A letter from the IRS

Take a breath. The IRS sends letters for many reasons, such as a balance due, a changed refund, a question about your return, or to verify your identity. Most can be handled by reading the letter carefully and acting by the date on it. First, make sure it’s really from the IRS.

Is it really the IRS?

The IRS says it starts most contacts with a letter in the mail. Even when an IRS employee does call or visit, for example about an overdue tax bill, you’ll generally have gotten several letters first. The IRS says it does not:

• call to demand immediate payment with a specific method like a prepaid debit card, gift card, or wire transfer,
• demand payment without giving you a chance to question or appeal the amount,
• threaten to have police or immigration officers arrest you, or to take away your driver’s license, business license, or immigration status, or
• email or text you without your permission, or call to threaten arrest or tell you about a refund.

Real tax payments go to the “United States Treasury,” using the options at irs.gov/payments. The IRS says an employee who visits will show two forms of official ID (a pocket commission and an HSPD-12 card). The IRS can assign some debts to private collection agencies, but only after telling you in writing, and those agencies won’t ask for payment by prepaid debit card or gift card.

Three ways to check a letter

1. Look up the notice number on the IRS “Understanding your IRS notice or letter” page.
2. Sign in to your IRS Online Account by typing irs.gov yourself. You can view digital copies of many IRS notices and see your balance. You’ll need photo ID to create an account.
3. Call the IRS at 800-829-1040 if the letter doesn’t appear in the search or looks suspicious. Don’t use a phone number from a letter you don’t trust.

Find your notice or letter number

The IRS says the notice number (CP or LTR, followed by numbers) is in the right corner of the letter. Search for it on the IRS notice lookup page to see what it means and what to do. The Taxpayer Advocate Service also has a notice search on its website. You can ask for notices in Braille, large print, or audio with IRS Form 9000.

Do this right now

1. Read the whole letter and keep it with your tax records.
2. Find the due date. If the IRS asks you to respond, act by that date. The IRS says replying by the due date protects your appeal rights.
3. If you agree: take the action it asks for. You don’t need to reply unless the letter asks you to.
4. If you disagree: follow the instructions in the letter, and include information and copies of documents for the IRS to review.
5. If you owe money: the IRS says pay what you can by the due date, even if you can’t pay it all. That reduces interest and penalties. Then look at payment plans.
6. If the IRS changed your return: compare its changes with your return. If you agree, note the corrections on your copy and keep it.
7. Want help? You can authorize someone, like a tax professional, to talk to the IRS for you (Form 2848). See free help.

Common IRS notices explained

Summaries from each notice’s page on irs.gov. Your letter’s own instructions and dates always come first.

Can’t pay in full? Payment plans and offers in compromise

The IRS says to pay as much as you can and look at your options. Interest and penalties keep adding up until the balance is paid. While a payment plan request is pending, the IRS is generally prohibited from levying, with certain exceptions.

Apply for a plan with the IRS Online Payment Agreement tool or your IRS Online Account. You can also apply by phone, by mail with Form 9465, or in person (setup fees are higher). Fees and limits change. Check the IRS pages linked below before you apply.

Free help

• Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS): an independent organization within the IRS that helps people with tax problems they haven’t been able to solve with the IRS. TAS says its service is free. Call 1-877-777-4778 or use the TAS website, which has a tool to check whether TAS can help.
• Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs): help people with low incomes who have a tax dispute with the IRS. The IRS says LITCs can represent you before the IRS or in court on audits, appeals, tax collection matters, and other tax disputes, for free or for a small fee, and that they are independent of the IRS. Find one on the IRS LITC page or in IRS Publication 4134.
• Free tax preparation: the VITA and TCE programs (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance and Tax Counseling for the Elderly) offer free tax help to people who qualify. TAS describes them as free tax assistance for people with limited income and people over 60. Learn more on the TAS website.

Report an IRS impersonation scam

From the IRS:

• Phone call: write down the number and hang up. Report it to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at tigta.gov (choose “Someone is impersonating an IRS or Treasury employee”) or call 800-366-4484.
• Email: don’t reply, click, or open attachments. Send it to [email protected] with the subject “IRS” (forwarding it as an attachment is best), then delete it.
• Text message: don’t reply or click. Send the sender’s number, the message text, your number, and the date, time, and time zone to [email protected] with the subject “Text”, then delete it.
• Fake letter (for example about an unclaimed refund, a tax lien, or tax debt relief): report it to the U.S. Postal Service and the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• Already paid or gave out your information? See I think I got scammed and our identity theft guide.

Template: disagreeing with a CP2000

Use the response form that came with your notice first. The IRS says to complete and sign it, check whether you agree or disagree, and include supporting documents. This letter is only for explaining your reasons in more detail. Send everything to the address, fax number, or upload tool your notice gives, by the date on the notice.

[Your name (and spouse's name, if a joint return)]
[Your mailing address]
[Last 4 digits of your Social Security number only]
[Date]

Internal Revenue Service
[Address from the top left corner of the first page of your notice]

Re: Notice CP2000 dated [date on notice], tax year [year], notice reference [number shown on the notice, if any]

I have enclosed the response form from the notice. I [disagree / partly disagree] with the proposed changes, for these reasons:

1. [Item from the notice, for example "Form 1099 from (payer), $(amount)"]
   [Explain why it is wrong. Examples: "This income was already reported on line __ of my return." "This was not my income; the payer used the wrong Social Security number." "This amount was the sale of an item for less than I paid for it."]
   Supporting document(s): [list what you are enclosing]

2. [Next item, if any]

[If you agree with part of the notice, say which items you agree with.]

Enclosed are copies (not originals) of: [list documents].

If you need more information, please contact me at [phone number] between [times].

Sincerely,
[Signature]
[Spouse's signature, if a joint return]