Individual Filer Tax Notices Issued by the IRS

The IRS collection notices and other tax notices on this page are commonly sent to individual filers using forms 1040, 1040A, and 1040EZ to file their federal tax return. If you have received an IRS collection notice or other tax notice related to your business, check out our business filer notices page. You can also check your notice against the Tax Masters IRS Collections Process Chart.

CP 09 – Earned Income Credit You May Be Entitled To From IRS

The IRS sends CP 09 to let you know that you may qualify to take the earned income credit. This notice is sent based on qualifications observed by the IRS on previously filed tax returns. The notice includes instructions on how to claim the credit and explains why you qualify.

CP 10 – Changes to Tax Return, Reduced Amount Applied to Next Year’s Estimated Tax

The IRS sends CP 10 to let you know that you did not overpay as much as you reported and that the IRS is changing your return to reflect that. You would only receive this notice if you elected to apply any overpayment to the following year’s return instead of receiving a refund payment.

CP 11 – Changes to Tax Return, Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 11 to tell you that they changed something in your return that resulted in you owing money to the IRS and they are requesting payment in full. This notice may be accompanied by an explanation of additional penalties and interest, as well as an installment agreement request form.

A Note from Tax Masters

Any time the IRS changes your income tax return it is an audit, and you have the right to appeal their decision. Do not assume that IRS changes are correct. You need to be certain that the IRS hasn’t made a mistake here, as these changes are computer generated. We find an amazingly high error rate in favor of our clients with tax returns that have been automatically updated by IRS systems.

CP 11A – Changes to Tax Return and Earned Income Credit, Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 11A to tell you that they changed something in your return related to the earned income credit and that you owe money to the IRS and they are requesting payment in full. This notice may be accompanied by an explanation of additional penalties and interest, as well as an installment agreement request form.

CP 12 – Changes to Tax Return, Overpayment

The IRS sends CP 12 to tell you that they changed something in your return that resulted in the IRS owing you money. If you owe no back taxes or other tax, you can generally expect payment within six weeks.

CP 13 – Changes to Tax Return, No Refund and No Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 13 to tell you that they changed something on your tax return, but that the change resulted in neither an overpayment nor a balance due. The notice is meant only to explain the change the IRS made to the return.

CP 13A – Changes to Tax Return and Earned Income Credit, No Refund and No Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 13A to tell you that they changed something in your tax return related to the earned income credit, but that that the change resulted in neither an overpayment nor a balance due. The notice is meant only to explain the change the IRS made to the return.

CP 14 – Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 14 if you owe the IRS money and haven’t yet paid it. This is effectively a bill from the IRS. It’s due in full upon receipt.

CP 16 – Changes to Tax Return, Resulting Overpayment Applied to a Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 16 to tell you that they changed something in your return that resulted in the IRS owing you money. However, because you have a balance due on another tax year, the IRS has applied the overpayment to that tax debt.

CP 21B Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Overpayment of $1 or More

The IRS sends CP 21B to let you know that they made an adjustment to your tax return that resulted in you overpaying and that they owe you money.

CP 22A Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Balance Due of $5 or More

The IRS sends CP 22A to tell you that they changed your tax return and that you now owe them money, balance due in full.

CP 22E Examination Adjustment Notice

The IRS sends CP 22E to explain all the penalties, interest, and fees they are charging you related to your balance due.

CP 23 – Estimated Tax Discrepancy, Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 23 when the estimated tax payments you made throughout the year don’t match the estimated tax payments you reported on your tax return. The IRS will let you know if they updated your return and will inform you of the balance due, which is due in full upon receipt. This notice may be accompanied by an explanation of additional penalties and interest, as well as an installment agreement request form.

CP 32A – We Want to Send You a New Refund Check

The IRS sends CP 32A if they sent you a refund check that was not cashed within a year of being issued. They include instructions on how to obtain a replacement refund check in this notice.

CP 45 – Reduced Amount Applied to Estimated Tax

The IRS sends CP 45 to let you know that they applied less than the amount you specified to the next year’s estimated tax. This IRS notice outlines the possible reasons for the reduced applied amount and explains how much they did apply to the next year’s estimated taxes, if any.

CP 49 – Overpaid Tax Applied to Other Taxes You Owe

The IRS sends CP 49 to tell you that they applied your overpayment to other taxes that you owe. This IRS notice lists the relevant tax years, amounts applied from the overpayment, and remaining balances per tax year.

CP 54 and CP 54B – Problem with Name and Identifying Number

The IRS sends CP 54 or a CP 54B when the name and tax number (could be either a Social Security Number or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) you submitted on your tax return don’t match the information on record with the Social Security Administration. This IRS notice includes instructions on how to resolve the situation.

CP 54E – Problem with Name and Identifying Number

The IRS sends CP 54E when the name and tax number (could be either a Social Security Number or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) you submitted on your estimated tax payment don’t match the information on record with the Social Security Administration. This IRS notice includes instructions on how to resolve the situation.

CP 54Q – Problem with Name and Identifying Number

The IRS sends CP 54Q to remind you that they are holding your refund because the name and tax number (could be either a Social Security Number or IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) you submitted on your tax return don’t match the information on record with the Social Security Administration. They will not issue a refund until you resolve this issue.

CP 57 – Notice of Insufficient Funds

If you have an installment agreement in place with the IRS and they were not able to withdraw the amount you agreed to from the account they have on file, the IRS sends you CP 57 to inform you that they are adding a penalty to your balance for insufficient funds.

CP 60 – Notice of Credit Reversal

The IRS sends CP 60 when they realize they’ve incorrectly applied a credit to your account instead of to the correct account. This IRS notice includes the updated amount you owe, which includes additional penalties, interest, and fees.

CP 75 – EIC Portion of Refund Delayed

The IRS sends CP 75 to let you know that the earned income credit portion of your tax refund won’t be sent out on schedule. The IRS sends this notice if there are portions of the tax return affecting the earned income credit that they want to examine more closely. They outline the next steps they will take in the notice.

CP 75A – EIC Portion of Refund Delayed

The IRS sends CP 75A to let you know that the earned income credit portion of your tax refund won’t be sent out on schedule. The IRS sends this notice if they plan to review form 8862, Information to Claim Earned Income Credit After Disallowance. They outline the next steps they will take in the notice.

CP 75B – EIC Portion of Refund Delayed

The IRS sends CP 75B to let you know that the earned income credit portion of your tax refund won’t be sent out on schedule. The IRS sends this notice if you didn’t send in form 8836, Qualifying Children Residency Statement, or if they are still reviewing it. This IRS notice may request that you send them form 8836 and generally includes a timeline for them to make a decision as to whether or not you will qualify for earned income credit.

CP 79 – Earned Income Credit Eligibility Requirement

The IRS sends CP 79 if you need to complete another form to claim earned income credit if it was disallowed or reduced by the IRS for any year after 1996.

CP 79A – Earned Income Credit Two Year Ban

The IRS sends CP 79A to tell you they have banned you from claiming the earned income credit for two years and that you have to fill out an additional form to claim the credit when the ban has expired.

CP 88 – Delinquent Return Refund Hold

The IRS sends CP 88 to let you know that you have a delinquent tax return from a previous year and that you must file that past-due return before you are eligible to collect your current refund from the IRS.

CP 90 – Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing

The IRS sends CP 90 to let you know that they intend to levy your assets to repay your tax debt if you don’t respond within 30 days of the date on the notice. This is also your opportunity to request a collection due process hearing, but you must respond within 30 days.

A Note from Tax Masters

In plain language, this is a big deal. The IRS is going to take your money. You do not have 30 days to act. You need to call us the moment you get this notice from the IRS. In 30 days they will take your money and your problem will get much more expensive to solve.

CP 91 – Final Notice before Levy on Social Security Benefits

The IRS sends CP 91 to let you know that they intend to levy up to 15% of your Social Security benefits to repay your tax debt if you don’t respond within 30 days of the date on the notice.

A Note from Tax Masters

It is important so it bears repeating: This notice is a big deal. The IRS is going to take your money. You do not have 30 days to act. You must call us the moment you get this notice. In 30 days they will take your money and your problem will get much more expensive to solve.

CP 501 – Reminder – Balance Due

The IRS sends CP 501 as a reminder that you still owe them money to pay your past-due taxes. They may include a list of actions they intend to take if you don’t respond within 10 days of the date on the notice.

CP 503 IMF 2nd Notice – Balance Due

CP 503 states that you must take immediate action to pay your taxes. This is the 2^nd request notice from the IRS.

CP 504 Final Notice – Balance Due

CP 504 is urgent and is the final notice of unpaid taxes the IRS sends before placing levies on your property.

CP 521 – Installment Agreement Reminder Notice

The IRS sends CP 521 as a reminder that your payment toward the installment agreement you set up with them is due. This IRS notice reminds you that interest, penalties, and fees will continue to accrue until you pay the tax debt in full.

CP 523 – Notice of Intent to Levy – You defaulted on Your Installment Agreement

The IRS sends CP 523 when you default on the installment agreement you set up with the IRS. This IRS notice informs you of the reason you are in default and notifies you that they intend to levy your property unless you contact them. Your next notice will be from your bank or your boss explaining that your money is being taken by IRS.

CP 2000 – We Are Proposing Changes to Your Tax Return

This is an audit. The IRS sends CP 2000 when the information you included on your return doesn’t match the information submitted to them by your employer, your bank, or another related payer. This IRS notice includes detailed information about the mismatched data and explains what changes the IRS intends to make on your return. They provide you with instructions on how to proceed if you agree or disagree with the change.

More Information about IRS Notices

To read more detail about a particular IRS notice found on this page, you can visit http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=125104,00.html.