What the IRS says: “A reminder that IRS collection notices are restarting and your balance remains due.” Here’s what it actually means, your deadline, and exactly how to respond.
The LT38 restarted the collection conversation after the pandemic-era pause. It adds no new enforcement power by itself — it's the 'we're back' letter — but it resets the chain: the next notices follow the normal escalation to CP504 and LT11.
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.
Treat it as a fresh CP501: verify the balance, then pick a resolution
The pause added years of interest — check if penalty abatement applies
Set up an IA before the chain escalates
Multiple years: one agreement can cover all of them
No formal response deadline — but the window before escalation resumes is the cheapest time to send a penalty-abatement request or dispute.
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.
A reminder that IRS collection notices are restarting and your balance remains due. In practice: The LT38 restarted the collection conversation after the pandemic-era pause. It adds no new enforcement power by itself — it's the 'we're back' letter — but it resets the chain: the next notices follow the normal escalation to CP504 and LT11.
There is no fixed response deadline on this notice, but acting promptly keeps your options open. The respond-by date printed on your own notice always controls.
No formal response deadline — but the window before escalation resumes is the cheapest time to send a penalty-abatement request or dispute.