Don't Mess With Taxes

One of the reasons the Internal Revenue Service has called more of its staff back to their offices is so they can deal with the backlog of tax notices.

When the agency sent most personnel home earlier this year as a coronavirus pandemic precaution, some previously-printed balance due notices didn't get mailed.

Now with some IRS operations restarting across the county, these notices will be delivered to taxpayers by the U.S. Postal Service in the next few weeks.

Original notices, old dates: These notices, however, won't be updated versions produced by staffers who now are back at their desks.

They will be the documents that were printed months ago. So if you get one, don't be surprised by its, say, March date.

The IRS opted to send out the original notices that were left when offices closed because the agency doesn't have the time in this already recalibrated tax season or money (thanks, Congress) to reprogram its systems and generate updated notices.

Overdue tax action deadlines: OK, no problem with the official tax correspondence having an older creation date, right? We get it.

But where the calendar designation could cause some concern is within some — actually, probably most — of the notices.

The deadlines by which the notice-recipient taxpayers should have taken action will likely have long passed by the time the mailings are delivered.

New deadlines inserted: Don't panic. The IRS says each notice will include an insert confirming that the due dates printed on the original notices have been extended.

Those new payment due date will be either this coming July 10 or July 15, depending upon the type of tax return and original due date.

So don't toss that insert. Read it for details on the delay and the correct payment due date(s).

Affected notices: So just which notices will show up with out-of-date deadlines? The IRS says those that will include the new deadline inserts are —

• CP11, Math Error on Return - Balance Due
• CP14, Balance Due, No Math Error
• CP15, Civil Penalty Notice
• CP15B, Civil Penalty Notice for Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
• CP15H, Shared Responsibility Payment Due
• CP21A, Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Balance Due of
• CP22A, Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Balance Due of
• CP23, Estimated Tax Credits Discrepancy - We Changed Your Return to Match Your Credits or Payments Posted to Your Account - Balance Due
• CP23T, Estimated Tax Discrepancy, Balance Due of $5 or More
• CP47A, Tax Assessed- Notification of the Requested Credit Elect/Refund Being Applied to Section 965 Tax Liability
• CP47B, Tax Assessed- Notification of a Credit Elect/Refund Being Applied to Section 965 Tax Liability
• CP47C, Tax Assessed- Including Section 965 Tax Liability
• CP51A, We've Calculated Your Income Tax For You - Balance Due
• CP60, We Removed a payment Erroneously Applied to Your Account. - Balance Due
• CP94, Criminal Restitution Final Demand Notice
• CP101, Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More on Form 940
• CP102, Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More on Forms 941, 941SS, 943, 944, 944SS, 945
• CP103, Math Error, Balance Due - Form CT-1
• CP104, Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More - Form 720
• CP105, Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More - Forms 11C, 2290, 706, 709, 730
• CP107, Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More - Form 1042
• CP126, Math Error, Balance Due or Overpayment Less Than $1 on Forms 990PF, 4720, 5227
• CP132, Math Error, Balance Due on Forms 990C, 990T, 1041, 1120, 8804
• CP134B, Federal Tax Deposit(s) (FTD) Discrepancy - Balance Due
• CP141L, We Charged a Penalty Under Internal Revenue Code Section 6652(c) - Form Filed Late
• CP161, No Math Error, Balance Due (Except Form 1065)
• CP162, Untimely Filing Penalty - Partnership
• CP165, Penalty Assessed for Dishonored Check
• CP210, Examination (Audit) or Data Processing Tax Adjustment - Balance Due, Overpayment, or Even Balance
• CP215, Civil Penalty - 500 and 600 Series
• CP220, Examination (Audit) or Data Processing Tax Adjustment - Balance Due, Overpayment, or Even Balance
• CP220J, Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) 4980H Adjustment - Balance Due, Even Balance or Overpayment Notice
• CP230, Combined Annual Wage Reporting - CAWR/DP Tax Adjustment Amended Return Filed
• CP233J, 4980H Adjustment balance due, even balance or overpayment Notice (ESRP)
• CP240, Combined Annual Wage Reporting - CAWR/DP Discrepancy Tax Adjustment
• CP260, An Erroneous Payment Previously Applied to Your Account Has Been Reversed - Balance Due
• CP283, Penalty Charged on Your Form 5500 - Late or Incomplete Form

And some of the notices will be in Spanish. They are —

• CP711, Spanish Math Error - Balance Due - Error en la Planilla - Saldo Adeudado
• CP714, Spanish Balance Due - No Math Error - Planilla Radicada - Saldo Adeudado
• CP721A, Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Balance Due (Spanish) - Cambios a su Planilla - Saldo Adeudado
• CP722A, Spanish Data Processing Adjustment Notice, Balance Due of $5 or more - Cambios a su Planilla - Saldo Adeudado
• CP802, Spanish BMF Math Error, Balance Due of $5 or More on Forms 941PR, 943PR - Hemos Hecho Cambios a su Planilla Porque Creemos que hay un Error de Cálculo
• CP834B, Federal Tax Deposit(s) (FTD) Discrepancy - Balance Due (Spanish)
• CP865, Spanish Penalty for Dishonored Check on Forms 94XPR FTD

Open, read, act: Again, if you get a notice from the IRS, don't ignore it.

If you have questions about the balance due or other matters addressed in the notice, visit the website listed or call the number provided on the notice. The web options probably should be your first move, as the IRS says its phone lines remain extremely busy as it resumes operations.

And definitely take note of the notice's new deadline day in the insert. It's just a couple of weeks away.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Tax notices: A scary letter from the IRS
• Ways to pay that IRS bill that arrived in your mailbox
• EITC filers have more time to answer claim questions

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