IRS
Updated JANUARY 01, 2024

IRS Certified Mail: Here’s Why You Got a Certified Letter From the IRS

Not all letters and notices you receive from the IRS are sent via certified mail, but the ones that the IRS does send via certified mail are usually important and may even have legal significance.

Have you received a piece of certified mail from the IRS?  Call us at 866-8000-TAX or book a free consultation here to discuss!

Why Does the IRS Send Certified Mail?

Why does the IRS send letters certified mail in the first place?

Most of the time, it’s because they are required to by the tax code.

For example, Internal Revenue Code § 6331(d) requires that the IRS give a taxpayer at least 30 days notice before levying them — i.e., before taking their stuff — and that the IRS either:

  • give this notice to the taxpayer in person,
  • leave this notice at the taxpayer’s house or usual place of business, or
  • send this notice by certified or registered mail to the taxpayer’s last-known address.

(By the way, a common notice that the IRS uses for these purposes is the CP504 Notice).

I am going to go over the most common notices that you might receive from the IRS via certified mail and for each of them tell you exactly what you should do if you receive that notice.

As with all IRS mail, it will go to your last-known address; this is generally the address that you used on your last-filed tax return with the IRS unless you’ve filed a Form 8822 (Change of Address) with the IRS.

5 Most Common Notices and Letters the IRS Sends Via Certified Mail

Below are the five most common notices and letters that the IRS typically sends via certified mail.

There are several other notices that the IRS will send by certified mail — such as the CP91 for example if the IRS intends to garnish your Social Security benefits — but these are the five most common.

You can find your notice or letter number in the upper right-hand corner of the piece of ail the IRS sent you.

Compare the item you received from the IRS via certified mail to the list below for further guidance on what to do!

Notice CP2000

What It Is: The CP2000 is a notice of proposed adjustment for underpayment or overpayment. The IRS sends this notice to a taxpayer if there is a discrepancy between the income reported to the IRS for the taxpayer — such as on a Form 1099 — and the income amounts reported by the taxpayer on their tax return. In these instances, the IRS will recalculate the taxpayer’s tax liability for the year, along with penalties and interest, and propose this additional assessment to the taxpayer on the Notice CP2000.

What You Should Do: Review the CP2000 for accuracy. This means comparing the additional income the IRS is proposing to assess additional tax based on to your own records and calculating your own tax liability for the year.

I’ve personally seen CP2000s issued where a 1099 was duplicated or altogether incorrect, so if that’s the case, let the IRS know and promptly provide any documentation for your position if they ask for it.

Also, if the CP2000 is for an unreported 1099 for Schedule C business income, know that the IRS’ proposed assessment on the CP2000 does not include business expenses.  So if it’s the case where — yeah, oops — you forgot to report your 1099 income on your tax return, you can submit a Schedule C to the IRS or even file an amended return to protest the proposed assessment.

But if this is an issue where you simply didn’t report income on your return that you should have and there are no legitimate deductions for you to claim against that income, you need to face the fact that probably owe the IRS what they’re proposing as an additional assessment, with penalties and interest.

And if that’s the case, you can consent to the proposed assessment on the response form attached to the CP2000 or you can wait for the 90-day letter — the 3219N that I will discuss next — and just sit on it and the IRS will eventually assess the taxes, penalties, and interest.

And then you either have to pay the tax if you can or enter into some kind of resolution with the government such as:

Notice CP3219A

What It Is: The Notice CP3219A is the statutory notice of deficiency (also known as the 90-day letter) that the IRS sends to a taxpayer if they do not respond to the CP2000.

This letter is a 90-day letter. It informs the taxpayer of their right to petition the Tax Court to contest the IRS’ proposed assessment.

Of course, in addition to petitioning the Tax Court to contest the IRS’ proposed assessment, you can simply submit information to the IRS to consider or even file an amended return for the year in question (similar remedies to the CP2000 except now you have Tax Court rights if you choose to go that route).

If you do not respond to the CP3219A by the 90-day deadline, the IRS will likely assess the tax and seek to collect it from you.

Notice CP504

Notice Type:Collections
Generated By:IRS ACS
Preceded By:Notice CP503
Followed By:Letter LT11
Recommended Action:Enter Into Resolution
 

What It Is: The Notice CP504 is a statutory notice — meaning that it is a notice that fulfills a certain notice requirement found in the tax code — informing a taxpayer of the IRS’ intent to levy their assets.

What You Should Do: Resolve your balance with the IRS before it takes levy action against you. You could:

Learn more about the CP504 Notice in this article.

Letter 11 (LT11)

What It Is: The Letter LT11 is another statutory notice. This one fulfills the requirement found in Internal Revenue Code § 6330 for the IRS, before taking levy action against a taxpayer, to inform the taxpayer of their right to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing.

What You Should Do: Submit your request for a CDP hearing within 30 days and then discuss collections alternatives in this hearing. You could:

Letter 3172 (LT3172)

What It Is: The Letter 3172 is another statutory notice. This one fulfills the requirement found in Internal Revenue Code § 6320 to inform a taxpayer that the IRS has filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien against them in state and/or county records and that they have the right to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing.

What You Should Do: Submit your request for a CDP hearing within 30 days and then discuss collections alternatives in this hearing. You could:

Note that if your balance with the IRS does not exceed $25,000 and you enter into a direct-debit installment agreement with the IRS to pay off your balance within the earlier of 60 months or when the tax debt drops off, you can request that the IRS withdraw the Notice of Federal Tax Lien using Form 12277 once you’ve made at least three consecutive payments under the agreement.

Other Notices and Letters the IRS Sends Via Certified Mail

Notice CP77

What It Is: The Notice CP77 is a statutory notice — meaning that it is a notice that fulfills a certain notice requirement found in the tax code — informing a taxpayer of the IRS’ intent to levy their assets.

This notice provides the taxpayer with both the required notice under Internal Revenue Code § 6330 — which requires the IRS to inform a taxpayer of their Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing rights no later than 30 days before taking levy action — as well as the required notice under Internal Revenue Code § 6331(d) — which requires the IRS to inform a taxpayer of its intent to levy the taxpayer no later than 30 days before doing so.

What You Should Do: Resolve your balance with the IRS before it takes levy action against you. You could:

Notice CP90

What It Is: The Notice CP90 is a statutory notice that fulfills the requirements in Internal Revenue Code § 6330 and Internal Revenue Code § 6331 to notify a taxpayer of their Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing rights as well as the IRS’ intent to levy their assets and in particular for Notice CP90 the IRS’ intent to levy federal payments due to them. Such payments include:

  • Federal employee retirement annuities
  • Federal payments made to you as a contractor / vendor doing business with the government (including Defense contracts)
  • Federal employee travel advances or reimbursements
  • Certain Social Security benefits paid to you
  • Some federal salaries
  • Medicare provider and supplier payments
  • Railroad Retirement Board benefits paid to you
  • Military retirement

What You Should Do: Resolve your balance with the IRS before it takes levy action against you. You could:

Notice CP90C

Notice CP91

What It Is: The Notice CP91 is a notice sent by the IRS informing a taxpayer of the IRS’s intent to levy your Social Security benefits.

What You Should Do: Resolve your balance with the IRS before it takes levy action against you. You could:

Learn more about the CP91 Notice in this article.

Notice CP92

Notice CP177

Notice CP242

Notice CP297

Notice CP297A

Notice CP297C

Notice CP523

What It Is: The Notice CP523 is a notice sent by the IRS informing a taxpayer of the IRS’s intent to terminate the taxpayer’s installment agreement since the taxpayer defaulted on their installment agreement payments or otherwise did not meet the conditions of the installment agreement.

What You Should Do: Cure the default condition, petition the IRS to restructure the installment agreement, or seek some other tax relief option for your tax debt.

Learn more about the CP523 Notice in this article.

Notice CP3219A

Letter 75 (LT75)

Letter 105C (LT105C)

Letter 525 (LT525)

Letter 531 (LT531)

Letter 1058 (LT1058)

Letter 2439 (LT2439)

Letter 3171 (LT3171)

What It Is: The Letter 3171 informs a taxpayer that the IRS has filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien in a new county or state for a debt for which it had already filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien in a different location.  Because the taxpayer already received Letter 3172 — which informed the taxpayer of their right to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing at that time — the Letter 3171 does not provide any new CDP rights and is simply informational to the taxpayer.

What You Should Do: Resolve your balance with the IRS before it takes levy action against you. You could:

Note that if your balance with the IRS does not exceed $25,000 and you enter into a direct-debit installment agreement with the IRS to pay off your balance within the earlier of 60 months or when the tax debt drops off, you can request that the IRS withdraw the Notice of Federal Tax Lien using Form 12277 once you’ve made at least three consecutive payments under the agreement.

Letter 3174 (LT3174)

Letter 3219 (LT3219)

Letter 4066 (LT4066)

Letter 4554 (LT4554)

IRS Certified Mail FAQs

Here are some frequently asked questions about IRS certified mail.

Is certified mail from the IRS always bad?

Certified mail from the IRS is not always bad, but it is not something you want to ignore.

What are some reasons I would receive a certified letter from the IRS?

Here are some reasons you would receive a certified letter from the IRS:

  • The IRS wants more information about your tax return.
  • The IRS has received information from third parties that does not match your tax return.
  • The IRS is notifying you of their intent to levy you.
  • The IRS is notifying you that they have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien against you.

Author:

Logan Allec, CPA, Founder and Owner

Logan Allec has been serving taxpayers as a CPA for over 14 years. After leaving his role at a "Big 4" firm, he started Choice Tax Relief to help everyday Americans who have found themselves behind on their taxes. He also educates thousands of people daily about tax relief on his YouTube channel. In addition to his CPA license, Logan also has a Master's Degree in Taxation from the University of Southern California (USC). He lives with his wife and children in the Los Angeles area. Learn more about Logan here.

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