Respond to an IRS CP2000 notice without overpaying

  1. Confirm the notice is genuine
    15 min

    This step produces a verdict: the paper in your hands is a real IRS notice or a scam. The CP2000 is one of the most impersonated documents in the IRS scam playbook, and the checks below take about ten minutes — they protect both your money and your response window, which runs from the letter date, not from the day you opened the mail.

    1. Lay the envelope and notice flat and check the letterhead: “Department of the Treasury — Internal Revenue Service.”
    2. Confirm your name, the last four digits of your Social Security number, the notice number CP2000, and the tax year printed on the first page.
    3. Cross-check the phone number on the notice against the numbers on the irs.gov CP2000 page linked below.
    4. Note the letter date near the top of the first page — your response deadline runs from it.
    5. Identify the notice’s four parts: the cover letter, the proposed-changes page, the tear-off response form, and the return envelope.