[Date]
Internal Revenue Service
[Campus address shown on the examination report, or the CRU address obtained by calling the campus]
Re: Request for audit reconsideration
Taxpayer: [Client legal name]
Taxpayer identification number: [SSN]
Form 1040, tax year: [Tax year]
Examination report: Form 4549 dated [Report date] (copy enclosed)
Assessment: [Date of assessment (TC 300) and amount], unpaid balance [Current balance per transcript]
Daytime telephone: [Client daytime phone] Evening telephone: [Client evening phone] Best time to call: [Time window]
To whom it may concern:
I represent the taxpayer named above under the enclosed Form 2848. On the taxpayer’s behalf, I request reconsideration of the examination assessment identified above under IRM 4.13.1 and Publication 3598.
Eligibility
- Return filed. The taxpayer filed a Form 1040 for [Tax year] on [Filing date]. [If the assessment was a substitute for return: An original signed return for the year is enclosed and should be processed as the taxpayer's reconsideration request. Delete if not applicable.]
- Assessment unpaid. The additional tax assessed remains unpaid [or: the IRS reversed the following credits, which the taxpayer disputes: [credit and amount]].
- Disputed adjustments identified. The taxpayer disputes only the adjustments listed below. The remaining adjustments in the report are not contested.
- New information. The documents enclosed for each disputed issue were not provided during the examination [because the taxpayer did not receive the examination correspondence at [old address] / because the records were obtained on [date] / because the taxpayer did not appear for the audit]. [If applicable instead: The assessment reflects a computational or processing error, described below.]
- No bar to reconsideration. The taxpayer did not sign a Form 906 closing agreement, Form 870-AD or an offer in compromise for this year, the year was not decided by the Tax Court or another court, and the assessment does not result from final TEFRA partnership proceedings.
Disputed issues
Issue 1: [Adjustment as named on the report, e.g. Schedule C car and truck expenses]. Claimed on return: [Amount]. Allowed on report: [Amount].
Reason for disagreement: [One or two sentences stating why the adjustment is wrong].
New documentation (Exhibit 1): [List each document, e.g. mileage log for 2024, repair invoices, insurance declarations page].
Issue 2: [Adjustment]. Claimed on return: [Amount]. Allowed on report: [Amount].
Reason for disagreement: [Reason].
New documentation (Exhibit 2): [Documents].
[Repeat for each disputed adjustment. A completed Form 12661, Disputed Issue Verification, is enclosed and uses the same issue numbers.]
Request
Please reconsider the disputed adjustments on the enclosed documentation, abate the tax, penalties and interest attributable to them, and suspend collection activity while the request is pending. [If the account is in an installment agreement: The taxpayer will continue making payments under the installment agreement dated [date].] If any issue cannot be resolved on the documents, please tell me specifically what is missing so the taxpayer can respond within 30 days. If the request is denied in whole or in part, the taxpayer requests a conference with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals.
Each page of this submission shows the taxpayer identification number and tax year. All documents are photocopies.
Sincerely,
[Representative name, credential]
[Firm name, address, phone, fax, email]
CAF [CAF number]
Enclosures: Form 2848; copy of Form 4549 and attachments; Form 12661; Exhibits [1 through N]; [Original signed return, if SFR]; [Copy of audit reconsideration letter 3338-C, if one was received]
When audit reconsideration is the right route
IRM 4.13.1.2 describes audit reconsideration as the process the IRS uses “to reevaluate the results of a prior audit where additional tax was assessed and remains unpaid, or a tax credit was reversed.” It also covers two other situations: a client who never filed and now contests a substitute for return by filing an original return, and an IRS computational or processing error in assessing the tax. For the procedure around the request, see audit reconsideration.
The route is wrong in three cases. If the assessment is paid in full, Publication 3598 says “you must file a formal claim” on Form 1040-X; see refund claims for paid penalties and refund suits and claims. If the exam is still open, the request belongs with the examiner, not the Central Reconsideration Unit. And if the year is closed with finality, IRM 4.13.1.4.9.1 has the CRU send Letter 916-C with the paragraph: “Tax assessed as the result of a closing agreement, an accepted offer in compromise, or TEFRA administrative proceedings can’t be reconsidered.” Cases decided by the Tax Court or settled in Appeals on a Form 870-AD are also not reopened (IRM 4.13.1.4.5). A CP2000 assessment is reconsidered by the AUR campus that issued it, not by Exam.
The five criteria the letter has to show
IRM 4.13.1.2.1 lists what the contact employee checks before routing a request. The eligibility bullets in the template track them in order so the screener can tick them off from the letter and the transcript.
| IRM 4.13.1.2.1 criterion | How the letter shows it |
|---|---|
| The taxpayer must have filed a tax return | States the filing date; for an SFR assessment, encloses the original signed return |
| The assessment remains unpaid, or the IRS has reversed tax credits the taxpayer is disputing | States the unpaid balance from the transcript |
| The taxpayer must identify which adjustments they are disputing | Issue list with the report’s own adjustment names and amounts |
| New additional information for the audited issues not considered during the original examination | Exhibit list per issue and a sentence on why it was not provided before |
| Or an IRS computational or processing error in assessing the tax | Alternative sentence describing the error |
The “new information” test is the one most requests fail. The IRM says the taxpayer “must provide new information for the audited issue(s) not previously considered during the original examination.” Resending what the examiner already rejected gets a Letter 916-C saying the additional information does not allow a change. If you are not sure what was considered, the examiner’s explanation letters list the documents submitted, and the exam file shows the rest.
What each part does
Reference block with two phone numbers. Publication 3598 asks the taxpayer to “Include a daytime and evening telephone number and the best time for us to call you.” Many partial disallowances are resolved by a call before Letter 3339-C goes out.
Issue-by-issue list keyed to Form 12661. IRM 4.13.1.3.3 says requests “should be made in writing and should include new supporting documentation that substantially verifies the audited issue(s).” No form is required, but the IRM and Publication 3598 both recommend Form 12661, which has one block per disputed issue with the amount claimed, the amount allowed and the reason, and asks that supporting documents carry the same number as the issue. Publication 3598 says originals will not be returned and asks for the TIN and tax year on every faxed page.
Collection paragraph. The CRU inputs a TC 470 collection hold when it accepts a request, but not if the account is assigned to a revenue officer, in an installment agreement or within a year of the CSED (IRM 4.13.1.4.9.1). Publication 3598 is explicit that a client in an installment agreement “must continue to make payments.”
Appeals sentence. Under IRM 4.13.1.4.18.1 a case goes to Appeals only after the CRU has reviewed the evidence: “the taxpayer must show they have made an attempt to document their entitlement through the reconsideration process, and their request has been denied.”
Where to send it and what happens next
- Send the request to the campus shown on the examination report. Publication 3598 lists the campus addresses and says “All reconsideration requests are first reviewed in the IRS campuses listed in this publication.” If the office that did the audit is not listed, call the toll-free number in the publication (866-897-0177 or 866-897-0161) for the address.
- Attach a Form 2848 covering Form 1040 and the year.
- Expect an acknowledgment. Publication 3598 says: “You should expect to hear from us regarding your reconsideration request within 30 days after submission.” IRM 4.13.1.4 applies Policy Statement 21-3: “A quality response is timely when initiated within 30 calendar days of the IRS received date,” otherwise an interim Letter 2645-C.
- If the examiner needs more, Letter 3339-C asks for it with a 45-day suspense. If nothing arrives the request is disallowed.
- The result is a full abatement, a partial abatement (Letter 916-C) or a full disallowance (Letter 3340-C with Publication 1). Both disallowance letters carry appeal rights; see the Independent Office of Appeals and the formal protest template.
Mistakes that get requests returned
- No return on file. For an SFR or ASFR assessment, the request is the signed original return. IRM 4.13.1.5 has the CRU reject an unsigned return with Form 3531 as invalid.
- Disputing everything. A request that does not identify the adjustments fails the third criterion and draws Letter 3338-C with a blank Form 12661.
- Treating it as a protest. The CRU weighs documents, not arguments.
- Assuming collection stops. IRM 4.13.1.3.3 says “If there is less than one year remaining, do not input a collection hold.” Check the CSED before relying on a pause.
Questions practitioners ask
Is there a deadline for audit reconsideration?
Publication 3598 says a request “can be made anytime after an examination assessment has been made on your account and the tax remains unpaid.” The practical limits are the collection statute and, if the client later pays, the refund statute under IRC 6511.
Does the IRS stop collecting while it reviews the request?
Usually. The CRU inputs a TC 470 hold on accepted requests, but not on accounts in installment agreements, assigned to a revenue officer, or with less than a year left on the CSED. Collection can resume if the client does not answer a request for information within 30 days.
Can I request reconsideration for a year Appeals already settled?
It depends on how Appeals closed it. IRM 4.13.1.4.5 sends agreed non-docketed cases without a Form 906 or 870-AD back to Appeals, works defaulted notices of deficiency as reconsiderations, and will not reopen a Form 870-AD settlement, a closing agreement or a case tried in Tax Court.
Is Form 12661 required?
No. Publication 3598 says “The IRS doesn’t require you to complete a special form,” but recommends Form 12661. The template includes it because the campus letters that request more information ask the taxpayer to use it.