What does my IRS notice mean?
You go to the mailbox and one of the letters has a return address that sends chills down your spine: IRS. While most people don’t like being contacted by the IRS, many of their letters are no cause for panic because they are not audit related. However, they should also not be ignored as some of them are time bound and require a response. This post will discuss some of the common notices the IRS sends and how to interpret what it means.
IRS notice types
The IRS sends notices for many reasons: bills for overdue taxes, requests for you to file a missing tax return, to request additional information about something, notify you of a pending deadline, etc. When the IRS sends a letter via certified mail, it’s giving you legal notice that they intend to levy you, file a lien against you, or that they will examine or audit you or your business. The notice will ALWAYS thoroughly explain why you are receiving it. READ IT.
The very bottom of this post list some of the many notices that the IRS sends and provides you with a brief explanation. If you click on the green notice number, you will be taken to the IRS site where you can read some further details about that particular notice. If you want to see examples of the notices listed, then click this link and sort the notices by name to find the one your’re looking for.
What IRS notices are particularly important?
Any of the notices that deal with collections, should be “handled with care” so to speak. Why? Because if one doesn’t address them, they could find themselves on the wrong side of the IRS pretty quick. What are these notices?
| CP503 | We have not heard from you and you still have an unpaid balance on one of your tax accounts. |
| CP504 | You have an unpaid amount due on your account. If you do not pay the amount due immediately, the IRS will seize (levy) your state income tax refund and apply it to pay the amount you owe. |
| CP504B | You have an unpaid amount due on your account. If you do not pay the amount due immediately, the IRS will seize (levy) certain property or rights to property and apply it to pay the amount you owe. |
| Letter 1058 | We haven’t received your payment for overdue taxes. We intend to seize your property or rights to property (levy). You must contact us immediately. |
What if you still don’t understand the notice after reading it?
We can help via our notice evaluation service. For a flat fee we will analyze your notice and provide you with a detailed explanation (in plain English) of what it means. We’ll also review your IRS account (with your consent and the filing of some paperwork) if you have debt and even provide your IRS CSED (the date your IRS debt will expire). Check out this post to learn more.
Call us at (773) 239-8850 or click our email address at the bottom of this screen to get started.
Common IRS notices
| Notice Number | Description |
|---|---|
| CP01H | You received a CP 01H notice because we were unable to process your tax return. The IRS has locked your account because the Social Security Administration informed us that the Social Security number (SSN) of the primary or secondary taxpayer on the return belongs to someone who was deceased prior to the current tax year. |
| CP04 | Our records show that you or your spouse served in a combat zone, a qualified contingency operation, or a hazardous duty station during the tax year specified on your notice. As a result, you may be eligible for tax deferment. |
| CP08 | You may qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit and be entitled to some additional money. |
| CP09 | We’ve sent you this notice because our records indicate you may be eligible for the Earned Income Credit (EIC), but didn’t claim it on your tax return. |
| CP10 | We made a change(s) to your return because we believe there’s a miscalculation. This change(s) affected the estimated tax payment you wanted applied to your taxes for next year. |
| CP10A | We made a change(s) to your return because we believe there’s a miscalculation involving your Earned Income Credit. This change(s) affected the estimated tax payment you wanted applied to your taxes for next year. |
| CP11 | We made changes to your return because we believe there’s a miscalculation. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP11A | We made changes to your return because we believe there’s a miscalculation involving your Earned Income Credit. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP12 | We issue a CP12 Notice when we correct one or more mistakes on your tax return, and a payment becomes an overpayment, or an original overpayment amount has changed. |
| CP12A | We made changes to correct the Earned Income Credit (EIC) claimed on your tax return. |
| CP12E | We made changes to correct a miscalculation on your return. |
| CP13 | We made changes to your return because we believe there’s a miscalculation. You’re not due a refund nor do you owe an additional amount because of our changes. Your account balance is zero. |
| CP13A | We made changes to your return because we found an error involving your Earned Income Credit. You’re not due a refund nor do you owe an additional amount because of our changes. Your account balance is zero. |
| CP14 | We sent you this notice because you owe money on unpaid taxes. |
| CP14I | You owe taxes and penalties because you didn’t take out the minimum amount you had to from your traditional individual retirement arrangement (IRA). Or, you put into a tax-sheltered account more than you can legally. |
| CP16 | We sent you this notice to tell you about changes we made to your return that affect your refund. We made these changes because we believe there was a miscalculation. Our records show you owe other tax debts and we applied all or part of your refund to them. |
| CP19 | We have increased the amount of tax you owe because we believe you incorrectly claimed one or more deductions or credits. |
| CP20 | We believe you incorrectly claimed one or more deductions or credits. As a result, your refund is less than you expected. |
| CP21A | We made the change(s) you requested to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You owe money on your taxes as a result of the change(s). |
| CP21B | We made the change(s) you requested to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You should receive your refund within 2-3 weeks of your notice. |
| CP21C | We made the change(s) you requested to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You’re not due a refund nor do you owe any additional amount. Your account balance for this tax form and tax year is zero. |
| CP21E | As a result of your recent audit, we made changes to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP21I | We made changes to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice for Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) taxes. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP22A | We made the change(s) you requested to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You owe money on your taxes as a result of the change(s). |
| CP22E | As a result of your recent audit, we made changes to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP22I | We made changes to your tax return for the tax year specified on the notice for Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) taxes. You owe money on your taxes as a result of these changes. |
| CP23 | We made changes to your return because we found a difference between the amount of estimated tax payments on your tax return and the amount we posted to your account. You have a balance due because of these changes. |
| CP24 | We made changes to your return because we found a difference between the amount of estimated tax payments on your tax return and the amount we posted to your account. You have a potential overpayment credit because of these changes. |
| CP24E | We made changes to your return because we found a difference between the amount of estimated tax payments on your tax return and the amount we posted to your account. You have a potential overpayment credit because of these changes. |
| CP25 | We made changes to your return because we found a difference between the amount of estimated tax payments on your tax return and the amount we posted to your account. You’re not due a refund nor do you owe an additional amount because of our changes. Your account balance is zero. |
| CP27 | We’ve sent you this notice because our records indicate you may be eligible for the Earned Income Credit (EIC), but didn’t claim it on your tax return. |
| CP30 | We charged you a penalty for not pre-paying enough of your tax either by having taxes withheld from your income, or by making timely estimated tax payments. |
| CP30A | We reduced or removed the penalty for underpayment of estimated tax reported on your tax return. |
| CP32 | We sent you a replacement refund check. |
| CP32A | Call us to request your refund check. |
| CP39 | We used a refund from your spouse or former spouse to pay your past due tax debt. You may still owe money. |
| CP42 | The amount of your refund has changed because we used it to pay your spouse’s past due tax debt. |
| CP45 | We were unable to apply your overpayment to your estimated tax as you requested. |
| CP49 | We sent you this notice to tell you we used all or part of your refund to pay a tax debt. |
| CP51A | We computed the tax on your Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ. You owe taxes. |
| CP51B | We computed the tax on your Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ. You owe taxes. |
| CP51C | We computed the tax on your Form 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ. You owe taxes. |
| CP53 | We can’t provide your refund through direct deposit, so we’re sending you a refund check by mail. |
| CP59 | We sent you this notice because we have no record that you filed your prior personal tax return or returns. |
| CP60 | We removed a payment erroneously applied to your account. |
| CP62 | We applied a payment to your account. |
| CP63 | We are holding your refund because you have not filed one or more tax returns and we believe you will owe tax. |
| CP71 | You received this notice to remind you of the amount you owe in tax, penalty and interest. |
| CP71A | You received this notice to remind you of the amount you owe in tax, penalty and interest. |
| CP71C | You received this notice to remind you of the amount you owe in tax, penalty and interest. |
| CP71D | You received this notice to remind you of the amount you owe in tax, penalty and interest. |
| CP88 | We are holding your refund because you have not filed one or more tax returns and we believe you will owe tax. |
| CP90C | We levied you for unpaid taxes. You have the right to a Collection Due Process hearing. |
| CP120 | You need to send us documentation of your tax-exempt status. |
| CP130 | Your tax return filing requirements may have changed: You may no longer need to pay the Alternative Minimum Tax. |
| CP152 | We have received your return. |
| CP153 | We can’t provide you with your refund through a direct deposit, so we’re sending you a refund check/credit payment by mail. |
| CP166 | We were unable to process your monthly payment because there were insufficient funds in your bank account. |
| CP178 | Your tax return filing requirements may have changed: You may no longer owe excise tax. |
| CP180/CP181 | We sent you this notice because your tax return is missing a schedule or form. |
| CP231 | Your refund or credit payment was returned to us and we need you to update your current address. |
| CP259 | We’ve sent you this notice because our records indicate you didn’t file the required business tax return identified in the notice. |
| CP297C | We levied you for unpaid taxes. You have the right to a Collection Due Process hearing. |
| CP501 | You have a balance due (money you owe the IRS) on one of your tax accounts. |
| CP521 | This notice is to remind you that you have an installment agreement payment due. Please send your payment immediately. |
| CP523 | This notice informs you of our intent to terminate your installment agreement and seize (levy) your assets. You have defaulted on your agreement. |
| CP565 | We gave you an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). |
| CP566 | We need more information to process your application for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You may have sent us an incomplete form. You may have sent us the wrong documents. |
| CP2005 | We accepted the information you sent us. We’re not going to change your tax return. We’ve closed our review of it. |
| CP2006 | We received your information. We’ll look at it and let you know what we’re going to do. |
| CP2057 | You need to file an amended return. We’ve received information not reported on your tax return. |
| CP2501 | You need to contact us. We’ve received information not reported on your tax return. |
