How Can I Tell if a Letter from the IRS is Real? Identifying Genuine IRS Letters

A letter from the IRS doesn’t always bring bad news because an IRS notice can sometimes inform taxpayers that their tax refund will be higher than expected.

However, fake IRS letters almost exclusively deliver bad news, as they request private information, payments within unrealistic deadlines, or even threats to revoke the taxpayer’s immigration status.

These bits of ‘bad news’ are clues to identifying a genuine IRS letter because the IRS can’t revoke your visa or demand that you pay the tax liability in less than thirty days of receiving the notice.

We’ll show you how to identify genuine IRS letters so that you can protect yourself from postal scams.

Reasons The IRS Sends Notices to Taxpayers

US taxpayers can receive close to a hundred different notices from the IRS, depending on why the agency needs to contact them. Here are some of the most common reasons the IRS sends letters to taxpayers.

• The tax return adjustment affected your refund amount.
• You have an outstanding tax debt.
• The IRS needs proof of your identity.
• The IRS doesn’t have sufficient information to continue processing your return.
• Your refund was delayed due to processing issues.
• You didn’t file tax returns for one or more years.
• The IRS intends to audit your tax account.

You’ll get Notice CP05 from the IRS if you underreport your tax withholding or claim a tax credit you’re ineligible for. The IRS will send you Notice CP11 after they adjust the deductions, tax credits, or income on your tax return.

The IRS sends Notice CP 14 to taxpayers who miss the filing deadline and uses Notice CP501 to inform them how much federal tax they owe. If you or your business have a due balance and the IRS places a lien on your assets, you will receive Notice 1450.

Verifying the Authenticity of an IRS Notice

Even though IRS notices refer to a broad spectrum of tax issues, they have few things in common. All IRS letters arrive by mail in standardized envelopes that clearly state that the sender is the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.

The sender’s address is also included on the envelope, which makes it easy to check if the letter is authentic. The notice you get from the IRS should also contain an ‘Official Business Penalty for Private Use $300’ message on the front of the envelope.

Regardless of their purpose, all IRS letters have the IRS logo in the upper left corner. The notice (CP) and letter (LTR) numbers, your social security number, notice date, and the IRS contact number are usually in the upper right corner of the letter’s first page.

In addition, the notice must contain:

• The reason the IRS is contacting you.
• The actions they want you to take.
• The time you have to respond to the notice (usually thirty days).
• The federal tax amount you owe or the refund amount you’re eligible to receive.
• Your appeal rights.

Chances are that the IRS letter is fake if any of the information above is missing.

Telltale Signs That a Letter from the IRS Isn’t Real

The IRS usually contacts taxpayers through the mail and sends multiple letters before initiating a collection action like placing a levy on a bank account or garnishing social security.

Consequently, if you receive an email or a phone call from someone claiming to represent the IRS, you should ignore it because these aren’t the official channels of communication the IRS uses.

Fraudsters go to great lengths to falsify IRS letters, so sometimes, verifying their authenticity can be challenging. Here are some signs indicating that the IRS notice you received isn’t genuine.

You Cannot Confirm the IRS Contact Number and Other Information on the Letter

All notices feature contact numbers taxpayers can call to learn more about the nature of the IRS letter they received. These telephone numbers are also listed on the IRS website, which makes it easy to confirm their authenticity.

Please only call the number on the IRS letter after you have Googled it and determined its validity. The letter should also include the IRS office’s address. All you need to do to check if the address is fake is compare it to the one listed on the IRS website.

Your Tax Account Transcript Doesn’t Show That the IRS Took a Particular Action

Get Transcript tool gives you access to your tax account transcript that lists all the IRS’s actions while processing your return. On receiving an IRS letter requesting additional documents, verify its authenticity by checking if Code 570 was added to your tax account transcript.

Notices that indicate the IRS has taken an action that isn’t documented on a tax transcript are almost certainly fake.

The Notice Specifies the Payment Method

Genuine IRS letters never indicate that a taxpayer should use a specific payment method or demand that a taxpayer provide their credit card number. Requests for wire transfers or gift card payments are among the most common signs of fake IRS notices.

The Letter Requests Immediate Payment

The US tax law grants taxpayers with outstanding tax liabilities thirty days to settle their debts. As a result, the IRS can only initiate the collection process after that deadline expires.

Fake IRS notices often threaten that the local police will arrest and prosecute the recipient or that the immigration office will revoke their visa if they don’t pay the alleged tax debt immediately.

The Department of Treasury isn’t Listed as the Payment Recipient

The Department of Treasury should receive the federal taxes you owe to the IRS. Letters indicating that taxpayers should pay taxes to some other entity are scams.

Moreover, notices that claim taxpayers are eligible for an award from the IRS are also fake because the only time IRS sends money to taxpayers is when they approve a tax refund.

Incorrect Grammar and Unusual Phrases

Strange-sounding phrases like ‘notice of warranted lien’ and punctuation or spelling mistakes can indicate that the IRS letter you received is fake.

Grammar mistakes or non-standard phrases you cannot find in publications or instructions available on the website are rare on IRS notices.

The IRS website offers resources you can use to understand the nature of an IRS notice or letter and determine if the information in the letter you received is credible.

Non-Standard Letter Formatting

The IRS logo, notice number, taxpayer’s SSN, and contact number are standard elements of IRS letters. Hence, the letter you received could be fake if any of these elements is missing.

Checking how the notices the IRS sends look requires a quick Google search. Looking for examples of the particular notice you got online will enable you to verify its authenticity.

Unrealistic Tax Debt

The amount you owe to the IRS can change after you file a return, but only if you miscalculated your standard deduction or claimed a tax credit you can’t claim. In this case, you will receive a notice from the IRS that shows the additional tax you owe.

The same amount will be included on your tax account transcript, allowing you to check the accuracy of the information in the IRS letter you received. Any discrepancy between the due tax amounts on a tax return transcript and an IRS notice suggests that the IRS letter is fake.

Reporting Fake Notices to the IRS

Calling the IRS after you receive a letter from them is the fastest way to check if the notice is genuine. However, you shouldn’t use the contact number on the letter or respond to it if you suspect that the letter is fake until you determine the letter is real.

Call 800- 829-1040 to speak with an IRS agent to confirm the letter’s authenticity. Afterward, you can report a fake notice by emailing the IRS at [email protected] or contacting the Tax Inspector General for the Tax Administration office.

Frequently Asked Questions

Learning to Identify Genuine IRS Letters to Protect Yourself from Postal Scams

Fake IRS letters still pose a significant threat to taxpayers despite the IRS’ efforts to prevent phishing, identity theft, and postal fraud.

That’s why verifying the notice’s authenticity is the first step you must take when you get an IRS notice, even if you have reason to believe the letter is coming from the IRS.

Recognizing the signs of fake IRS letters can protect you from postal scams but remember that none of the methods we listed in this article is bullet-proof.

Hence, the best way to stay safe is to contact the IRS using the numbers on their website and check if the letter is real before taking steps to resolve the tax issue.