Identity, refunds & unfiled returns
The final notice in the unfiled-return sequence: file the return named, or the IRS may determine your tax itself from the information it has.
Serious
The final notice in the unfiled-return sequence: file the return named, or the IRS may determine your tax itself from the information it has.
Why you got it: Earlier notices (CP59 family) didn't produce a return or an explanation, and third-party records show income for that year.
Not yet the substitute return — it's the last door before one. The tax the IRS computes for you will not include a single deduction it has to guess at, which is why filing your own version matters.
Your first move: File the actual return now — even late, even imperfect-but-honest — or send the explanation if you truly weren't required to file. Your version, with your deductions, beats their version without them.
The clock on this letter: File or respond by the date on the notice.
The printed date controls; after it, the IRS can proceed to a substitute-for-return determination, which then becomes its own deficiency (with a 90-day Tax Court window on that notice).
The highest-value move in the nonfiler sequence, at almost any balance.
If genuinely not required, in writing, with income facts.
File the most recent first if refunds are expiring; the IRS also requires current compliance before approving a payment plan.
As the notice directs — mail/fax; e-file may still be open for the last two tax years.
Verify the year and income claim against your transcripts (wage & income transcript shows exactly what the IRS sees).
A substitute for return: tax computed on gross third-party income, single or married-filing-separately status, standard deduction only — followed by a deficiency notice and, if unpaid, the whole collection ladder.
Where this sits on the ladder: CP2566 → CP3219A →
One payment. No subscription. Yours to keep — every notice, every letter, every script.