Coast Professional, Inc. is one of three private collection agencies the IRS uses to collect older tax debts. If Coast Professional reached out about federal taxes, it may be a legitimate contact. The IRS lists the company on its website, with a mailing address in Geneseo, New York. Here’s how to confirm it and what to do next.
Updated September 25, 2026 · Checked against real notices our clients received
IRS private collection agency
Coast Professional, Inc.888-928-0510
✓ Works for the IRS
- Phone (listed by the IRS)
- 888-928-0510
- Mailing address (listed by the IRS)
- P.O. Box 425, Geneseo, NY 14454
- Works for
- The IRS private debt collection program. The other two agencies are CBE Group and ConServe.
- Can it garnish or levy?
- No. Private collection agencies can’t take enforcement action.
- Where your money goes
- Only to the IRS, at IRS.gov/payments or by check payable to the United States Treasury.
- IRS number on your CP40
- 844-875-3420
Why Coast Professional has your IRS account
Federal law, Internal Revenue Code section 6306, requires the IRS to hand certain inactive balances to private collection agencies. Your balance was probably assigned because the IRS stopped working it, or because more than two years passed after the tax was assessed without anyone at the IRS being assigned to it.
Before Coast Professional contacts you, the IRS mails Notice CP40 naming the agency. That notice also prints the IRS’s own help line, 844-875-3420.
Confirm it’s really Coast Professional
- Find your CP40. It should name Coast Professional, Inc., P.O. Box 425, Geneseo, NY 14454, 888-928-0510.
- Look for Coast Professional’s own letter. The IRS says the agency mails a letter confirming the assignment before it calls you.
- Use the authentication number. The CP40 and the agency’s letter carry the same taxpayer authentication number. On the phone, you give the first five digits and the agency gives you the next five.
- Check your IRS transcript. The IRS says an assigned account shows code 971, “Collection referred to a private debt collection agency.”
- When in doubt, hang up. Call the IRS at 844-875-3420, or call Coast Professional back at 888-928-0510, the number the IRS lists.
What to say when Coast Professional calls
You don’t have to decide anything on the first call. A short script keeps you in control:
- “I’ll give you the first five digits of my taxpayer authentication number. Please read me the next five.” A real agency can do that.
- “Which tax years and amounts are you collecting on?” Write them down and compare them with your IRS online account.
- “Please send me your payment options in writing.”
- If you want the IRS to handle your account instead: “I’ll be sending you a written request to return my account to the IRS.”
Don’t read out your full Social Security number or bank details to a caller you haven’t verified. According to the CP40, a real agency will ask for your name and address of record, then do the two-part authentication number check before it helps you.
What Coast Professional can do
- Send you letters and call you about your IRS balance
- Explain your payment options
- Set up a plan to pay in full within 7 years, or before the IRS’s deadline to collect runs out
- Do all of that without charging you a fee to set up the plan
What Coast Professional can’t do
- Levy your bank account or garnish your wages
- File a federal tax lien
- Accept or reject an offer in compromise
- Put your account in currently not collectible (hardship) status
- Ask you to pay Coast Professional directly, or to pay with gift cards or prepaid debit cards
- Threaten you. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies
Stay with Coast Professional, or go back to the IRS?
If the balance is right and you can pay it off within seven years, a plan through Coast Professional can be the simplest route. There’s no fee to set it up, and your payments still go straight to the IRS.
Go back to the IRS if you need something a private agency can’t give you: an offer in compromise, hardship status, or a real dispute over what you owe. The IRS says you have to ask the agency in writing. The Taxpayer Advocate Service has a sample letter on its Notice CP40 page.
How to pay safely
- Online at IRS.gov/payments, straight from your bank account or with a card through an IRS-approved processor.
- By check or money order payable to the “United States Treasury,” with your name, Social Security number and tax year on it.
- Never to Coast Professional directly, and never with a gift card, prepaid debit card or wire transfer to a person.
Want a CPA in your corner?
We’ll handle the IRS side of your Coast Professional account
We can confirm your real balance with the IRS, tell you whether a plan through the agency or a return to the IRS is the better move, and deal with the IRS for you once you sign a power of attorney.
Coast Professional and IRS debt FAQs
Is Coast Professional a legitimate IRS collection agency?
Yes. Coast Professional, Inc. is one of three private collection agencies the IRS lists on its website, along with CBE Group and ConServe. Verify any contact with your CP40 notice and your taxpayer authentication number.
Why is Coast Professional contacting me about my taxes?
The IRS assigned your unpaid balance to Coast Professional under its private debt collection program, which federal law requires for certain inactive tax debts. The IRS should have mailed you Notice CP40 first.
Can Coast Professional garnish my wages or take money from my bank account?
No. Private collection agencies can't levy, garnish or file liens. Only the IRS can take enforcement action.
Can I pay Coast Professional directly?
No. All payments go to the IRS, either online at IRS.gov/payments or by check or money order payable to the United States Treasury.
How do I stop Coast Professional from contacting me?
Send Coast Professional a written request asking that your account be returned to the IRS. The IRS says the request has to be in writing.
Does a payment plan with Coast Professional stop interest and penalties?
No. Interest and any applicable penalties keep adding up until the balance is paid in full, even while you're on a payment plan.
“They were friendly, professional, and encouraging. They helped straighten out my challenging tax situation and stuck with it until everything was resolved. I highly recommend!”
Other numbers from IRS and state tax notices
Sources
- IRS, Private debt collection (agency names, addresses and phone numbers).
- IRS, Private debt collection FAQs.
- IRS Publication 4518, What You Can Expect When the IRS Assigns Your Account to a Private Collection Agency.
- 26 U.S. Code § 6306.
- Taxpayer Advocate Service, Notice CP40.
- Redacted Notice CP40 received by one of our clients (PDF).
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.