Tax · United States
IRS Notice CP49 — your refund was used 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.
How serious: routineAlso called: CP49, refund offset notice, refund applied to balance due
The CP49 reports something that already happened: the IRS used all or part of your refund to pay a tax debt — a federal tax balance you (or a spouse on a joint return) owed from another year.
If the refund was bigger than the debt, the remainder is sent to you. If it was smaller, the rest of the debt is still owed.
The notice shows the refund amount, the amount applied, and any remaining balance or remaining refund. It notifies rather than asking for a decision by a set date.
Who sends it
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — the United States federal tax authority, part of the Department of the Treasury.
The code 'CP49' is printed in the top corner. The wording is about applying your overpayment or refund to a tax debt for another tax year. The notice shows the refund amount, the amount applied, and any remaining balance or remaining refund.
The deadline
This notice sets no fixed response period — it reports an offset that has already been made. Any dates that matter are the ones printed on the notice itself.
If you do nothing
The offset stands. If part of the refund remained, a check for the remaining amount arrives within 3 weeks, unless other taxes or debts the IRS is required to collect are owed. If a balance remains after the offset, it keeps accruing interest and continues through the normal collection notice sequence if unpaid.
How it escalates
- 01Nothing further happens if the offset covered the debt and there is agreement with it.
- 02If a balance remains and is not paid, the standard collection sequence applies: interest, penalties, reminder notices, then lien and eventual levy notices.
How to respond
Response types
- Ask for clarificationDisagreement with the offset — call the number on the notice
- File the objectionInjured Spouse Allocation — Form 8379 · IRC §6402Form: Form 8379, Injured Spouse Allocation
- Ask for instalmentsPayment plan or other collection alternative for the balance remaining after the offset · IRC §6159 (instalment agreements); IRC §7122 (offers in compromise)Form: Online Payment Agreement application or Form 9465; Form 656 with Form 433-A (OIC) for an offer in compromise
- Confirm paymentPayment of the balance still owed after the offset
Where and how
- U.S. Mail (First-Class Mail)
- Certified Mail / Registered Mail (USPS), return receipt requested
- Designated Private Delivery Service (DHL Express / FedEx / UPS — qualifying service levels only)
- IRS Individual Online Account (irs.gov/account) / Business Tax Account
- Telephone — the number printed on the notice (general line 800-829-1040)
What makes it count
CP49 sets no response date, so there is no deadline to preserve and the timely-mailing rule of IRC §7502 has nothing to run against; the practical constraint is the refund-claim limitation period (generally three years from filing or two years from the last payment) for anything that amounts to a claim, including Form 8379. Written items go to the address on the notice — Form 8379 to the service centre in its own instructions — and payments should identify the tax year so they post to the intended period.
Common questions
Is any of my refund still coming?
If the refund was bigger than the debt, a check for the remaining amount arrives within 3 weeks — unless other taxes or debts the IRS is required to collect are owed.
The debt was my spouse's, not mine. What exists for that?
Form 8379 (Injured Spouse Allocation) exists for exactly this: when a share of a joint refund was taken for a spouse's debt and the other spouse owes nothing, it can be filed to claim that share.
Is there a deadline on a CP49?
No fixed period is set. The notice reports an offset that has already been made; any dates that matter are printed on the notice itself.
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.