IRS Notices Involving Your Tax Return

Author: Keith Huggett

It's deep into tax time now, and the IRS has been busy processing your returns. During the processing the IRS becomes aware of issues, if any, that arise with your return. It's at this time that certain notifications get sent out via the United States Postal Service. The IRS does not use email to communicate with taxpayers. The IRS has classified their notices by the type of tax form that they refer to. Simply put, any notices involving personal taxes, forms 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, and their supplemental documentation, schedules, and forms are called individual filer notices. If the forms involved are IRS forms 941, 1065 or 1120 then the notices fall under the business filer category.

The IRS sends out millions of notices every year. Each letter will tell you what the letter is for, and why they are sending it to you. It is important to read these letters as soon as you receive them. The IRS often includes a "respond by" date in these notices. If you do not respond by the given date, it can, and often does, cause issues for you in the future. While receiving that initial notice from the IRS is intimidating, quite often the correspondence is due to a simple question that requires an answer. Your inital actions should be to read the notice, make a copy of it, and send it to your tax preparer for action.

Here are some of the notices you might receive from the IRS:

• CP05A - The IRS is examining your return and requires documentation.
• CP08  - You may qualify for the Additional Child Tax Credit and may be entitled to some additional money. 
• CP09 - The IRS records indicate that you may qualify for the Earned Income Credit but did not claim it.
• CP10 - The IRS has made a change on your tax return because they believe there is a miscalculation affecting your estimated tax payment you wanted applied to your taxes for next year.
• CP11 - The IRS has made a change on your tax return because they believe there is a micalculation affecting your return. You now owe the IRS due to this change.

There are many, many more notices that can be sent out by the IRS. The above lists only a few. The important issue to be aware of is that all of the issues shown above are easily taken care of. While it is true that not all IRS notices are so easy to take care of, if acted upon when first received your tax issue will be less complicated to take care of.

Remember, when dealing with IRS correspondence, following the directions that is provided for you is key to correcting the situation.  Each letter will provide you with the information that the IRS requires from you.  Be prompt in your response. Only give them what they ask for, nothing more or less. Keep copies of the notices for your records.

If you are uncomfortable dealing with the IRS in any way, contact your tax preparer. A professional tax service is ultimately qualified to deal with the IRS for you.  Tax specialists are trained to communicate with the IRS directly in your favor. Should you have any questions regarding IRS notices, contact us, The Tax Office, Inc. We will be happy to assist you.