Call Now: 833-803-4222
Se Habla Espanol

notice cp 2000

IRS Notice CP 2000: What It Is and What to Do If You Get One

April 10, 2015

The idea of receiving IRS notices worries most taxpayers. They fear that they have a tax debt or have been selected for an audit. The fact is that the IRS sends notices to share information as well, even when they are not required to act. Notice CP 2000, however, requires action.

Why Would I Get Notice CP 2000?

By sending Notice CP 2000, the IRS is informing you that they compared information on your tax return with the information provided by third parties, such as your employer, and it doesn’t match. If there is an error on your return, like an incorrectly claimed credit, your tax liability may increase. Similarly, if your income is less than what is reported on your return, your tax bill may decrease.

To ensure that the information on your return is accurate, the IRS compares it against the information they receive from third parties. Third parties can be employers, banks, businesses, etc. The IRS sends a notice when numbers don’t correctly line up.

How To Handle Notice CP 2000

The first thing to do is to decide whether or not you agree with the notice, which will have a response that you will need to fill out and send back. If the notice does not have a response form, it will have instructions on what action you must take. If you believe that the information on your tax return is inaccurate, you may contact your employer or the person reporting the information to the IRS, and have them amend it. Afterward, the IRS will need to be provided with the corrected information.

Do not be surprised if you receive Notice CP 2000 many months after you filed your tax return. The IRS’s computing systems match the information on tax returns with information from third parties, a process that may take months to complete.

If you suspect that someone has filed on your behalf after stealing your identity, call the IRS immediately. If you are sure that a fraudulent tax return was filed by somebody using your name and Social Security Number, also report it to law enforcement, or make a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission by calling at 1-877-438-4338. It is important that you inform the IRS about the identity theft first so they suspend the processing of the return in question and ensure that the appropriate next steps are taken.