IRS Notice & Collection Terms

The escalating sequence of IRS notices and enforcement tools used to collect unpaid tax debt.

• CP14 Notice

  The IRS's first notice telling a taxpayer they owe money — the starting point of the escalating notice sequence that can end in a levy.

• CP501 / CP503 Notice

  The IRS's first and second reminder notices after a CP14 — restating the balance due with increasingly urgent language before the agency moves toward levy notices.

• CP504 Notice

  An IRS notice warning that the agency intends to levy state tax refunds (and may levy other property) if a tax balance isn't paid.

• LT11 / Letter 1058 (Final Notice of Intent to Levy)

  The IRS's final notice, required by law before most levies, giving the taxpayer 30 days to pay, appeal, or request a Collection Due Process hearing.

• CP2000 Notice

  An IRS notice proposing changes to a filed tax return because income reported by an employer or bank doesn't match what was on the return — not a bill, and not the same sequence as a CP14 balance-due notice.

• Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL)

  The public filing the IRS makes to notify creditors of its legal claim against a taxpayer's property over an unpaid tax debt — a claim, not a seizure, and legally distinct from a levy.

• Treasury Offset Program (TOP)

  The federal program that intercepts a tax refund or other federal payment and applies it to a past-due debt owed to a federal or state agency, such as defaulted student loans or back child support.

• Currently Not Collectible (CNC) Status

  An IRS status that pauses active collection on a tax debt because the taxpayer's income doesn't exceed basic allowable living expenses — it doesn't forgive the debt, and interest and penalties keep accruing.