Every year, taxpayers get notices from the Internal Revenue Service.
It’s always disconcerting to see an envelope with the IRS return address in your mailbox. But don’t panic. In most cases, the official communications can be handled relatively quickly by providing the tax agency with the information it is seeking.
Some of the notices also serve as reminders to taxpayers.
That’s the case now, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Erin M. Collins. She says in a recent post at the Taxpayer Advocate Service website that the IRS is sending notices CP59R, CP59SN, and CP59 to individual taxpayers.
Notice CP59R reminds taxpayers to file the tax return before the due date.
The CP59SN tells taxpayers that the IRS hasn’t received their tax return for this year.
CP59 tells taxpayers that the tax agency hasn’t received a tax return for the prior year.
Extension filers’ confusion: In some cases, notes Collins, taxpayers who have filed for extensions may also receive the CP59R or CP59SN notice.
“While these notices do not claim returns are delinquent, some may find the notices confusing,” says the National Taxpayer Advocate.
Collins also added there’s no need for concern if you or your tax preparer filed Form 4868, Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, by April 15 requesting a filing extension.
If, however, you’re unsure whether your request for a filing extension was filed or received, you can check by signing onto your online taxpayer account, or creating one if you haven’t yet.
Once you’ve signed on to your account at IRS.gov you can check under filed forms or the extension status to confirm the agency received your extension filing request. You also can check your tax transcripts for all activity on your taxpayer account.
Get help: Again, don’t freak out if you get an IRS notice. But don’t ignore it.
Those two short pieces of advice are numbers 1 and 2 in my post 10 tips to help you deal with an IRS tax notice.
Another key tip is to recognize when you need professional help.
Many IRS notices are routine and relatively easy for us regular taxpayers to take care of on our own. Some, though, are more complicated or confusing. Or maybe you just don't want to deal with the IRS yourself.
Regardless of why you decide to get professional help to handle your tax notice, make sure you find one who has experience dealing with the IRS. That tax pro can help you through the process in the lease painful and costly way.
And, as Collins notes, if your tax situation, with or without an IRS notice, has created a financial hardship, you can contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service for further help.
You also might find these items of interest:
- IRS collection from rich nonfilers exceeds $1.3 billion
- IRS redesigning tax notices so they're more intelligible
- IRS audit statute of limitations guides tax record keeping
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