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Tax · United States

IRS Notice CP75 — an audit by mail, with part of your refund on hold

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.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: CP75, CP75A, EIC audit letter, refund hold audit notice

The CP75 opens an audit by mail. The IRS needs documentation to verify the Earned Income Credit (EIC) claimed on the return — and, depending on the case, the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC) or Recovery Rebate Credit (RRC).

While the audit runs, the IRS holds the parts of the refund tied to those credits. The process happens on paper: proof is mailed, faxed or uploaded — children's residency, income records, whatever the letter lists.

If no proof arrives, the audited credits are removed. The held refund tied to them is then not paid.

Who sends it

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) — the United States federal tax authority, part of the Department of the Treasury.

The code 'CP75' (or a variant such as CP75A) is printed in the top corner, together with the word 'audit' or 'examination'. The letter names the EIC, ACTC, RRC or Premium Tax Credit, includes a Response form and forms listing the documents required, and says the refund (or part of it) is being held.

The deadline

Respond 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

The requested documents are due at the address and by the due date shown in the letter itself. No fixed day-count is stated in official sources — the date printed on the notice governs.

If you do nothing

Without a response, the IRS disallows the audited items and sends an examination report showing the proposed changes to the return. The held parts of the refund — EIC, ACTC and/or RRC — are not released; the credits are removed, and any refund based on them is lost unless entitlement is later proven through the exam or appeal process.

How it escalates

  1. 01The audited credits (EIC, ACTC, RRC and similar) are disallowed, and an examination report with proposed changes is issued.
  2. 02The refund attributable to those credits stays withheld and is ultimately not paid.
  3. 03If the proposed changes create a balance due and stay unresolved, the exam process continues toward a statutory notice of deficiency.

Your options, procedurally

  • Copies of the requested documentation can be sent with the completed Response form.
  • Documents can be submitted via the Campus Correspondence Exam Document Upload Tool, by fax, or by mail to the address at the top of the notice.
  • The number on the notice can be called for clarification or more time.
  • Free help exists: the Taxpayer Advocate Service and Low Income Taxpayer Clinics.

Common questions

Why is my refund smaller or missing?

The IRS is holding the EIC, ACTC and/or RRC parts of the refund until it gets the results of this audit. The rest of the process decides whether those parts are released.

What kind of proof does the IRS want?

Documentation for the credits claimed — for example children's residency and income records. The letter itself lists the required documents and includes forms and a Response form for sending them.

What happens if no documents are sent?

The audited items are disallowed and an examination report with proposed changes is issued. The held refund tied to those credits is not released unless entitlement is later proven through the exam or appeal process.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.