IRS Notices and Letters
Whether they’re long, short or come with several identical looking copies, IRS correspondence can be intimidating. They create a lot of anxiety and produce tons of unnecessary recycling. We’re hoping the list below helps shed some light on what the notices mean and the level of urgency they carry with them.
If you don’t see your notice below,
Contact Us. We’ll happily help you determine what it means and what to do with it.
IRS Letter 903 - Employment Tax Regulations section 31.6302
If you get this letter from your Revenue Officer, you've got to make some changes today. You must gain current tax compliance or the IRS will be imposing strict enforcement procedures on your business. Get it together now or risk losing your business.
To ensure that you follow the deposit rules, we may, under the employment tax regulations, require you to file your employment tax returns monthly rather than quarterly. Under the provisions of the law for special bank deposit requirements, we may also require you to deposit your withheld taxes in a special bank account within 2 days after you pay employees their wages." - IRS Letter 903
IRS Letter 1058 - final notice of intent to levy
Like the letter says, it’s time to
respond immediately. Allowing this notice to sit on your desk for 30 days without a response could spell
disaster for your bank account, paycheck, accounts receivable and more.
This letter is your notice of our intent to levy (under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) 6331) and your right to request an Appeals hearing (under IRC section (6330(a))" - IRS Letter 1058
IRS Letter 1153 - proposed trust fund recovery penalty assessment
The IRS has proposed assessing the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
against you personally. You may have the option to Protest within 60 days of the date on the letter.
Our efforts to collect the federal employment or excise taxes due from the business named above have not resulted in full payment of the liability." - IRS Letter 1153
IRS Letter 3174 - Final notice of intent to levy refresher
This letter has
teeth. In so many words, it’s telling you that you’ve already been issued a Final Notice of Intent to Levy, but since it was so long ago, you’re getting a friendly reminder before
your bank account gets swept. It’s called a “Refresher” notice.
You’ve got about 10-14 before the IRS takes enforcement action.
Although we previously sent you a notice of our intention to collect your unpaid tax through enforced collection, our records show that you still have not paid the amount you owe.” - IRS Letter 3174
IRS Letter 3586 - trust fund interview appointment
The IRS Revenue Officer assigned to your business tax collection case wants to meet with you to conduct the
form 4180 Trust Fund Interview. The Service may also want to interview the officers, shareholders, managers and employees of the business to determine who is
willful and responsible for the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty.
I would like to meet with you to discuss your duties and responsibilities as an officer / employee of [Tax Delinquent Business] and your potential personal liability for unpaid trust fund taxes due and owing for the following tax period(s):” - IRS Letter 3586
IRS Notice CP90 - intent to seize your assets
Similar to a “
Final Notice”, this notice
requires action! Avoid getting your money and assets seized by the IRS. It’s
time to act! If you wait to see what happens, you won't like it.
We haven’t received full payment despite sending you several notices about your unpaid federal taxes.” - Notice CP90
IRS Notice CP134B - FTD/estimated payments discrepancy
Your business has a balance due on a 941-payroll tax period. The IRS has also assessed a penalty for failure to deposit timely. You may qualify for a reduction of the penalty by telling the IRS where to designate your deposits.
We found that the amount credited to your account as Total Federal Tax Deposits differs from the amount reported on your tax return for the above tax period.” - Notice CP134B
IRS Notice CP136 - your federal tax deposit requirements for form 941
This IRS notice advises you the deposit frequency your business must follow for making 941 payroll tax deposits. For more information on the Monthly and Semi-weekly deposit schedules, see IRS Notice 931.
This letter explains your Form 941 federal tax deposit requirement for 2017” - Notice CP136
IRS Notice CP215 - notice of penalty charge
IRS found a discrepancy in the numbers on your business’s W2 forms and the 941’s filed for the same year. The W2 totals are less than the 941 totals of the same year and as a result, the IRS has charged your business a penalty.
You have been charged a penalty under Section 6721 of the Internal Revenue Code for the following reason: Failure to File Forms W-2” - Notice CP215
IRS Notice CP504 and CP504B - notice of intent to seize ("levy")
If you get this notice, you’re one IRS letter away from a bank levy, garnishment or other seizure. This one allows the Service to take your state tax refund, if you have one. But, it doesn’t quite allow the government to reach into your bank account or paycheck without further notice. It’s a good idea to resolve your back-taxes before the next letter arrives at your door. It will be a “Final Notice”.
Notice of Intent to levy – Intent to seize your property or rights to property – Amount due immediately” - Notice CP504
IRS Notice CP523 - notice of intent to levy
The terms of your monthly Installment Agreement have not been met. This typically means one of three things have happened.
- The IRS didn’t receive your monthly Installment Agreement payment and it is now overdue.
- The IRS did not receive a tax return timely.
- You (or your business) have accrued a new tax liability outside of those periods included in the Installment Agreement.
The Service will terminate your Installment Agreement in approximately 30 days if you don’t quickly fix the problem that is causing the default.
Intent to terminate your Installment Agreement – Amount due immediately” - Notice CP523
IRS Notice 931 - Deposit requirements for employment taxes
This IRS notice is more like one of its publications than the other notices on this list. It is meant to help employers understand when and how they are supposed to make payroll tax deposits. Whether you keep a copy on your computer’s desktop or your actual desktop, it’s a great notice for small business owners to have on hand while the company grows and changes through the years.
There are two deposit schedules – monthly or semiweekly – for determining when you deposit social security and Medicare taxes and withheld federal income tax.” - Notice 931
IRS Notice 746 - information about your notice, penalty and interest
This notice is also more like an IRS publication than the typical notice. It attempts to explain the penalties and interest associated with your tax liabilities. It contains a lot of information about how’s and why’s of IRS Penalties. It does a very
poor job of explaining the process of removing penalties.
Reasonable Cause. The law lets us remove or reduce the penalties we explain in this notice if you have an acceptable reason.” - Notice 746
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