What the notice means
The IRS page says: “You may need to file an amended return. We’ve received information not reported on your tax return.” The CP2057 is a compliance nudge from the Automated Underreporter (AUR) program. The AUR glossary in IRM Exhibit 4.19.2-1 defines it as “A notice issued to increase Taxpayer compliance. There is no physical case.” IRM 3.11.6 calls it an “AUR soft notice” and gives its full title: “Check Your Records to Confirm the Income You Received.”
The difference from a CP2000 is the whole point. A CP2000 proposes specific changes, computes tax, penalty and interest, and starts a response clock that leads to a CP3219A notice of deficiency if ignored. A CP2057 does none of that. It identifies the information return and leaves the next step to the taxpayer.
Why the client got it
The IRS matches information returns filed by employers, banks, brokers and other payers against individual returns. The IRS page explains: “This matching takes several months to complete.” When AUR sees an unreported item but the case is not selected for a full CP2000 (the IRS does not publish the selection criteria), it may send a soft notice instead. Recent examples include state relief payments: IRM 3.11.6 describes taxpayers who received a general welfare or disaster relief payment and got a CP2057 instructing them to amend.
Common reasons the item looks missing:
- The income was omitted (a late-arriving 1099, a small brokerage or interest form).
- The income was reported, but on a different line or schedule, or combined with other amounts.
- The payer filed under the wrong TIN or filed a form in error.
- The payment was nontaxable (for example, certain state relief payments), and the payer issued a form anyway.
Deadlines and risk
The notice has no response date and starts no statutory clock. That does not make it harmless. The normal assessment statute still runs on the year, and the IRS can still open an AUR case or an examination within it. If income was in fact omitted, timing can matter for accuracy-related penalties. Under Treas. Reg. 1.6664-2(c)(3), a qualified amended return must be filed before the earliest of several events, including “The date the taxpayer is first contacted by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) concerning any examination (including a criminal investigation) with respect to the return.” The IRS has not published how a CP2057 fits that rule, so the safer reading is to resolve the item promptly.
How to respond
- Identify the item. The notice lists the payer and amount. Pull the wage and income transcript for the year to see every information return the IRS has.
- Trace it to the return. Check whether the amount was reported elsewhere (for example, a 1099-K amount inside Schedule C gross receipts, or interest combined on Schedule B).
- If the income was omitted, amend. The IRS page says to file Form 1040-X “as soon as possible” if the third-party information is correct, on paper or electronically, and to check other years for the same omission. Paying the additional tax with the amendment stops interest.
- If the form is wrong, go to the payer. The IRS says: “Don’t file an amended tax return only to correct third-party information.” Ask the payer for a corrected form or a written statement and keep it with the return file. The IRS adds “You don’t need to contact us.”
- If it was reported in a different place with no tax effect, the IRS says it can take the explanation by phone: “We can accept your information over the phone for incorrectly reported information if the mistake didn’t increase or decrease your tax.”
- If someone else used the client's SSN, see the IRS identity theft guidance and Form 14039; the IRS page says to call and let it know.
A Form 2848 or Form 8821 is needed only if the practitioner will talk to the IRS about the notice; amending does not require one.
What the IRS does next
If a Form 1040-X is attached to the CP2057 when it is mailed back, IRM 21.1.7 routes it to processing as an amended return, so the amendment, not the notice, is what the IRS acts on. If nothing is filed, there is no case to close. The item remains in the information return data, and nothing published by the IRS prevents a later CP2000 or examination for the year while the statute is open.
Related notices
| Notice | What it does |
|---|---|
| CP2057 | Soft notice. No proposal, no case, no deadline. |
| CP2501 | AUR inquiry asking for an explanation before any proposal. |
| CP2000 | Proposed changes with tax, penalty and interest, and a response date. |
| CP3219A | AUR statutory notice of deficiency: 90 days to petition the Tax Court. |
Questions practitioners ask
Does the client have to respond to a CP2057?
There is no reply date on the notice. If the income was omitted, the IRS asks for an amended return. If the information return is wrong, the fix is with the payer.
Will the IRS assess tax if the client does nothing?
Not from the CP2057 itself, which opens no case. The IRS can still pursue the item through AUR or an exam while the assessment statute is open.
The income was reported on the return, just on another line. What now?
If the placement did not change the tax, the IRS says it can accept that information by phone. Keep a note of the reconciliation in the file in case a CP2000 follows.
Should we amend to back out an incorrect 1099?
No. The IRS says not to amend only to correct third-party information. Get a corrected form from the payer.
Is a CP2057 the same as a CP2000?
No. A CP2000 proposes an assessment and leads to a notice of deficiency if ignored; a CP2057 proposes nothing.