The IRS collection notice sequence, in order
Most IRS balances move through the same run of letters, and only a few of them carry a deadline that cannot be recovered. This page lays the sequence out in one place, with the two side tracks that feed into it.
THE CLOCK — TWO DATES MATTER MORE THAN THE REST
Across the whole sequence, two windows are statutory and unforgiving: 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing after the final notice of intent to levy, and 90 days to petition the Tax Court after a notice of deficiency. Most of the other letters ask for payment by a printed date, which matters, but missing it does not cost a legal right.
The main line: from first bill to levy
Once tax is assessed and not paid, the IRS sends a bill and then a series of reminders. The IRS publishes a page for each notice describing it on its own terms; none of them promises that the next letter will come, or when. Read the table as the usual order and the notice in your hand as what actually applies.
| NOTICE | WHAT IT IS | LEVY IT PERMITS | HEARING RIGHT |
|---|---|---|---|
| CP14 | First bill after assessment | None | None |
| CP501 | First reminder | None | None; mentions the Collection Appeals Program |
| CP503 | Second reminder; warns of a lien if not already filed | None | None; mentions the Collection Appeals Program |
| CP504 | Notice of intent to levy a state tax refund | State refund only, after 30 days | None |
| LT11, Letter 1058, CP90 or CP297 | Final notice of intent to levy | Wages, bank accounts and other assets, after 30 days | Collection Due Process, 30 days to request |
A Notice of Federal Tax Lien can be filed at any point after the balance is demanded and unpaid. The letter telling you about the filing arrives afterward and carries its own 30-day hearing right.
The side track for unfiled returns
Where no return was filed, the sequence starts before there is any balance. The CP59 says the IRS has no record of your return. The CP518 is the final reminder and says the IRS may determine your tax for you. The CP2566 is that determination: a return prepared from third-party income information, sent as a proposal.
If the proposal is not answered, the IRS sends a notice of deficiency, CP3219N, with 90 days to file your own return or petition the Tax Court. After that, the tax is assessed and the account joins the main line at the first bill.
The IRS's own guidance is that filing your own return, even after a substitute, is generally in your interest and that it will generally adjust the account. That is usually the largest reduction available anywhere in this sequence, and it is available at every step.
The side track for mismatched income
Where a return was filed but income reported by employers, banks or others does not match it, the IRS sends a letter that is not a bill: a CP2501 or a CP2000, each explaining proposed changes and asking for a response by a date.
An unresolved difference can lead to a statutory notice of deficiency, CP3219A, which the IRS says is not a bill or an audit but a proposed change with a 90-day window to petition the Tax Court. The IRS says it will keep working with you during those 90 days but cannot extend the time to petition.
Separately, a CP11 or CP12 can arrive at processing, where the IRS corrects what it treats as a math or clerical error. That track has its own 60-day statutory right to have the change reversed.
WHICH LETTERS CARRY A DEADLINE THAT COSTS A RIGHT
- Final notice of intent to levy (LT11, Letter 1058, CP90, CP297): 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing
- Notice of deficiency (CP3219A, CP3219N and other statutory notices): 90 days to petition the Tax Court
- Math-error notice (CP11, CP12): 60 days to have the change reversed as of right
- Installment default (CP523): 30 days before an agreement is terminated
- Lien filing notice: 30 days to request a hearing about the lien
Every other letter asks for payment or a reply by a printed date. Missing those costs interest, penalties and options, but not a statutory right.
Letters that sit outside the line
A few notices do not fit the sequence because they arrive around it. The CP71 is a reminder of a balance still on the books, with a passport warning. The CP523 says an installment agreement is in default. The CP40 says the account has been assigned to a private collection agency. The CP161 is a balance due notice with a 10-day window to flag an IRS mistake.
And some are not about collection at all: Letter 5071C asks you to verify your identity before a return is processed, and a CP22A reports changes the IRS has already made to a return.
Whatever the letter, the working method is the same. Find the notice number in the corner, look at the date on it, and pull the account transcript for every year, because each tax period runs through this sequence on its own schedule and the account view, not the notice view, is the one to work from.
Where this comes from
The statutes behind this page, so you can check any of it rather than take it on trust.
- IRC §6303
- Notice and demand after assessment, the first bill in the collection sequence.
- IRC §6331(d)
- At least 30 days' notice before a levy. The CP504 gives it for a state refund levy; the final notice gives it for everything else.
- IRC §6330
- The right to a Collection Due Process hearing, which attaches to the final notice of intent to levy.
- IRC §6212 and §6213(a)
- The notice of deficiency and the 90 days to petition the Tax Court, which sit on the two side tracks before any assessment.
This page explains what the IRS or the Massachusetts Department of Revenue does and cites the statute. It is not advice about your situation, which depends on facts none of this knows. Tell us what your letter says and what date is on it. Please do not send Social Security numbers or tax documents through the form.
Notice CP501
A reminder that a balance is still unpaid after the first bill. It cannot authorize a levy and starts no hearing clock, which makes it the cheapest point in the sequence to get the number right and choose a plan.
Notice CP504
Headed as a notice of intent to levy, and read by most recipients as the last warning. It is not. It permits a levy on your state tax refund and nothing else — but the notice that does authorize more is the next one.
Final Notice of Intent to Levy
The notice that authorizes levies on wages and bank accounts, and the one that carries a 30-day appeal right worth more than almost anything else in the collection process.
Notice CP59
The IRS has no record of a prior-year personal return. It wants the return, or an explanation of why none is due. It is the first letter in a sequence that ends with the IRS preparing the return itself, from only the income it knows about.
Questions about the irs notice sequence.
- What is the order of IRS collection notices?
- The usual order is CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504, then the final notice of intent to levy, issued as LT11, Letter 1058, CP90 or CP297. The IRS describes each notice on its own and does not promise the next one or its timing.
- Which IRS notice gives a right to a hearing?
- The final notice of intent to levy, which gives 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing. A lien filing notice carries its own 30-day hearing right too. The CP501, CP503 and CP504 do not.
- Can the IRS skip notices?
- The IRS publishes pages for each notice but does not promise every account every reminder, or any fixed interval. Treat the letter you actually have, and its date, as the guide to what currently applies.
- Where does a lien fit in the sequence?
- A Notice of Federal Tax Lien can be filed once a demanded balance is unpaid, without waiting for the final levy notice. The IRS tells you after it is filed, and that letter gives 30 days to request a hearing.
- What if I never filed the return?
- The sequence starts earlier: CP59, then CP518, then CP2566, a proposed return the IRS prepared, then a notice of deficiency, CP3219N, with 90 days to file your return or petition the Tax Court. Filing your own return is available at every step.
Tell us what the letter says and what date is on it.
Scope and price in writing before anything starts. Where what you need is something we do not do, you will be told that instead.
Please don't send Social Security numbers or tax documents through this form.