Rev. date: 01/01/2011
The IRS compares the information reported by employers, banks,
businesses and other payers on forms W-2, 1098, 1099, etc., with income and
deductions reported on your income tax return. If you failed to report any
income, payments, and/or credits (or if you overstated certain deductions) on an
income tax return, you may receive a Notice CP-2000.
The notice informs you of the proposed adjustments to income,
payments, credits, or deductions, and the adjusted amount of tax due (or to be
refunded to you). The first page of the CP-2000 is called the "Summary Page". It
provides a brief summary of the notice and instructions on what you should do to
determine if you agree or disagree with the proposed changes. If you have any
questions, the notice provides a phone number to call for assistance.
The notice will show the adjustments proposed by the IRS, the
amounts you reported on your original return, and the amounts reported to the
IRS by the payer. The notice will also provide the name of the payer, the
payer's ID number, the type of document that was issued (i.e.; W-2, 1099), and
the Social Security number of the person to whom the document was issued. Based
on the adjustments to your income, the notice proposes either an increase or
decrease to your tax liability (or an increase to the amount of your refund
due). Be sure that you review this information carefully to verify its accuracy.
The notice includes a response page on which you should indicate
whether you agree or disagree with the proposed adjustments. On the response
page, you may authorize someone other than yourself to discuss with or to
provide information to the IRS regarding the proposed changes. This page should
be attached to your response.
If you agree with the proposed adjustments , sign the response
and return it in the enclosed envelope. Notice that the proposed tax listed on
the notice may not include any interest and/or penalty due. You may pay the
amount you owe within 30 days from the date of notice, or you may send the
signed consent without payment, and the IRS will bill you for the amount due
plus additional penalty and/or interest charges. You may request a payment
arrangement to pay the amount you owe. If you wish to pay in installments,
please complete and return the installment request form enclosed in the notice
and return it with your response page. You will be contacted later with payment
information. If an installment agreement is approved, you will be charged a fee.
If you DO NOT agree with any part of the notice, DO NOT SIGN
THE NOTICE. Instead, check Option 2 or 3, on the response page, explain in a
signed statement why you do not agree, attach the statement and supporting
documentation for consideration to the response page, and submit the response
page and attachment to the IRS. Include your phone number with area code and the
best time of day to call.
Do not file an amended return,
Form 1040-X, if you do not agree. These are only proposed adjustments and
the tax liability is not yet assessed. If a Form 1040X is appropriate, return it
with your response page.
You must respond within 30 days of the date of the notice or
60 days if you live outside the United States. An envelope will be enclosed for
your convenience. If you have lost the envelope, please send your response to
the address listed in the upper left hand corner on page 1 of the notice. Send
your responses (including Form 1040X) to the address on the notice and attach a
copy of the notice (CP-2000, CP-2501, or a statutory notice of deficiency).
If we do not hear from you within the 30 or 60 day period, a
statutory notice of deficiency will be issued and additional interest will be
charged.