Just got an IRS letter?
Every notice prints its code in the top-right corner. That code tells you exactly what the letter means, how serious it is, and what clock it starts. Here’s the plain-English version of each one.
Tap the code from the top-right corner of your letter
Not sure which letter you have?
RoutineWherever your letter falls in the sequence, the pattern is the same: every letter has a way out, and silence is the only thing that makes it worse.
- What it means
- Every real IRS notice prints its code in the top-right corner of page one: CP-something or LT-something. That code, plus the date next to it, is everything that matters on the page.
- The deadline math
- The date printed next to the notice code starts whatever clock the letter carries. Most windows are 21 to 30 days.
- If it's ignored
- Collection letters follow a fixed schedule. Each one that goes unanswered brings the next, sterner one.
- What to do first
- Find the code top right and match it above. Or answer five questions about your situation and get the read without the letter in hand.
The collection ladder
Every unanswered letter brings the next one, on a schedule. Every rung has an exit; silence is the only thing that climbs it.
1. CP14 · First bill
2. CP501 · Reminder
3. CP503 · Second reminder
4. CP504 · Intent to levy
5. LT11 · Final notice + hearing right
CP2000 sits off the ladder: it's a proposed correction, not a bill, until it goes unanswered.
That’s what the letter says. What it means for you: your real deadline, your options, what a fair fix should cost, depends on your numbers. That part takes five questions:
No signup. No SSN. About two minutes.
If your case turns out to need licensed help, this ends with one short call: with the licensed Enrolled Agent himself, not a sales floor.
Is the letter even real? The scam check
- ✓Real IRS notices arrive by postal mail, print a notice code top right and a date next to it, and never demand payment by gift card, wire transfer, or payment app.
- ✓The IRS does not initiate contact by phone, text, or email about a balance. A call that opens with a threat of arrest is a scam, every time.
- ✓You can verify any balance yourself, free, at irs.gov/account. If the letter says you owe and your IRS account says you don’t, trust the account.
- ✓And a scam check for the other side of the phone: no firm can file anything for you in 24 hours, and nobody who hasn’t read your IRS record can promise you a settlement.