IRS notice response letter checklist for CPAs

Published 16 October 2026. Updated 16 October 2026.

A response letter is read by someone who has not seen the client's file. The letter that works is the one that lets them match your answer to their notice in a minute. This checklist is for the document you send, whether the notice is federal or state. For how to reach the positions the letter states, see the CP2000 method.

What goes in the reference block?

At the top, exactly as printed on the notice:

• Agency name
• Notice number
• Notice date
• Tax year or period
• Taxpayer name and identification number as the notice shows them
• Your firm's name, address and contact details

Copy these from the notice, not from memory. A letter with a wrong notice number or year is hard to match to the case.

How should the letter open?

• One sentence saying what you are responding to ("This responds to notice X dated Y concerning tax year Z").
• A sentence naming the enclosed schedule, if there is one.

Skip the history of the client and the firm. It is not needed.

One position per item

For every item the notice raises:

• The item as the notice names it (payer, form, amount).
• Your position: agree, do not agree, or a stated request.
• The reason, in one or two sentences.
• A pointer to the evidence, by exhibit and page.

Keep the positions consistent with the schedule. If the schedule shows the item already on the return, the letter should not agree to the proposed change. If the schedule shows an item on no line of the return, the letter should say what the client confirmed about it.

The schedule (Exhibit A)

The schedule is worth the effort. It is the part a reader can check without trusting you.

• One row per item.
• Notice amount, return amount and the difference, to the cent.
• Return form, line and page for every amount.
• Totals that add up, checked by you.
• The same item labels as the notice.

A short example of the shape:

Mark rows that need a conversation with the client before the letter goes out, and resolve them before you send.

Authority and citations

• Cite only authority you are sure of. The safest source is the notice itself.
• For a state notice, cite the state authority the state notice prints.
• Never copy a federal citation into a state response by habit.

If you want to add citations the notice does not print, that is the signer's call. Check each one against its source before it goes out.

Which enclosures to list?

• Numbered list of every attachment.
• A copy of the notice, including any response form it asks you to return, completed and signed.
• The relevant return pages, with the cited lines marked.
• Payer forms or payment records for disputed items.
• Power of attorney, if you act for the client and it is not already on file.
• Page numbers on the exhibits so that citations resolve.

The close

• A request in plain words: what you ask the agency to do.
• Contact details for follow-up.
• Date and signature of the person responsible.

Before you send

• The response date printed on the notice has not passed. If time is short, check the notice for how to ask for more. The IRS page Understanding your IRS notice or letter finds the page for each notice number.
• Every amount in the letter appears in the schedule or the notice.
• No bracketed placeholders left in the text.
• The method of delivery matches what the notice describes.
• You can prove when and how it was sent.
• A complete copy is in the client file.

After you send

• Calendar a follow-up date.
• Watch the account for the change you asked for.
• Tell the client what was sent and what to expect, in writing.
• If the notice concerned a misapplied payment, see the payment guide for what to watch next.

How NoticeBrief does this step

NoticeBrief drafts the letter and the schedule from the pages you upload. The letter names the agency, notice number, notice date and tax period as read from the notice, and quotes only authority the notice prints. Each item's position follows from the status that code computed. An item that appears on no line of the return is drafted as agreed, and a matched item is drafted as not agreed, with the return line and page. A differing item states both amounts and the difference without a position. An item whose return line could not be confirmed on its page is marked not checked, with no position drafted. Exhibit A attaches to the letter. The packet lists what is left to check first, so you can resolve those items before sending.

You get the packet as a PDF, the letter as a Word file, the schedule as a CSV and a machine-readable result. A notice of another kind than CP2000, CP504 or a state notice of proposed assessment gets Exhibit A and a list of what to check, with no position drafted. The letter leaves out the taxpayer's identification, the date, your letterhead and your signature: you add them. NoticeBrief sends and files nothing, and you read every position. One notice answered is 29 credits. Sign up to try it.

Questions

How long should an IRS notice response letter be?

As short as the issue allows. One page of letter plus a numbered schedule and attachments is often enough. The reader needs to find the notice, your position and the proof quickly, not read an essay.

Do I need a power of attorney to answer for a client?

To represent a client before the IRS, yes: one that covers the tax matter and the years on the notice. For a CP2000, the response form also has an authorization section that lets someone contact the IRS about that one notice. Include a copy of the power of attorney if it is not already on file.

Do state notices need a different letter?

The structure is the same, but name the state agency and cite the authority the state notice prints. Do not carry federal citations over to a state response unless the state notice names them.