IRS notice intake
Intake date: [Date] Taken by: [Staff name] Matter no.: [Matter number]
1. Client
- Client name (as on notice): [Name]
- TIN on notice (last four): [XXXX] Spouse on notice: [Yes / No]
- Address on notice: [Address] Matches current address: [Yes / No]
- Best contact: [Phone / email]
2. Notice identifiers
- Notice or letter number (right corner): [e.g. CP2000, LTR 1058]
- Notice date (printed): [Date]
- Date client received it: [Date] Envelope kept: [Yes / No] Postmark: [Date]
- All pages received: [Yes / No; page count __ of __]
- Delivery: [Regular mail / certified mail / online account / in person]
3. What it covers
- Tax form: [e.g. 1040, 941, 1065] Tax period(s): [Periods]
- What the IRS says happened: [One-sentence summary in the notice's words]
- What the IRS asks the client to do: [Pay / sign / send documents / call / no action]
4. Amounts
- Tax: [$] Penalties: [$ and type] Interest: [$]
- Total shown: [$] Pay-by date: [Date]
- Proposed change (for proposals, e.g. CP2000 or 30-day letter): [$]
- Refund change, if any: [$]
5. Deadlines
- Response date printed on notice: [Date]
- Statutory deadline, if any (see key): [Type and date]
- Internal deadline (send-by date): [Date]
- Calendared in: [System] by [Staff]
6. IRS contact
- Contact name and ID number (if shown): [Name, ID]
- Phone: [Phone] Fax: [Fax]
- Reply address (not the payment address): [Address]
- Online response option shown: [Yes / No; URL or tool named]
7. Authorization and history
- Form 2848 / 8821 on CAF covering this form and period: [Yes / No / Sent on [date]]
- Earlier notices on this issue: [Numbers and dates]
- Client already called, paid or responded: [Details]
8. Client position
- Client agrees / disagrees / unsure: [Position]
- Documents client has: [List]
- Ability to pay in full by the pay-by date: [Yes / No / Partial]
9. Authenticity check
- Notice number found in IRS.gov notice search: [Yes / No]
- Matches account transcript: [Yes / No / Not yet pulled]
10. Next step and owner
[Action, responsible person, date]
Why each field is there
Notice number and date. The IRS says: “You can find the CP or LTR number on the right corner of the letter.” The number tells you which program sent it, and the printed date, not the date the client opened it, is what most deadlines run from. The notice decoder and the notice guides cover the common ones.
Envelope and postmark. Keep the envelope. If a notice was mailed late or to an old address, the postmark is evidence. The address field matters for the same reason.
Tax form and period. These decide whether your Form 2848 covers the matter and which transcript to pull.
Amounts. Separate tax, penalty and interest. Penalties may be abatable (First Time Abate, reasonable cause); tax and interest follow different rules. The IRS notice page says “Even if you can’t pay the full amount you owe, pay by the due date” because that reduces interest and penalty charges, so the pay-by date gets its own field.
Response date and statutory deadline. These are not always the same. The printed response date may be a program deadline; some notices also start a statutory clock that cannot be extended. The IRS notice page puts it plainly: “To guarantee your appeal rights, reply by the due date.”
Reply address. CDP notices carry both a hearing address and a payment address. IRM 5.1.9.3.2 treats a request mailed to the payment address on the notice as timely if postmarked on time, but sending replies to the address the notice designates avoids the question.
Authorization. Without a recorded authorization the IRS will not discuss the account with you. See CAF numbers and the CAF fax cover sheet.
Deadline key by notice type
| Notice | Deadline it starts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day letter after exam (e.g. Letter 525, 950) | Generally 30 days to agree or appeal | Pub 556; formal protest |
| Notice of deficiency (CP3219A, Letter 3219) | 90 days to petition Tax Court (150 days if addressed outside the U.S.) | Pub 556; notice of deficiency |
| CDP levy notice (LT11, Letter 1058, CP90) | 30 days after the notice date to request a CDP hearing | Reg. 301.6330-1; Pub 594 |
| CDP lien notice (Letter 3172) | 30 days after the 5-business-day period following NFTL filing | Reg. 301.6320-1 |
| CP2000 proposal | Response date printed on the notice | CP2000 |
| Balance due notices (CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504) | Pay-by date on the notice | collection process |
Publication 556 states the notice of deficiency rule directly: “You will have 90 days (150 days if it is addressed to you outside the United States) from the date of this notice to file a petition with the Tax Court.” For CDP notices, the regulation’s A-C7 says a taxpayer who does not request a hearing in writing within the 30-day period gives up the right to a CDP hearing for those periods, and IRM 5.1.9.3.2 tells revenue officers to make clear that talks with Collection do not extend it. Use the CDP deadline calculator and the statute date calculator to compute dates.
An intake routine
- Get every page and the envelope. Ask the client for a scan of the full notice, front and back.
- Complete sections 1 to 6 the same day and calendar the earliest deadline with a send-by date ahead of it.
- Check authorization on the CAF; if none, get a signed Form 2848 or Form 8821 and submit it.
- Pull the account transcript for the period to confirm the notice matches the account (see reading an account transcript).
- Record the client’s position and what documents exist, then decide the response. The general approach is at how to respond to an IRS notice.
Authenticity and transcripts
The IRS notice page says: “If the letter doesn’t appear in your search or if it looks suspicious, call 800-829-1040.” A transcript check is the practitioner’s version of the same test: a real balance due notice will match assessed amounts on the account. The page also notes that certain notices are available in the client’s online account, which is a useful cross-check when the paper copy is missing.
For business clients that file information returns, the same intake applies to payer notices such as CP2100 and Letter 972CG. Those are covered on the CP2100 guide and the 972CG guide at TIN Compliance.
Mistakes
- Calendaring from the date the client received the notice instead of the notice date.
- Logging only page one and missing a response date or an enclosed form.
- Treating the printed response date as the only deadline when a statutory clock is also running.
- Responding before confirming the authorization covers the form and period.
- Not recording whether the client already called or paid, which leads to duplicate payments or conflicting responses.
Questions practitioners ask
Which date do deadlines run from?
For a notice of deficiency, Publication 556 says 90 days “from the date of this notice.” For a CDP levy notice, the regulation runs the 30 days from the day after the date of the notice. The printed date controls, which is why the form records it separately from the date received.
What if the client received only a notice in the online account?
The IRS says certain notices are available in the online account. Record it the same way and download the full notice.
Does every notice need a reply?
No. The IRS notice page says that if the client agrees, they take any requested action and do not need to reply unless the notice asks for one.
What if the notice went to an old address?
Record the address on the notice and the postmark. Whether a statutory notice was properly mailed can matter later; see how to respond to an IRS notice.
Should staff call the IRS number on the notice before intake is complete?
Not before authorization is confirmed and the transcript is pulled, so the call can resolve something rather than just collect information.