What the IRS says: “Your installment agreement is in default and the IRS intends to terminate it and levy your assets.” Here’s what it actually means, your deadline, and exactly how to respond.
A CP523 doesn't mean the agreement is dead — it means you have 30 days to cure the default before termination (and 90 days total before levies can start). Missed payments cause most defaults, but so does filing a new return with a balance or missing a required current-year payment. Reinstatement is routine when you move quickly.
Notice family: Collection & Balance Due — The IRS says you owe money and is escalating toward liens and levies. Each notice in the chain is more serious than the last — and each one still has an off-ramp: pay, arrange payments, or dispute in writing before the deadline.
30 days — to cure the default before termination (levy possible after ~90 days).
Counted in calendar days from the notice date. The exact respond-by date printed on your notice always controls — check page 1.
Cure the default inside 30 days: make up the missed payment or address the new balance
Call or write to reinstate — reinstatement fees are modest and often the whole fix
If the payment amount is genuinely unaffordable now: request a restructured IA with updated financials
After termination you still have appeal rights (CAP) before levy — but reinstating within the window is far easier
A written reinstatement request that names the cure (payment made, new balance rolled in, revised amount proposed) usually keeps the agreement alive. Attach proof of the cure payment.
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.
Your installment agreement is in default and the IRS intends to terminate it and levy your assets. In practice: A CP523 doesn't mean the agreement is dead — it means you have 30 days to cure the default before termination (and 90 days total before levies can start). Missed payments cause most defaults, but so does filing a new return with a balance or missing a required current-year payment. Reinstatement is routine when you move quickly.
You generally have 30 days — to cure the default before termination (levy possible after ~90 days). The respond-by date printed on your own notice always controls.
A written reinstatement request that names the cure (payment made, new balance rolled in, revised amount proposed) usually keeps the agreement alive. Attach proof of the cure payment.