Collection Due Process Hearing vs. Appeals: A
Federal Tax Resolution Checklist
Who Does This Checklist Help
This checklist applies to you if you received a notice titled LT11 or Letter 1058, which is the Final
Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. You can also use this checklist if the Internal Revenue Service has indicated plans to seize your bank account, wages, or property, and you want to propose alternatives, such as payment plans or currently not collectible status. This checklist does not apply if you are disputing the underlying tax amount before the IRS issued a final assessment or if you only received a general balance due notice without levy intent.
Understanding Collection Due Process Rights
The central question determining your available options is whether you received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and whether you still have time to request a Collection Due Process hearing.
Your answer determines which path you can take and what leverage you retain. The IRS focuses first on whether you meet the legal requirement to request Collection Due Process, which means you must have received the required notice, and you must request the hearing within 30 days from the notice date.
Steps to Protect Your Collection Due Process Rights
Step 1: Confirm You Received the Correct Notice
You must verify that you received LT11 or Letter 1058, which is titled Final Notice of Intent to
Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. These notices specifically inform you of your
Collection Due Process rights and provide the deadline to request a hearing.
Step 2: Calculate Your Deadline
You must count forward 30 calendar days from the date printed on your notice to determine your deadline. If you are past day 30, you have likely lost your Collection Due Process hearing rights; however, an Equivalent Hearing may still be available within one year.
Step 3: File Form 12153 Before the Deadline
You must complete and mail Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent
Hearing, to the address shown on your notice before the 30-day deadline expires. Use certified
mail to obtain proof of mailing, and clearly state that you are requesting a Collection Due
Process hearing under Internal Revenue Code Section 6330.
Step 4: Prepare Your Financial Documentation
You should gather pay stubs, bank statements, monthly bills, and a list of assets before your hearing to support any proposed alternatives to levy. The IRS will evaluate your financial situation using Form 433-A to determine whether you qualify for an Installment agreement, offers in compromise, or currently not collectible status.
Step 5: Decide on Representation
You may represent yourself at the Collection Due Process hearing, or you may authorize a tax professional using Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. The IRS will contact you to schedule the hearing after receiving your request. You should determine your representation needs before this contact occurs.
Step 6: Attend Your Scheduled Hearing
You must attend or participate in your Collection Due Process hearing on the scheduled date, as failure to appear will forfeit your right and allow the IRS to proceed with the levy immediately.
Your hearing will be conducted by a settlement officer from the Appeals Office, and you may request a face-to-face meeting if you qualify for one.
Step 7: Understand What You Can Challenge
You can challenge whether the IRS followed proper procedures, propose alternatives to levy, or argue the debt is uncollectible based on your financial circumstances. You can only challenge the underlying federal tax liability if you did not receive a statutory notice of deficiency or otherwise had no prior opportunity to dispute the tax amount.
- Missing the 30-day deadline: Once 31 days pass after the notice date, your Collection
- Confusing Collection Due Process with Collection Appeals: Collection Due Process
- Failing to appear at your scheduled hearing: Skipping your hearing forfeits your
- Providing no financial documentation: Without pay stubs, bank statements, or
- Ignoring notices about disqualified employment tax levies: If you previously had a
- Wage garnishment and bank levy release
- Tax lien removal and credit protection
- Offer in Compromise and installment agreements
- Unfiled tax return preparation
- IRS notice response and representation
Step 8: Review the Notice of Determination
The Appeals Officer will issue a formal decision letter called the Notice of Determination explaining whether they will proceed with levy, delay collection, or accept an alternative arrangement you proposed. You have 30 days from the date of this determination to petition the
United States Tax Court if you disagree with the decision.
Common Mistakes That Eliminate Your Rights
Due Process right is permanently lost and cannot be recovered. You may request an
Equivalent Hearing within one year, but you lose the right to judicial review in Tax Court. addresses federal tax levy actions and proposed alternatives, not the accuracy of the tax amount. If you received a Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing, such as Letter 3172, you also have Collection Due Process rights for that action.
Collection Due Process right entirely, and the IRS will treat your absence as acceptance of the proposed IRS levies. Your right cannot be reinstated once waived by nonappearance, and collection of tax will proceed immediately. expense records on Form 433-A, the settlement officer has no basis to evaluate proposed alternatives to levy. The Appeals Officer will reject unsupported proposals and proceed with the originally planned collection action against your assets.
Collection Due Process hearing on employment taxes for other tax periods within the past two years, the IRS may issue a disqualified employment tax levy without another
30-day notice. You must recognize these specialized levy types and seek help from the
Taxpayer Advocate Service if you believe the levy is improper.
What Happens After Collection Due Process
If you disagree with the Notice of Determination issued by the settlement officer, you must file a petition with the United States Tax Court within 30 days following the determination date. Tax
Court is your judicial review remedy, not another administrative appeal to the IRS. If you do not petition the Tax Court within this window, the IRS determination becomes final, and the collection of tax will proceed as outlined in the decision letter.
The statute of limitations for IRS collection is suspended from the date you file your timely
Collection Due Process request until 30 days after the Notice of Determination is issued. If you file a Tax Court petition, the suspension continues until the Tax Court decision becomes final.
During this suspension period, the IRS generally cannot issue IRS levies on your wages, bank accounts, or state tax refund, though a Notice of Federal Tax Lien may still be filed.
If the Appeals Office denies your request for alternatives or you miss the Tax Court deadline, the
IRS can immediately proceed with the federal tax levy described in the original notice. At this point, your remaining options include paying the full amount, negotiating through Collection
Appeals using Form 9423, or consulting with the Taxpayer Advocate Service if you believe the collection action creates financial hardship.
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