Ask Maxi · IRS letters
I got a CP2000 from the IRS. What does it mean?
A CP2000 means the income reported on your return does not match what someone else reported about you. It is not an audit, and it is not a bill yet. It is a proposal.
Usually it is one of these: a 1099 you forgot about, a brokerage sale reported without its cost basis, a retirement rollover the custodian reported as a distribution, or a form issued under the wrong taxpayer number.
What to do:
- Find the response date on the notice. That is the date that matters.
- Compare the income they list against your own records, line by line.
- If they are right, you can agree and pay or set up a payment plan.
- If they are wrong, you can disagree in writing and send the documents that prove it.
The number on a CP2000 is often too high, because the IRS has the sale price with no cost and no expenses attached. Paying it just to make it go away can cost thousands you did not owe.
Send us a photo of the notice and we will tell you which kind it is and what it needs.
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