What’s This Letter

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Letters from United States: what each one means

The letters an official body from the United States actually sends — what each one means, the deadline that runs, and what happens if you ignore it.

Tax

LT11 / Letter 1058 — Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a HearingThe LT11 (also issued as Letter 1058) is the IRS's final warning before it seizes property for unpaid taxes. It starts a one-time 30-day window to request a Collection Due Process hearing, which pauses the seizure and preserves the right to go to Tax Court.enforcement close30 days from the date of the letter to request a Collection Due Process hearing: 'You should file a Form 12153, Request for A Collection Due Process Hearing and send it to the address shown on your levy notice within 30 days from the date of the letter to appeal the action with the Independent Office of Appeals' (IRS Appeals)
Notice CP504 — Notice of Intent to Levy (Intent to seize your assets and notice of your right to a hearing)A CP504 says the IRS intends to seize (levy) your state income tax refund if the balance is not paid. Despite the alarming wording, at this stage that refund is the only thing the IRS can take — reaching wages or bank accounts requires one more notice with hearing rights.enforcement closePay immediately; 'If the IRS does not receive the amount due within 30 days from the date of this notice, the IRS can levy your state tax refund' (TAS)
Notice CP2000 — Proposed Changes to Your Tax ReturnA CP2000 means income information from employers, banks or brokers does not match your tax return, and the IRS proposes changes — usually more tax. It is not a bill and not an audit; a response agreeing or disagreeing is expected.needs action'Respond within 30 days of the date of the notice or 60 days if you live outside the United States' (IRS Tax Topic 652); the exact due date is printed on the notice
Notice CP14 — Balance DueA CP14 is the first bill the IRS sends when its records show a balance due on federal taxes. It is the normal starting point of the IRS collection sequence — not a seizure threat.routinePay by the due date shown on the notice; the Taxpayer Advocate Service describes the CP14 as requesting payment within 21 days of the notice
Notice CP90 — Final Notice, Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Collection Due Process HearingA CP90 says the IRS intends to levy certain assets for unpaid taxes, and it informs you of the right to a Collection Due Process hearing. The 30-day hearing window it opens is the main protection at this stage.enforcement close30 days from the date of the letter to request a CDP hearing: 'You should file a Form 12153, Request for A Collection Due Process Hearing and send it to the address shown on your levy notice within 30 days from the date of the letter to appeal the action with the Independent Office of Appeals' (IRS Appeals)
Notice CP503 — Second Reminder, Balance DueA CP503 means the IRS has not heard from you and a balance is still unpaid on a tax account. It is a routine reminder — but it precedes the levy-threat notices, so it marks the point where the sequence starts to escalate.needs actionPay the entire balance by the due date shown on the notice ('You must pay the entire balance by the due date shown on your notice to avoid additional penalties and interest')
Notice CP59 — First Notice of an Unfiled Tax Return (We have no record that you filed your prior year personal tax return)A CP59 means the IRS believes a personal tax return was required for a prior year and has no record of one — often because employers or banks reported income under your SSN or ITIN. It asks that the return be filed immediately, or an explanation given of why none is needed.needs actionFile the return or respond immediately — 'File your personal tax return immediately or explain to us why you don't need to file' (IRS CP59 page); no fixed day-count is stated
Notice CP75 — Exam Initial Contact Letter, EIC Refund Hold (We're auditing your tax return)A CP75 is a correspondence-audit letter: the IRS is auditing the return and needs documents proving the Earned Income Credit and related credits that were claimed. Those parts of the refund are held until the audit ends.needs actionRespond with the requested documents by the due date shown in the letter — per TAS: 'Submit the requested documentation to the address and by the due date shown in the letter'; no fixed day-count is stated on the fetched official pages
Notice CP501 — Reminder, Balance DueA CP501 is a reminder that a balance is still owed on one of your tax accounts. It is an early step in the IRS collection sequence — it warns that a federal tax lien may be filed, but nothing is being seized yet.routinePay the amount you owe by the due date shown on the notice
Notice CP523 — Intent to Terminate Your Installment AgreementA CP523 means a payment plan with the IRS has gone into default — for example a missed monthly payment — and the IRS intends to terminate the agreement and levy assets. Acting within 30 days can usually save the agreement.enforcement closeContact the IRS 'as soon as possible but no later than 30 days from the date of the notice'; 'Make your payment before your termination date to prevent your installment agreement from being terminated' (IRS CP523 page)
Notice CP3219A — Statutory Notice of Deficiency (Increase in tax and notice of your right to challenge)A CP3219A is a formal determination that the IRS believes more tax is owed. It is not a bill — it opens the one and only pre-payment window to challenge the tax in the U.S. Tax Court, and that window cannot be extended.enforcement close90 days from the notice date to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court — 150 days if the notice is addressed to you outside the United States; 'This 90-day (or 150-day) period is the time period prescribed by law and cannot be extended by the IRS' (TAS)
Notice CP11 — Math Error on Return, Balance Due (Changes to your tax return)A CP11 means the IRS corrected one or more mistakes on your tax return under its 'math error' authority, and the correction created a balance due. A strict 60-day window exists to object and have the change reversed without paying first.routine60 days from the date of the notice to dispute the correction ('If you contact the IRS within 60 days of the date of this notice, the IRS will reverse the changes made to your account' — TAS); payment of the new balance is due by the date shown on the notice
Letter 5071C — Potential Identity Theft: Verify Your Identity and Tax ReturnA 5071C means the IRS received a tax return under your name, SSN or ITIN and needs to confirm you really filed it. It is a fraud filter, not an accusation — but the return and any refund stay frozen until identity is verified.routineVerify promptly; per TAS, for phone verification: 'Call the toll-free IRS Identity Verification telephone number in the CP 5071 notice within 30 days from the date of this letter'
Letter 4883C — Potential Identity Theft: Verify Your Identity (phone verification)A 4883C means the IRS received a Form 1040-series return under your SSN or ITIN and must verify your identity before processing it — specifically by telephone, with no online option. The return and any refund wait until the call happens.routine
Notice CP161 — Unpaid Balance, Request for Payment or Notice of Unpaid Balance (business)A CP161 is the business version of a balance-due bill: IRS records show a business — or business-type taxes such as employment or excise taxes — carries an unpaid balance. It breaks the amount into tax, penalties and interest, and asks for payment by a due date.needs actionPay the amount due by the date on the notice; 'Contact us within 10 days of the date of your notice if you think we made a mistake' (IRS CP161 page)
Notice CP71C — Annual Reminder of Balance Due (Amount due: annual reminder notice)A CP71C is an annual statement the IRS is required to send while an old tax balance stays unpaid. It restates the amount — with another year of interest and penalties — and reminds you the debt still exists, even if collection has been quiet.routine
Form 668-W — Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary and Other IncomeForm 668-W is the document the IRS serves on an employer to take part of an employee's wages for unpaid taxes — a continuous levy that touches every paycheck until the debt is paid, other arrangements are made, or the levy is released. A protected, exempt amount exists, and there are three days to claim it.enforcement close3 days to complete and return the Statement of Dependents and Filing Status that your employer gives you ('Your employer will provide you with a Statement of Dependents and Filing Status to complete and return within three days' — IRS wage levy page)
Notice CP2501 — Your Tax Return Doesn't Match the Information We Have on FileA CP2501 is an initial contact letter: something on the return doesn't match what employers, banks or other third parties reported, and the IRS asks for an explanation. It is not a bill and not an audit — but a response is required.routineRespond by the due date printed on the notice ('You should reply by the deadline given in the notice' — IRS Publication 5181; no fixed day-count is stated in fetched official sources)
Notice CP12 — Math Error on Return, Overpayment (Changes to your tax return — refund amount changed)A CP12 means the IRS corrected mistakes on your tax return and the refund changed as a result. If the correction looks right, nothing needs to be done — the refund arrives on its own; if it looks wrong, a 60-day window exists to object.routine60 days from the date of the notice to dispute the correction: 'If you contact the IRS within 60 days of the date of this notice, they may reverse the change made to your account' (TAS)
Notice CP49 — Overpayment Applied to Taxes Owed (We used your refund to pay a tax debt)A CP49 is an after-the-fact notification: the IRS took all or part of an expected refund and applied it to a federal tax balance from another year. If the refund was bigger than the debt, the rest is sent to you.routine

Debt collection

Debt Validation NoticeThis is a private company's claim that you owe money, in the form federal law makes it use. It is not a court document and nothing has been decided. What it does start is a short window in which a written dispute changes what the collector may do next.routine30 days after the notice is received or presumed received

Court

Summons and ComplaintThese papers start a civil case against you and set a fixed number of days to file a written answer with the court. Miss it and the court can give the other side what it asked for without ever hearing yours.enforcement close21 days after service in a federal court; state courts print their own period on the summons

Social insurance

Notice of Overpayment (Social Security Administration)Two clocks start at once: one before money is taken from the next payments, and a longer one for disputing that the money is owed at all.enforcement closeReconsideration (disputing that the money is owed or the amount) must be requested within 60 days after the date you receive the notice, and a notice is presumed received 5 days after the date printed on it (20 CFR 404.909(a)(1), 404.901). A waiver of recovery has no such deadline.

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