The IRS can send you a notice about a change they made to your account, recalculations they made that alter the tax amount you owe, or an explanation of proposed collection efforts. Not every IRS notice requires you to take action. If, for instance, the IRS recalculates and determines that you don’t owe a debt, they will send you a notice to inform you about the change and not to take any action. When it comes to tax debt collection, the IRS expects a reply and a swift resolution.

There are initial notices for tax debt collection that provide information to individuals regarding what they owe and why. Many times, taxpayers are not aware they have a debt. The IRS sends notices to inform them of the liability details, how much they owe and how they can pay. Early on, the IRS does not engage in aggressive collection efforts. The IRS sends notices to allow an individual to resolve the tax issue and avoid actions such as a lien or a levy.

If the initial notices are ignored and no action is taken to resolve the debt, the IRS sends the final notice CP90. It informs the taxpayer about the IRS’ intent to levy certain assets to satisfy the debt. After this notice is sent, the IRS can move to a levy if they don’t receive a reply.