Yes, the IRS uses collection agencies. Right now it uses three private companies: CBE Group, Coast Professional and ConServe. They collect older tax balances the IRS isn’t actively working, under a federal law that requires the program. If one of them contacted you, it can be real. Here’s who they are, what they can and can’t do, and how to check a call in a couple of minutes.
Updated September 28, 2026 · Checked against IRS.gov and real notices our clients received
The three IRS collection agencies
These are the agencies the IRS lists on its private debt collection page, last updated August 21, 2026. Each name links to our guide for that agency.
| Agency | Phone | Mailing address |
|---|---|---|
| CBE Group Inc. | 800-910-5837 | P.O. Box 2217, Waterloo, IA 50704 |
| Coast Professional, Inc. | 888-928-0510 | P.O. Box 425, Geneseo, NY 14454 |
| ConServe | 844-853-4875 | P.O. Box 307, Fairport, NY 14450 |
If a letter names a different company, or someone calls about IRS debt and you never got a letter at all, treat it as a scam until you’ve checked with the IRS at 844-875-3420.
Why the IRS hands tax debts to collection agencies
Federal law requires it. Under Internal Revenue Code section 6306, the IRS has to assign what the law calls inactive tax receivables to private collection agencies. A balance counts as inactive when:
- the IRS pulled it from active collection for lack of staff, or because it couldn’t find you,
- more than two years have passed since the tax was assessed and no IRS employee has been assigned to it, or
- an IRS employee was assigned, but more than 365 days went by without any contact about collecting it.
In other words, an assignment usually means your account was sitting idle. It doesn’t mean things got worse, and it doesn’t give anyone new power to take your money.
How you’ll know your account was assigned
- The IRS mails Notice CP40. It names your agency, gives the agency’s phone number and address, and prints a taxpayer authentication number. It also lists the IRS’s own help line, 844-875-3420.
- The agency mails its own letter. The IRS says the agency won’t call you before that letter goes out. The letter carries the same authentication number.
- You verify each other on the phone. On the CP40 we reviewed, you give the agency the first five digits of your authentication number, and the agency reads back the next five.
- Your IRS transcript shows it. The IRS says an assigned account shows code 971, “Collection referred to a private debt collection agency.”
What IRS collection agencies can and can’t do
What they can do
- Send you letters and call you about your IRS balance
- Ask you to pay in full
- Set up a payment plan that pays the balance in full within 7 years, or before the IRS’s deadline to collect runs out
- Do that without charging a setup fee
What they can’t do
- Levy your bank account, garnish your wages or file a federal tax lien
- Accept or reject an offer in compromise
- Put your account in currently not collectible (hardship) status
- Take payment themselves, or ask for gift cards, iTunes cards or prepaid debit cards
- Threaten you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to them
Accounts the IRS can’t send to a collection agency
The law keeps some accounts away from private agencies. If any of these fit you and an agency contacted you anyway, call the IRS at 844-875-3420 and tell them.
- You have a pending or active offer in compromise, or an installment agreement with the IRS.
- Your account is under examination, in litigation, under criminal investigation, or subject to a levy.
- You’re in the middle of an IRS appeal.
- You have an innocent spouse claim.
- You’re a victim of tax-related identity theft, or you’re in a designated combat zone.
- Substantially all of your income is Social Security disability (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
- Your adjusted gross income for the latest year the IRS has on file is at or below 200% of the federal poverty level.
- You’re in a presidentially declared disaster area and asked the IRS for relief from collection.
- The taxpayer has died or is under 18.
How to pay safely
- Pay the IRS, never the agency. Use IRS.gov/payments, or IRS Direct Pay straight from your bank account.
- Make checks and money orders payable to the “United States Treasury,” with your name, Social Security number and the tax year.
- Never pay with a gift card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer to a person. A real agency won’t ask for any of those.
Signs a caller isn’t really an IRS collection agency
- You never got a CP40 from the IRS or a letter from the agency.
- The company isn’t CBE Group, Coast Professional or ConServe.
- They want the payment sent to them, or paid by gift card, prepaid card or wire.
- They can’t read back the second half of your authentication number.
- They threaten arrest, deportation or an immediate seizure. Private agencies can’t levy at all.
Report impostors, and any real agency that treats you badly, to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 800-366-4484 or through TIGTA’s complaint page.
Work with the agency, or go back to the IRS?
If the balance is right and a payment plan of up to seven years works for you, the agency can be the simplest route. There’s no setup fee, and your payments still go to the IRS.
| What you need | Agency | IRS |
|---|---|---|
| A payment plan | Yes, up to 7 years | Yes |
| An offer in compromise | No | Yes |
| Hardship (currently not collectible) status | No | Yes |
If you need something only the IRS can do, or you think the balance is wrong, ask the agency to send your account back. The IRS says the request has to be in writing. The Taxpayer Advocate Service has a sample letter on its Notice CP40 page.
What if you ignore the agency?
Some people do. An agency can’t levy your wages or file a lien, and the IRS’s 10-year clock to collect keeps running while your account sits there. But the balance keeps growing with interest and penalties, and the IRS can still apply your future refunds to what you owe. If the account goes back to the IRS, you’re dealing with people who can levy.
Not every IRS collection letter comes from an agency
The IRS still collects most unpaid balances itself. Balance-due notices like the CP14 and CP504 list 833-678-7020. Letters like the LT11, LT16 and LT40 come from the IRS’s Automated Collection System, which you reach at 833-282-7220. Larger or more complicated cases can get a revenue officer, an IRS employee who may show up in person. That’s the IRS itself, not a private agency, and the IRS can levy.
Calling the IRS yourself takes time
If you take your account back to the IRS, plan on waiting. The National Taxpayer Advocate’s mid-year report shows how two of the IRS’s phone lines held up during the 2026 filing season, through April 18, 2026.
Source: IRS, IR-2026-79, National Taxpayer Advocate mid-year report to Congress (June 24, 2026).
Rather not deal with it alone?
We’ll handle the IRS side for you
With your power of attorney on file, our CPAs and tax attorney can confirm what you really owe, tell you whether a plan through the agency makes sense, and take your case back to the IRS if it doesn’t.
IRS collection agency FAQs
Does the IRS use collection agencies?
Yes. Federal law requires the IRS to send certain older, inactive tax debts to private collection agencies. The IRS currently uses three: CBE Group, Coast Professional and ConServe.
Which collection agencies does the IRS use?
CBE Group Inc. (800-910-5837), Coast Professional, Inc. (888-928-0510) and ConServe (844-853-4875). The IRS lists all three on its private debt collection page.
How do I know if an IRS collection agency is legitimate?
The IRS mails you Notice CP40 first, then the agency sends its own letter. Both carry the same taxpayer authentication number, and a real agency can confirm part of it with you. A real agency will never ask you to pay it directly.
Can an IRS collection agency garnish my wages or take money from my bank account?
No. Private collection agencies can't levy, garnish or file a federal tax lien. Only the IRS can take enforcement action.
Can I refuse to work with the collection agency?
Yes. Send the agency a written request to return your account to the IRS. The IRS says the request has to be in writing.
Who do I pay if my account is with a collection agency?
The IRS. Pay at IRS.gov/payments, or mail a check or money order payable to the United States Treasury. Never pay the agency directly.
Do interest and penalties stop while a collection agency has my account?
No. Interest and any penalties keep adding up until the balance is paid in full, even on a payment plan.
“I reached out to Choice Tax Relief with a significant tax situation that was approaching a level of liens and wage garnishments. LuLu was my case manager and from the first conversation was professional and reassuring.”
Other numbers from IRS and state tax notices
Sources
- IRS, Private debt collection (agency names, addresses and phone numbers; last updated August 21, 2026).
- IRS, Private debt collection FAQs (excluded accounts, payment rules, transcript code 971).
- IRS Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.
- 26 U.S. Code § 6306, Qualified tax collection contracts.
- Taxpayer Advocate Service, Notice CP40.
- Redacted Notice CP40 received by one of our clients (PDF).
- IRS, IR-2026-79 (National Taxpayer Advocate mid-year report).
Choice Tax Relief is a private tax resolution firm. We are not the IRS, the U.S. Treasury, or any government agency, and we are not affiliated with any private collection agency. You can call the IRS yourself at no charge. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice for your situation.