IRS Notices & Letters

An IRS notice starts a clock, not a conversation you can put off. The letter tells you what the IRS believes, what it proposes to do, and how long you have to answer, and the deadline printed on the page is usually shorter than it looks.

Most notices are not audits. They are proposals, requests, or warnings, and knowing which category yours falls into is what determines whether you simply respond with documents or need a defense. The wrong response, or none at all, turns a proposal into an assessment.

What the IRS sent you

• CP2000: a proposal, not a bill and not an audit, issued when income reported by third parties does not match your return. Do nothing and the proposed tax becomes an assessment.
• Collection notices: CP504, LT11, LT1058, and CP90 escalate toward enforcement, and a final notice of intent to levy starts the clock on your hearing rights.
• CP523: notice that an installment agreement is in default and about to be terminated.
• CP508C: certification of a seriously delinquent debt to the State Department, which puts a passport at risk.
• A notice of deficiency: the statutory notice that closes the administrative phase and opens the door to Tax Court.

Deadlines decide your options

Response windows are commonly 30, 60, or 90 days depending on the notice. The 90-day notice of deficiency is the one to watch, because it is your ticket to Tax Court and the deadline cannot be extended. Missing a window rarely ends the matter, but it usually forfeits the cheapest and best way out of it.

Many notices are also simply wrong, or overstated. A CP2000 built on a mismatched 1099 or an unreported basis figure often resolves entirely on documentation, without any tax being owed at all.

How we respond

• Read the notice for what it actually requires, rather than what it appears to demand.
• Calendar every deadline in it, and work backward from the earliest one.
• Assemble the documentation and the legal position that answers it.
• Respond in writing, well before the window closes, and keep the appeal rights alive.

The aim is to resolve the notice before it hardens into an assessment, a lien, or a levy. Send us the letter and we will tell you what it means, what it requires, and what it will cost to answer it properly.