What Does My IRS Notice Mean?
You can look up these notices (and any not listed) on IRS.gov or the Taxpayer Advocate Service for additional information.
CP10: Due to IRS adjustments to your return, the amount of overpayment you requested to apply to next year’s return has been changed.
CP11: Due to IRS adjustments to your return, you now owe additional tax. This may have happened because additional income attached to your SSN was reported to the IRS (on a 1099, for example), a corrected form was issued after you filed, or there was an incorrect input on your return.
CP12: Due to IRS adjustments to your return, you will receive a refund or your refund amount has been changed.
CP13: The IRS made adjustments on your return, but you do not owe additional tax nor are you owed a refund due to the changes.
CP16: The IRS made adjustments on your return, but all or part of the resulting refund has been applied to prior debts to the IRS or another federal agency.
CP23: When you submitted your return, you listed estimated payments that you made throughout the tax year. However, the amounts the IRS has on record differ. The IRS is adjusting your return and you now either owe additional tax (if you paid less than you reported) or the IRS will credit extra estimated tax paid to your next return (if you paid more than you reported).
CP45: When you filed your return, you requested that the IRS apply your overpayment to next year’s return. However, the IRS is unable to apply the overpayment. Adjust your estimated payments for this year to account for the missing overpayment.
CP49: You were owed a refund, but it has been applied to prior debts to the IRS or another federal agency.
CP53E: You requested a refund but did not provide bank information so the IRS can deposit it. The IRS is phasing out paper checks, so this notice is asking you to send your bank information to them instead. Currently, the IRS will eventually issue a check if you don’t respond to this notice, but this may change in the future.
CP59: This is a reminder to file your tax return for the listed year. These notices are sometimes issued even if you have filed if the IRS hasn’t finished processing your return (this is especially common if you filed by paper since these take longer to process).
CP161: You have an unpaid amount due for the tax return you filed.
CP501 and CP502: These are reminders that you have an unpaid balance due.
CP5071: This is a request to verify a return that was filed under your Social Security number. The IRS system flags some returns for extra verification, either as a random check or because the system detected something suspicious about the return. You can address this by calling the Taxpayer Protection Hotline (800-830-5084) or logging into your IRS account. You will be asked a few questions about the return you filed (or didn’t file if that’s the case) so the IRS can match what they received with what the real taxpayer submitted.
CP5747C: This is a request to verify a return that was filed under your Social Security number. You may be required to visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center to verify the return.