Find the code in the corner of your letter below. Each page tells you what the notice really means, how many days you have, the exact options — and drafts the response letter free. No panic required.
The IRS thinks your return doesn't match its records — or wants to examine it. These notices carry hard response deadlines, and a written response with documentation is exactly how they get resolved.
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.
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.
Your refund is frozen or the IRS has no return on file for a year it expected one. These resolve by filing, verifying, or sending exactly the documents requested — silence makes them worse.
The IRS suspects a return filed under your SSN might not be yours and won't process anything until you verify. Fast to fix when you follow the exact channel the letter names — and your refund waits until you do.
Payroll deposits, information returns and business balance dues. Same escalation logic as individual notices, tighter timelines, and penalties that compound per form — worth responding to precisely.
The IRS sends about 170 million notices a year, each with a code in the top or bottom corner (CP2000, CP14, LT11, or a Letter number like 5071C). The code tells you exactly why: a proposed change, a bill, a refund hold, an identity check, or an enforcement warning. Find your code below — the page for it explains the specific reason and response.
Top right corner of page 1 (CP and LT notices) or bottom right corner (Letter/LTR numbers). It's also repeated in the payment stub. The tax year it concerns is printed right beside it — always match the year when you respond.
Routine notices — payment mismatches, document requests, first bills, identity verification — are genuinely self-service, and a clear written response resolves most of them. Consider a CPA, EA or tax attorney when the amounts are large, fraud or the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty is mentioned, a 90-day deficiency window is closing, or you simply won't do it yourself in time — a missed deadline costs more than the fee.
Notices escalate on autopilot: a bill becomes reminders, then a Notice of Intent to Levy with your appeal rights attached, then actual levies and liens. Proposed changes become final assessments. The single most expensive move with any IRS notice is silence — even 'I need more time' in writing beats it.