Any notice or letter you receive from the IRS will provide important information and instructions to be followed promptly to avoid penalties. Tax payers should also be aware of scam notices that may arrive phishing for personal information.
Beware of phishing or scam letters. If you have received a letter that appears suspicious to you, you can contact the IRS at 800-829-1040 or report it to the IRS here . Some examples of suspicious activity would be requests for information that come to you via text, email or social media channels.
The IRS will never contact you in any of these ways.
Some of the reasons the IRS will contact you with a notice or a letter are as follows:
- You owe a back balance on taxes.
- There is a discrepancy in the amount of refund you are due.
- They have questions about your tax return.
- They need your assistance in verifying your identity.
- They need additional information.
- Changes have been made to your return or the amount of time it will take the IRS to process your return.
Any notice or letter you receive from the IRS will contain valuable information and next steps about how to proceed. It is important to follow the steps laid out for you by the IRS in the timeframe stated in your notice or letter to avoid any late fees or penalties.
It is also important to take note of how long you may have the right to appeal, which will also be stated in your letter or notice. If you respond to the IRS, you should note your notice (CP) or letter (LTR) number in any correspondence, which you will find on the top right or bottom right of your notice or letter.
If you find that you owe money to the IRS it is important to begin paying as much as you can. Payments can be made online, and if you are unable to pay the full amount, you also have the ability to apply for an online payment agreement.
Do not discard your letter, you should keep copies of any correspondence you receive from the IRS with your tax records.
For more information on notices and letters from the IRS, and how best to address them please speak to a tax expert, like the ones at Peter Witts CPA PC.
I’m Kristin, the PWCPA PC Customer Success Specialist. For more information about this topic, or any other, you can always reach me through our customer ticketing system.
