- Pick the right transcript first
- What the account transcript contains
- The dates that start the statutes
- How transaction codes work
- The codes you will see most
- Codes that matter in a controversy
- TC 971 action codes a representative must know
- Patterns that tell you what is happening
- A reading workflow
- Masking and the Customer File Number
- Limits and traps
- Questions practitioners ask
Pick the right transcript first
The account transcript tells you what has happened on the account. IRM 21.2.3.2.2 says it “shows Master File (MF) transactions as seen on Command Code (CC) IMFOLT and CC BMFOLT,” and that it is ordered when the taxpayer wants an account history: payment history, penalties and interest, refund history, verification of an extension, or a response to a notice. The return transcript tells you what the return said; it “contains significant data transcribed from the original return” and does not show later changes. The record of account “combines the information from the tax account and tax return transcripts.” For income questions, use the wage and income transcript. How to obtain each one is covered in IRS transcripts for practitioners.
When the IRS changed the client's figures during processing, the return transcript shows both versions. The IRS transcript FAQ says the return transcript “will show your original figures, labeled “per return,” and the corrected figures labeled “per computer.”” A difference between the two lines is often the whole story behind a math error notice.
What the account transcript contains
IRM 21.2.3.2.2 lists what the account transcript displays, “but is not limited to”:
| Item | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Payment history, including payment transfers and overpayment credits | Locating a missing payment or a misapplied credit |
| Refund history, including refunds issued, voided and returned | Confirming whether a refund went out or was offset |
| Penalties assessed, including the name of the penalty type | Identifying candidates for first time abatement or reasonable cause |
| Interest assessed | Seeing what will drop if a penalty is abated |
| Balance due with accruals | The amount needed to pay off as of a date |
| Adjusted gross income, taxable income, refundable credits allowed | Checking that an exam or AUR adjustment posted as agreed |
| Return received date | The date that starts the assessment statute; see the next section |
Each transaction line shows the code with a short explanation; the IRM's example is a TC 610 with “payment with return” beside it. You do not need to memorize codes, but you need to know how they combine and which dates start a statute. To paste a transcript and have the dates, freezes and penalty history pulled out, use the transcript analyzer.
The dates that start the statutes
An account transcript shows neither the assessment statute expiration date (ASED) nor the collection statute expiration date (CSED). Those sit on internal IDRS displays; the practitioner computes them from two dates the transcript does show, and they are different dates.
The return received date starts the ASED. IRC 6501(a) says tax “shall be assessed within 3 years after the return was filed (whether or not such return was filed on or after the date prescribed).” The received date near the top of the transcript is the IRS's record of filing, subject to the early-filing rule in IRC 6501(b)(1): a return filed before the due date “shall be considered as filed on such last day.” IRM 25.6.1.6.15 adds the trap for extended returns: “A timely return received before the end of the extension period (including postponement for disaster relief and combat zone) is considered filed on the received date, not on the extended due date.” So a 1040 received March 1 is treated as filed April 15; a 1040 on extension received September 1 is treated as filed September 1. Later assessments do not move it. IRM 25.6.1.5: “An additional assessment such as a TC 290 or TC 300 does not extend the Assessment Statute Expiration Date. The ASED is determined by the received date or due date of the original return whichever is later.” The exceptions (no return, a 25 percent omission, fraud, a Form 872 consent) are covered in the assessment statute of limitations.
The assessment date starts the CSED, and every assessment has its own. IRC 6502(a)(1) allows collection “within 10 years after the assessment of the tax.” The assessment date is the date of the summary record of assessment, the 23C date, shown on the TC 150 line and on each later assessment line; the IRM's examples compute the CSED from the date the TC 150 or TC 290 posted. IRM 25.6.1.12 says “The CSED is normally ten years from the date of the Summary Record of Assessment (Form 23C, RACS 006)” of a list that includes TC 150, 160, 166, 170, 176, 240, 290, 294, 298, 300, 304, 308, 320, 350 and, as it relates to the tax, 340, and “Each additional assessment of tax carries its own CSED of 10 years.” A module with a TC 150 in 2019, a TC 290 after a CP2000 in 2021 and a TC 300 after an exam in 2023 has three collection statutes running. Suspensions are identified by other codes on the transcript; see the CSED.
A substitute for return breaks the pattern. IRM 25.6.1.8.2 describes the marker as “a TC 150 for .00 with a Tax class and Document code of 210 in the DLN, and the literal “SFR” to the right of the TC 150.” That is not a return filed by the taxpayer, and IRC 6501(b)(3) says the IRS's execution of a return “shall not start the running of the period of limitations on assessment and collection.” IRM 25.6.1.9.4.5 explains the split: the SFR assessment “will start the period for the statute of limitations for collection per IRC 6502(a)(1), but does not start the period of limitations for assessment per IRC 6501(b)(3).” If the client later files a signed return, “The assessment statute period for that tax year will begin with the received date of the taxpayer’s signed return.” See substitute for return and ASFR.
Working rule: take the return received date, apply the early-filing rule, add three years for the ASED; take the 23C date of every assessment line (TC 150, 290, 298, 300, 240 and the penalty codes), add ten years for each CSED; then look for the codes in the controversy table that extend or suspend either one. The statute date calculator does the arithmetic.
How transaction codes work
Document 6209, the IRS's processing codes reference, opens its transaction code section with the basics: “Transaction Codes (TC) consist of three digits.” They identify each transaction posted to the Master File and maintain the debit and credit controls. The IRS's Document 6209 page says the guide “is updated annually,” but as of October 2026 the newest edition it offers is 2023, so codes added since then may not appear in it.
Codes work in pairs. Many actions have a reversal code, usually the next number: 570 sets a hold and 571 releases it; 420 opens an exam indicator and 421 closes it; 290 assesses additional tax and 291 abates tax. A module's current state depends on whether each opening code has an unreversed partner.
Reversals also show another way: “An “R” following the transaction code indicates the transaction has been reversed,” and on individual accounts unlisted codes ending in 3 “are actually reversed transactions” that originally ended in 0.
The codes you will see most
These are the balance codes: what was assessed, paid, credited and refunded. Descriptions are summarized from Document 6209 (2023), Section 8A; status and freeze codes are in the next two tables. For a searchable list, use the transcript code decoder.
| Code | Meaning (summary) | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | Return filed and tax assessed; establishes the module | Its 23C date starts a CSED; the return received date, not this line, starts the ASED |
| 977 | Amended return posted | Shows an amended return reached the module; look for a 290 or 291 that follows |
| 290 / 291 | Additional tax assessed by adjustment / abatement of prior tax | Common after math error, AUR or amended return processing; a 290 starts its own CSED |
| 300 / 301 | Additional tax by Examination or Appeals / abatement by Examination or Appeals | Confirms an exam or Appeals result posted; compare to the agreed report; a 300 starts its own CSED |
| 806 | Credit for withheld taxes and excess FICA | Should match W-2 and 1099 withholding |
| 766 / 768 | Refundable credit allowed / earned income credit | Check against the credits claimed |
| 610 / 670 | Payment with return / subsequent payment | Payment tracing; 670 may carry a designated payment code |
| 846 | Refund of overpayment | Confirms a refund was issued |
| 166 / 160 | Failure to file penalty, computer generated / manually computed | Abatement candidate |
| 276 / 270 | Failure to pay penalty, computer generated / manually assessed | Abatement candidate |
| 176 | Estimated tax penalty | Assessed for failure to make adequate estimated payments |
| 196 | Interest assessed | Abatements of tax (291, 301) generate interest abatements where applicable |
| 922 | Underreporter (AUR) status | An AUR case is open; expect a CP2000 or check its status |
| 971 | Miscellaneous; the action depends on the action code | Read the action code before drawing conclusions; see the action code table |
| 480 | Offer in compromise pending | Refunds frozen; statutes suspended |
Codes that matter in a controversy
These codes describe the posture of the case: whether a statute was extended, whether a deficiency notice went out, whether the IRS treats the return as unfiled, whether collection is suspended. Descriptions are from Document 6209 (2023), Section 8A, quoted where the wording is the point.
| Code | What Document 6209 says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 460 | Extension of time for filing; “TC 460 as a secondary transaction with TC 670 indicates approved automatic extension” | Confirms the Form 4868 was accepted. The ASED still runs from the received date of an extended return, not from October 15 |
| 560 | “Extends the Assessment Statute Expiration Date to the date input.” | A consent, normally Form 872, was recorded. Match the TC 560 date to the signed consent. See Form 872 statute extensions |
| 550 | “Extends the Collection Statute Expiration Date to the data input with this transaction.” A definer code is required on input; Document 6209 points to IRM 2.4.19 for the values and does not list them | A CSED was extended by waiver (IRM 25.6.1.12 allows that only with an installment agreement or before a levy release after the ten years ran) or recomputed after a suspension. Verify the new date; the definer code is not on the external transcript |
| 494 / 495 | 494: “Indicates that a Statutory Notice of Deficiency (90-day) was issued.” 495: “Closure of Notice of Deficiency or Notice of Deficiency processed in error.” | The 494 date approximates the notice date that starts the 90-day petition window and the IRC 6503(a)(1) suspension of the assessment period (while assessment is barred, plus 60 days). Confirm against the notice; see notice of deficiency |
| 240 | “Computer generated TC 240 post to a tax module when a miscellaneous type penalty is assessed (i.e., other than those penalties which are identified with their own TC or reference no.).” | Read the penalty reference number from Section 10: 618 is the trust fund recovery penalty (IRC 6672), 666 the frivolous submission penalty (IRC 6702(a)), 680 an accuracy-related penalty assessed before 2015 or by court order, 686 fraudulent failure to file (IRC 6651(f)). Each TC 240 carries its own CSED |
| 320 / 350 | 320: “Assesses Fraud Penalty.” 350: “Assesses all types of negligence penalties. This penalty should only be used for returns due before 1/1/1990.” | A TC 320 means the civil fraud penalty was assessed, and IRC 6501(c)(1) lets a false or fraudulent return be assessed at any time. A TC 350 on a modern module is a legacy code worth questioning. See civil fraud penalty |
| 340 | “Restricted interest which must be manually computed.” Afterward “interest is not computed or abated by computer for the applicable Tax Module” | Interest on the module is manual. After any abatement, confirm the interest was recomputed; the computer will not do it |
| 706 / 826 / 836 | 706: “An ECC computer generated transaction in the amount of a credit offset into a Tax Module. A TC 826 debit transaction is the corresponding entry.” 836: “A debit for the amount of overpayment elected to be applied to the following tax period.” | Where a refund went. An 826 on the overpaid year and a 706 on the receiving year are the same dollars; an 836 is the client's own credit elect |
| 590 / 599 | 590: “Not liable this tax period. Satisfies this module only.” 599: “Return secured. Satisfies this module only.” | A 590 closes a delinquency inquiry as not required to file; a 599 means Collection or Exam secured the return. The closing code says why |
| 150 with SFR | A TC 150 for .00 with the literal SFR beside it: the IRS's return under IRC 6020(b) | No ASED is running (IRC 6501(b)(3)); a CSED runs from the assessment that followed. A signed original return filed later starts the ASED from its received date |
| 420 / 421 | 420: “Indicates that return has been referred to the Examination or Appeals Division.” While unreversed, “TC 290, 291, 298 and 299 will unpost unless Priority Codes 1, 5, 6, 7, or 8 present.” 421 reverses it | An open 420 is why an amended return or claim sits unprocessed: Exam controls the module. The 421 date is when the exam closed on the Master File |
| 520 / 521 | 520: IRS litigation instituted; “Freeze is released by TC 521 or 522. Some CCs suspend CSED.” 521 records the reversal | The closing code says whether it is bankruptcy, a Tax Court petition or other litigation and whether the CSED is suspended between the 520 and 521 dates. See bankruptcy and tax debts |
| 530 / 531 | 530: “A balance due account is considered currently not collectible. Closing Code is 01-39.” 531: “Indicates that the Account is now considered collectible.” | A 530 confirms CNC status and the closing code gives the reason; a 531 means the account is back in active collection. See currently not collectible |
| 570 / 571 | 570: “Indicates additional liability pending.” Freezes the module from refunding or offsetting out. 571: “Releases the 570/576 freeze status.” | The usual reason a refund has not arrived. What posted around the 570 date shows which function is holding it |
| 582 | “Federal Tax Lien has been filed for this tax period.” | A notice of federal tax lien is on the public record, and IRC 6320(a) requires a lien CDP notice within five business days of the filing (see AC 252 below). See federal tax liens |
| 810 / 811 | 810: “To freeze the module from refunds, offsets and credit elect.” The code beside it identifies the program (prefiling notification, abusive shelter, EITC check, frivolous return). 811: “Reverses TC 810 in whole or in part.” | A compliance freeze, not an ordinary hold. Document 6209 directs even IRS employees to the Examination Branch or RICS for input and release; expect correspondence from that function |
| 960 | “Adds/updates CAF indicator to the module. Causes notices and/or refunds to be sent to authorized representative.” | Proof that your Form 2848 or 8821 reached this module. No 960, no notice copies |
TC 971 action codes a representative must know
TC 971 “Performs different actions based on the Action Code,” which are listed in Document 6209 Section 8C. The external transcript usually prints the explanation text rather than the code number, so match the text to the code. These change what you do next.
| Action code | Document 6209 definition | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 069 | “Due Process Notice was issued” | The levy CDP notice under IRC 6330 went out on this date; IRC 6330(a)(3)(B) gives 30 days from it to request a hearing. AC 066, 067 and 068 record delivery, refusal and undeliverable return. See CDP hearings |
| 252 / 255 | “Lien CDP Notice sent to taxpayer” / “CDP Notice Refused by Taxpayer” | The IRC 6320 lien notice and the start of its own hearing window, separate from the levy notice |
| 275 | “Used to indicate that a timely request for Collection Due Process (CDP) has been received.” Excludes the module from automated levy programs | Your Form 12153 was received as timely. IRC 6330(e)(1) suspends levy and the IRC 6502 collection period while the hearing and any appeal are pending. AC 276 and 277 record resolution without Appeals and an Appeals determination |
| 043 | “Pending Installment Agreement” | The IA request is in. IRC 6331(k)(2) bars levy while it is pending, and IRC 6331(k)(3), applying 6331(i)(5), suspends the collection period for the same time |
| 063 | Installment agreement, with the failure to pay penalty reduced to one quarter of one percent | The agreement is established. If a client on an IA is getting levy notices, the absence of a 063 is the first thing to check. See installment agreements |
| 065 | “Request for Innocent Spouse Relief Form 8857 Received. Generates an L- Freeze.” | The Form 8857 is in and collection against the requesting spouse is held; TC 972 AC 065 marks the claim closed. See innocent spouse relief |
| 010, 012, 013, 014, 015 | Amended return or claim forwarded to Accounts Management (010), Collection (012), Examination (013), Statute Control (014) or Underreporter (015) | Where the Form 1040-X went. A 013 means Exam has it; a 014 means the statute team is reviewing an ASED problem. AC 011 (non-receipt of a refund check) and AC 016 (international routing) sit in the same range but are not amended-return codes, so read the text |
| 120 | “Amended return/claim in Submission Processing.” | The 1040-X is still in the pipeline, before any 977 or 290 |
| 522 | “Identity Theft Documentation Received”; the taxpayer alleges identity theft and the case is open | An open identity theft case. IRM 21.2.3.3 says TDS is programmed to recognize AC 501, 506, 522 and 524 on either spouse's account and stop a transcript from generating, so expect TDS to fail for the year. AC 501 and 506 mark a resolved case (taxpayer-documented and IRS-identified); AC 504 is self-reported identity theft with no tax impact |
| 282 | “Delinquent Return Secured by Examination after the posting of an SFR TC 150.” It “Will set the ASED.” | The client's own return reached an SFR module; its received date now starts the three-year assessment statute |
| 032 | “Fully Accepted OIC” | The offer was accepted |
| 263 | “Used to turn off the Third Party Designee (Checkbox) Indicator” | The checkbox designee authority from the return was ended |
Patterns that tell you what is happening
A refund that never came. A 570 without a 571, or an 810. If the refund did go out (846) and the client never saw it, look for an 826 offset to another year or a 971 explaining an offset to another agency.
An exam that has started or is coming. TC 424 means “Return referred to Examination or Appeals Division,” an unreversed 420 means the exam record is open, a 494 means the statutory notice went out, and a 300 followed by 421 shows the exam closed with an assessment. Compare the 300 to the agreed report or notice of deficiency.
A CP2000 case. TC 922 is the “IRP Underreporter status transaction,” and its date and process codes update as the case moves. An agreed response shows up as a 290. See CP2000.
Collection posture. A 582 (lien), 530 (CNC), 480 (offer pending) or 520 (litigation, with its closing code) each changes what collection can do and often the CSED. A TC 971 AC 069 followed by AC 275 means the client asked for a CDP hearing in time; a 043 followed by 063 means an installment agreement was requested and established. If you expected notice copies and see no 960, check your CAF record and the notices box on line 2.
Penalties and interest. TC 196 is “Computer generated interest that is due” at notice and adjustment times. When a 291 or 301 abates tax, Document 6209 says abatements of computer-generated interest are generated where applicable, unless a TC 340 has made the module's interest manual.
A reading workflow
- Confirm the module: taxpayer, form, period. Business clients have a separate module for each quarter or year and each form.
- Find the return received date and apply the early-filing rule to compute the ASED. Then find the TC 150 and note its 23C date and amount; that date starts the first CSED. Check for an SFR literal, a TC 560 or a TC 550 before trusting either date. See the assessment statute and the CSED.
- List every debit (assessments, penalties, interest) and every credit (payments, withholding, credits, abatements). Pair each opening code with its reversal. Each TC 290, 298, 300 and 240 is a separate assessment with its own ten-year CSED.
- Identify unreversed holds and indicators (570, 810, 420, 424, 922, 494, 520, 480, 530, 582). These explain why a refund is frozen or why collection behaves as it does.
- Read every TC 971 line against the action code table. A CDP notice, a pending installment agreement, an innocent spouse claim and an identity theft marker all arrive as a 971.
- Compare the transcript to the notice. A notice is a snapshot; the transcript shows what posted after it.
- If something is missing that should be there, ask PPS whether a transaction is pending or unposted; the transcript shows only what has posted to the Master File.
Masking and the Customer File Number
Every transcript delivered through TDS, PPS or the client's online account is masked. The IRS About tax transcripts page says it protects data “by partially masking the personally identifiable information of everyone listed on transcripts. All financial entries remain fully visible to assist with tax preparation, tax representation and income verification.” Visible are the “Last four digits of any SSN: XXX-XX-1234,” the last four digits of any EIN, account or telephone number, the “First four characters of the first and last name for any individual (first three characters if the name has only four letters),” the first four characters of a business name, the “First six characters of the street address, including spaces,” and all money amounts. IRM 21.2.3.3 adds that “some PII is entirely removed, such as the taxpayer’s city, state, and zip code.” Transaction codes, dates and amounts are not masked.
Because the full TIN is gone, the IRS added an optional Customer File Number. The IRS page says “This number can be up to 10 digits but cannot be a taxpayer identification number, such as a Social Security number,” and practitioners with TDS access “can also enter a Customer File Number” to print on the transcript. Use your client or matter number; IRM 21.2.3.3 confirms the field “is not searchable in any IRS system.”
The one exception is the wage and income transcript: “The IRS will provide unmasked Wage and Income transcripts when needed for preparing and filing tax returns.” IRM 21.2.3.5.10.2.1 limits the exception to that purpose, requires the assistor to “Verify a tax return was not filed by the taxpayer for the year in question before providing the unmasked transcript,” lists the authorized representative among those who can request it, and allows delivery “Placed into the authorized representative’s e-Services SOR mailbox” but says “An unmasked IMF wage and income transcript cannot be mailed to authorized representatives.” IRM 21.3.10.4.4 adds that “TDS transcripts CANNOT be faxed, they can only be mailed” or deposited to the SOR mailbox after SOR authentication. In practice: call PPS with a valid authorization for an unfiled year and ask for the unmasked wage and income transcript to your SOR mailbox. No other individual transcript type can be unmasked, and masked and unmasked requests cannot be combined in one TDS transaction.
Limits and traps
The return transcript “will not show amendments or adjustments made to the account after the original return has posted” (IRM 21.2.3.2.1); use the record of account or account transcript for those. The wage and income transcript does not show state or local withholding, and “may not reflect all the information return documents issued to the taxpayer.” TDS cannot produce account transcripts for an invalid TIN, shown with an asterisk after the last digit. Return transcripts display only four dependents.
A transcript reflects the Master File only: if the IRS has your client's response but has not worked it, nothing shows. And the reference is dated. The IRS Document 6209 page, last reviewed in June 2026, offers editions from 2016 through 2023 and nothing later, so a code or action code created since appears on a transcript with only its explanation text. When the text and the 2023 definition disagree, the text controls.
Reading a transcript is not a substitute for a notice response deadline. If the client has a notice with a date on it, calendar the deadline from the notice first, then use the transcript to understand it. A TC 494 or a TC 971 AC 069 date is corroboration, not the deadline. See how to respond to an IRS notice.
Questions practitioners ask
Does the account transcript show the ASED or CSED?
No. It shows the return received date and the 23C date of each assessment, and you compute the statutes from those: three years from the later of the received date and the due date for the ASED, and ten years from each assessment date for the CSEDs. Then check for codes that extend or suspend them (560, 550, 520, 480, 971 AC 043 and 275).
What does an R after a transaction code mean?
Document 6209 says an R following the code indicates the transaction has been reversed. Treat the original amount as no longer in effect.
The transcript shows a 570 but no 571. What does that mean?
An unreversed 570 freezes the module from refunds and offsets, usually because additional liability is pending or a credit is being held. Look nearby for a 922 (AUR), 420 or 424 (exam) or other review markers.
The TC 150 shows .00 and the letters SFR. Is the statute running?
The collection statute is, from the assessment that followed. The assessment statute is not: IRC 6501(b)(3) says a return executed by the IRS does not start it. If the client files a signed return, the ASED runs from that return's received date.
Why does my client's return transcript differ from the return we filed?
If the IRS changed figures during processing, the return transcript shows the original figures as per return and the corrected figures as per computer. The account transcript will show any resulting 290 or 291.
Is Document 6209 current?
The IRS page lists 2023 as the latest posted edition as of October 2026. Codes and definitions added after that edition may not appear in it; the transcript's own explanation text is the first reference.
Can I get an unmasked transcript for my client?
Only the wage and income transcript, and only when it is needed to prepare and file a return for a year the client has not filed. PPS places it in your e-Services SOR mailbox; it cannot be mailed or faxed to you. Every other transcript type is masked, with all dollar amounts and transaction codes fully visible.