Back to Blog

What to Do When You Get an IRS Notice

An IRS notice is a specific letter about a specific return. It is not a general warning, and it is not something to file in a drawer until filing season. The number in the corner tells you which letter it is. The date printed on it tells you when the IRS expects an answer or a payment. Those two items decide what happens next.

Blackpoint CPA is Central Florida-based, serving clients statewide and remotely, including Horizon West. Share the notice with us; we'll tell you how to send it securely. We'll explain what it is asking and help you prepare a response. Use the date printed on the letter. We don't promise that a balance will be reduced or that the notice will be withdrawn. That is the same help described on our individual tax page and, when the letter is about a business return, on our small business page.

Start with the CP or LTR number

The IRS prints a notice number in the upper right of the letter. It begins with CP or with LTR. On its page about understanding your IRS notice or letter, the IRS says to search for the notice by that number or by the topic. The number is how you tell a balance-due letter from an identity letter from a letter that says the IRS changed a line on the return.

The IRS says it may write when you have a balance due, your refund changed, it has a question, it needs to verify your identity, it corrected the return, or processing is delayed. Read the paragraphs under the number and keep every page. Compare the tax year, the form, and the Social Security number or employer identification number with the return. A letter about an S corporation is not answered with the shareholder's Form 1040 alone, though the two often have to agree. If you agree with a change, note it on your copy. You act if the IRS asks for information, if there is a balance due, or if you disagree.

The date on the letter controls

If the IRS asks you to respond, act by the due date printed on the notice. That date is the one that matters. It is not the date you opened the envelope, and it is not a date you would prefer. The IRS says that to protect your appeal rights, you reply by the due date. If you disagree, follow the instructions in the notice. Include the information and copies of documents you want the IRS to consider. Do not send originals you cannot replace.

If an amount is due, the IRS says to pay by the due date even when you cannot pay in full, because paying then can reduce interest and penalty charges. That is the IRS describing its own charges. It is not a promise from us that a balance will come down or that a penalty will be removed. If you agree and the letter does not ask for a reply, you do not need to write back. Keep the letter with the return.

A notice that sits unanswered follows the timeline printed on it. Share it with us when it arrives. We'll tell you how to send documents securely. We read the letter with you, explain what the IRS is asking, and help you respond by the date on the notice. We don't promise a reduced balance or that the notice will disappear.

Do not ignore it

The IRS mails the notice to the address on the return. We do not get a copy unless you share it with us or a Form 2848 lets the IRS talk to us about that year. Without the form, we can still help you read the letter and prepare the response you will send the IRS. We cannot call the IRS as your representative until that authorization is in place. Interest can keep running on an unpaid balance, an identity letter can hold a refund, and a letter that proposes a change can close the window it gave you to disagree. That is a reason to read the notice. It is not a reason to pay someone who calls you about it.

If you already missed the date, share the notice with us anyway. We'll tell you how to send it securely. Tell us the date that was printed and the date you found the letter. We will explain what the notice was asking and what can still be sent to the IRS. We still do not promise a particular outcome.

Make sure the letter is real

The IRS says a letter or notice is the first way it contacts a taxpayer. It does not make first contact by email or through social media. It does not send a text about a tax credit or a stimulus payment unless you opted in to messages. Those points are in IRS Tax Tip 2025-46, "Ways to tell if the IRS is reaching out or if it's a scammer," dated July 8, 2025, and on the IRS page How to know it's the IRS.

A phone call, email, or text is not from the IRS when it is unexpected, rushes you, threatens you, asks for personal or financial information, or demands payment now. The IRS says it does not leave urgent or threatening voicemail, and that a threat of arrest if you do not call back is a scam line. The IRS and its authorized private collection agencies will not ask you to pay with a gift card or a prepaid card. Legitimate payment methods are listed at IRS.gov/payments.

If you are not sure a paper letter is real, log in to your IRS online account and see whether it is in the file, look the CP or LTR number up on the IRS notice page, or call the IRS at 800-829-1040 using the number from irs.gov. If the letter is not in that search or it looks suspicious, the notice page says to call that number. A collection notice from a private collection agency should carry the same taxpayer authentication number as the CP40 the IRS sent you. Do not click a link in an email that claims to be the notice, and do not pay from a number that contacted you first.

How our team helps you respond

Share the notice with us, along with the return it names and any form the letter mentions. We'll tell you how to send documents securely. We read the CP or LTR number, tell you what is being asked, and help you prepare the response the letter allows: a payment, a disagreement with copies of your records, or the identity steps printed on the letter. If a business return and a personal return are both involved, we look at both. If an older year needs an amended federal return, we prepare the amendment that fits. We don't promise that a balance will be reduced or that the notice will be withdrawn.

The Blackpoint CPA Team — Winter Garden, FL.