IRS Process and Notices

IRS process and notices pages explain what happens after a return is filed or when the IRS communicates with a taxpayer. This section is meant to reduce confusion around letters, follow-up steps, and return-processing language.

Start Here

• IRS Notice
• CP2000 Notice
• Tax Refund
• Tax Transcript
• Taxpayer Identification Number
• Employer Identification Number
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
• Tax Deficiency
• Notice of Deficiency
• Installment Agreement
• Offer in Compromise

What This Section Covers

• Why the IRS sends notices and what those notices usually signal.
• The difference between ordinary processing, correction requests, and enforcement steps.
• How identity numbers, mismatch reporting, and asserted deficiencies connect.
• The collection-resolution terms that can appear after a balance remains unpaid.
• How notices connect to filing, recordkeeping, and later disputes.

Related Sections

• Tax Forms and Filing
• Penalties and Compliance
• Withholding and Estimated Tax

In this section

• CP2000 Notice
  A CP2000 notice is an IRS notice that commonly relates to reported information that may not match the return the taxpayer filed.
• Employer Identification Number
  An employer identification number is the business tax identification number used to connect an entity to tax filings, reporting, and IRS records.
• Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
  An individual taxpayer identification number is a specific taxpayer identification number used in tax administration when the relevant taxpayer does not use a Social Security number in that role.
• Installment Agreement
  An installment agreement is a payment arrangement that lets a taxpayer pay an IRS balance over time instead of in one lump sum.
• IRS Notice
  An IRS notice is a written communication from the IRS about a return, account issue, payment matter, or other tax follow-up.
• Notice of Deficiency
  A notice of deficiency is a formal IRS notice asserting that additional tax is owed and moving the matter beyond an ordinary informational letter.
• Offer in Compromise
  An offer in compromise is an IRS tax-debt resolution concept involving a proposed settlement of an outstanding tax liability.
• Tax Deficiency
  A tax deficiency is the amount by which the IRS believes the correct tax exceeds the amount shown or paid on a return.
• Tax Refund
  A tax refund is the amount returned to the taxpayer when payments and refundable credits exceed the final tax result on the return.
• Tax Transcript
  A tax transcript is a record summary that reflects filed return information, account activity, or related tax data kept by the IRS.
• Taxpayer Identification Number
  A taxpayer identification number is the identifying number used to connect a taxpayer or tax-related filing party to tax records and reporting.