Your Rights
Appeal
The IRS is not always right. If they made an error, violated procedures, or issued a levy without proper notice, you have the legal right to appeal — and collection must stop while your appeal is pending.
Filing an appeal triggers an automatic hold on most collection action. You do not have to wait for the IRS to take your money before you fight back.
Scenario 1 — Wrong amount: You get a levy notice for $18,400. You know you only owe $6,200 — the rest is from a tax year you already paid. The IRS applied your payment wrong and is now trying to collect an inflated balance. You can appeal the assessment.
Scenario 2 — No notice given: The IRS froze your bank account. You never received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy. Without that notice, the levy may be legally invalid — and you can appeal on procedural grounds.
Scenario 3 — Penalty abuse: A $400 tax bill became $3,800 after penalties and interest compounded over 18 months without you knowing. You were never notified of the original balance. Penalty abatement is a form of appeal.
Scenario 4 — Expired statute: The IRS is levying you for a 2010 tax debt. If the 10-year collection statute expired, collection is illegal and can be stopped immediately via appeal.
The IRS Appeals Office is a separate, independent division of the IRS. It exists specifically to review collection decisions you disagree with. You do not have to take the IRS Collections unit at its word.
If you received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy (Letter 1058) or LT11, you have 30 days to request a CDP hearing. Filing this request immediately suspends all collection action — no levy, no garnishment — until your hearing is decided. This is your single most powerful tool.
If you missed the 30-day CDP window, you can still request an Equivalent Hearing within one year of the final notice. Collection is not automatically suspended, but you can still argue your case.
If the IRS calculated your debt incorrectly — wrong income, missed deductions, misapplied payments — you can request reconsideration using Form 656 or a written request to the IRS Examination unit.
Failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties can be removed if you had reasonable cause — job loss, medical emergency, death in family, natural disaster. First-time penalty abatement is also available to taxpayers with a clean prior history.
The IRS only has 10 years from assessment to collect. If they are attempting collection after that window closes, you can challenge it. They must stop immediately.
The IRS must follow strict procedures before levying — including providing proper written notice and giving you time to respond. If they skipped steps, the collection action may be challengeable.
CDP hearing (if within 30 days of final notice), Equivalent Hearing (up to 1 year), or written reconsideration. The type determines the form and deadline.
Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing. Fill out completely — state the issue, your position, and what relief you are requesting.
Bank statements, payment confirmations, tax returns, correspondence with IRS, proof of prior payments, proof of hardship. More documentation means a stronger case.
Send to the address on the notice — not to IRS Collections generally. Certified mail creates proof of timely filing.
For CDP hearings: all levy and garnishment action stops immediately. Appeals Office typically issues a decision within 30 to 90 days.
After a CDP hearing, if you disagree with the Appeals decision, you have 30 days to petition the US Tax Court. Collection continues to be suspended during Tax Court review.
The 30-day window to file a CDP hearing request is strict. Miss it and you lose your right to automatically suspend collection action. At that point you are limited to an Equivalent Hearing, which does not stop levies.
CDP Hearing
30 days
from final notice — collection fully suspended
Equivalent Hearing
1 year
from final notice — collection NOT suspended
Tax Court Petition
30 days
after Appeals decision — suspension continues
If you believe the IRS has made an error, violated procedure, or is trying to collect more than you owe — do not wait. Every day costs you options.
Our tax professionals can contact the IRS today and request a hold on collections while we review your situation.
No obligation. We will review your case and contact you.
Levies & Garnishment