How to Respond to CP90/CP297 Notice Before IRS Levy Checklist

IRS CP90 / CP297 Intent to Levy Checklist

Understanding the Notice

An IRS CP90 notice, intent to levy, or CP297 represents an official statement that the agency intends to seize your assets to cover unpaid federal taxes. This intent to levy represents a final legal step before the IRS freezes bank accounts, garnishes wages, or claims tax refunds.

Who Should Use This Guide

This guide applies to you if you received a CP90 or CP297 notice in the mail, have unpaid federal income tax or employment tax debt, and have not yet experienced wage garnishment or asset seizure. You must have at least one outstanding tax year and want to understand what happens next before taking action.

State tax debt, cases currently in IRS Appeals or federal court, situations where a Revenue

Officer has already seized assets, or responses to different notice types fall outside this guide’s scope. The CP90 is issued to individuals while the CP297 is issued to businesses, but both require the same urgent response.

Critical Response Requirements

Verify the notice came directly from the IRS by checking IRS.gov or calling 800-829-1040 with the notice number. Check your IRS transcript at IRS.gov under “View Your Tax Account” to confirm the debt amount and current status.

Review the notice for the response deadline, which is exactly 30 days from the notice date. The

30-day period is calculated from the date of the notice, and there is no variation in this timeframe. Document your monthly income, expenses, assets, and liabilities to understand what you can realistically pay toward the debt. Determine whether you owe the full amount listed or if you dispute any portion of the balance, penalties, or interest charged.

Collection Due Process Hearing Request

You have the right to a Collection Due Process hearing before levy occurs if you request it in writing before the 30-day deadline expires. Submit Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due

Process or Equivalent Hearing, to the address listed on the CP90 or CP297.

Mail or deliver the request to the address shown on the notice, not to your local IRS office. Keep a copy for your records and send it via certified mail with a return receipt requested to document when the IRS received your materials.

Gather supporting documentation, including proof of income, expense receipts, bank statements, or other evidence showing your financial situation. The IRS does not provide an automatic extension process for Collection Due Process hearing requests.

Payment Options and Alternatives

Contact the IRS immediately at the number on the notice to discuss payment options if you cannot request a hearing in time. Explain your situation clearly and ask specifically about stopping or delaying enforcement action.

A written payment plan request submitted before the deadline may stop or delay levy action while the IRS reviews your proposal. Approval is not guaranteed, and you must follow specific procedures to request the arrangement properly.

Documentation and Communication Standards

Document all communication with the IRS in writing to create a permanent record. Follow up any phone conversations with a letter summarizing what was agreed upon and send it to the address on the notice.

Avoid ignoring follow-up correspondence from the IRS after submitting your initial response. File missing tax returns or amend incorrect returns immediately because the IRS may expand the levy to cover multiple tax years if returns remain unfiled.

Wage Garnishment Calculations

The IRS can garnish your wages after issuing a levy, and your employer is legally required to comply. Calculations for the amount withheld use IRS Publication 1494 tables, which incorporate the standard deduction and dependency exemptions based on your filing status, number of dependents, and pay period.

Consequences of Non-Response

Failing to respond by the deadline means the IRS proceeds with levy authority and may seize funds from your bank account or garnish your wages without further notice. Once levy action begins, recovering your money requires filing a claim or requesting a refund after the fact rather than preventing the seizure beforehand.

When to Seek Professional Assistance

Consider consulting a tax professional if your debt exceeds $10,000 and involves multiple tax years or complex income sources. Professional help becomes critical if you are self-employed, own a business, have rental property income, or face seizure of business assets that would shut down your operations.

Key Procedural Facts

A Notice of Federal Tax Lien and an intent to levy notice are independent collection actions that can occur in various sequences or simultaneously. The IRS can file liens and issue levy notices in different orders depending on the case circumstances and collection strategy.

Responding before the deadline preserves your right to a hearing and stops automatic levy authority from becoming active. Submitting a formal payment plan request or Collection Due

Process hearing request within the deadline window legally halts the levy process while those requests are being reviewed.

Critical Actions to Take