What the IRS says: “The IRS corrected a miscalculation and your refund amount is different from what you claimed.” Here’s what it actually means, your deadline, and exactly how to respond.
Same math-error engine as CP11, pointed at your refund. Frequently the IRS is right; frequently enough it isn't — recovery-credit and CTC recomputations have produced waves of wrong CP12s. If your documentation supports the original figure, the 60-day written dispute restores it.
Notice family: Return Adjustments — The IRS changed something on your return — math corrections, credit adjustments, payment mismatches. Often correct, frequently not. You typically have 60 days to dispute a change you disagree with.
60 days — to dispute the correction before it becomes final.
Counted in calendar days from the notice date. The exact respond-by date printed on your notice always controls — check page 1.
Check which line changed — the notice shows both figures
Agree: nothing to do, the corrected refund arrives in 4-6 weeks
Disagree: written dispute within 60 days with documents
Refund still missing after 6 weeks: check trace options
Same 60-day letter as CP11: request reversal, show the records, keep certified proof. After 60 days the only route is amended-return/audit-reconsideration — slower and discretionary.
Describe the notice and your side of it — use placeholders, never your SSN or account numbers (the letter keeps [YOUR NAME]-style fields so you fill in the real details privately before mailing). A mail-ready draft with an enclosure checklist comes back in ~20 seconds.
Your IRS response letter draft will appear here.
The IRS corrected a miscalculation and your refund amount is different from what you claimed. In practice: Same math-error engine as CP11, pointed at your refund. Frequently the IRS is right; frequently enough it isn't — recovery-credit and CTC recomputations have produced waves of wrong CP12s. If your documentation supports the original figure, the 60-day written dispute restores it.
You generally have 60 days — to dispute the correction before it becomes final. The respond-by date printed on your own notice always controls.
Same 60-day letter as CP11: request reversal, show the records, keep certified proof. After 60 days the only route is amended-return/audit-reconsideration — slower and discretionary.