Returns.

Something needs verifying. Identity verification letters ask you to confirm you filed a return before the IRS finishes processing it. Those matter, but they aren't collection notices.

Does certified mail mean something worse?

Not necessarily, though it usually means the letter is one the IRS wants proof you received.

Certified mail is often used for letters that carry legal deadlines, like a final levy notice or a Notice of Deficiency. That's the reason to open it rather than the reason to panic.

Use the deadline printed on the notice. It generally runs from the date of the letter rather than the day you sign for it, so refusing delivery doesn't stop the clock.

What if you've missed earlier letters?

That's the most common situation I see, and it's usually about addresses.

The IRS sends correspondence to the last address it has on record. People move. Mail gets forwarded, then stops being forwarded. Certified letters go unclaimed and get returned.

The account shows what was sent and when.

That's how we find out what stage things are actually at, rather than guessing from the one letter that happened to reach you. If a deadline has already passed, options usually still exist. They're just different ones.

What should you do first?

• Find the notice number and the date on the letter.
• Note any deadline the letter states. If it has one, that date governs everything else.
• Don't agree to anything on the phone before you know what the letter is about and what the account shows.
• Keep the envelope if it came certified.

If the letter asks for a payment you agree with and can make, that may be the whole answer. Many IRS letters are exactly that simple.

What about mail that isn't really from the IRS?

Two things get mistaken for IRS letters.

Scam mail that mimics an IRS notice, often demanding immediate payment by an unusual method. The IRS doesn't initiate contact by email or text to demand payment, and a real notice carries a notice number and refers to a specific tax period.

Marketing mail from tax resolution companies, often printed to look official. Those typically follow a filed tax lien, which is a public record. A real IRS notice comes from the IRS, not from a company offering to fix it.

What I do when someone brings me a letter

I read the notice, then I pull the account.

The letter tells me one thing that happened. The account tells me what came before it: which years are involved, what's been assessed, what's been filed, what notices went out, and where the deadlines stand.

Then I can tell you whether the letter is routine, whether it starts a clock, and what the actual options are.

Sometimes that call ends with me telling someone their letter is a bill they can simply pay. That's a good outcome.

Do you need someone for this?

Often, no.

A single notice about a small balance you agree with, or a request for one document, is something most people can handle themselves.

It changes when the letter carries a deadline, when several years are involved, when the balance is substantial, when a return you didn't file is part of it, when a Revenue Officer has made contact, or when you don't agree with what the letter says.

You don't need to know what the letter means before you call.

That's part of what I'm there to figure out.

Frequently asked questions

Where these rules come from