IRS LT11 Notice and Letter 1058: Final Notice of Intent to Levy

An IRS LT11 notice, also sent as Letter 1058, is the final notice of intent to levy and notice of your right to a hearing. The IRS says in the letter that it hasn't received your payment for overdue taxes and that it intends to seize your property or rights to property. It tells you to contact the IRS immediately.

This is the most time-sensitive letter in the notice sequence. You generally have 30 days from the date of the notice to request a Collection Due Process hearing, and that deadline protects rights you lose if you miss it. Find the date on the letter first.

What an IRS LT11 Notice or Letter 1058 Says

The two letters do the same job. Both warn that the IRS can levy, meaning take your money or property directly to pay the debt, and both tell you that you have a right to appeal to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals before it does.

The IRS describes the letter as a final notice. It is the formal notice the law requires the IRS to send before most levies. It shows the balance and the tax periods involved, and it explains how to request a hearing. Some accounts receive a similar final notice coded CP90. Whatever the code, the hearing deadline is printed on the letter.

The 30-Day Collection Due Process Deadline

IRS Publication 1660 says your hearing request must be sent to the address on the notice and postmarked on or before the 30th day after the date of the levy notice. The date on the letter, not the day it reached you, is the safe one to count from.

The IRS also says in Publication 1660 that, with limited exceptions, levy action is not permitted on the tax periods in the notice during that 30 days and during a timely requested hearing. The exceptions include jeopardy situations, state income tax refund levies, federal contractor levies, and certain employment tax levies.

Calling the IRS does not extend the 30 days. Publication 1660 says that contacting the IRS by phone does not extend the period to make a written request for a hearing. If you want a hearing, put the request in writing before the date passes.

What the IRS Can Levy After an IRS LT11 Notice or Letter 1058

On its page for this letter, the IRS says that if you don't respond or pay, it can levy your wages or bank accounts up to the amount owed. It lists the kinds of property it can levy: wages and other income, bank accounts, business assets, personal assets including a car and a home, Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends, state tax refunds, and Social Security benefits.

The IRS may also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. And under the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, the State Department generally cannot issue or renew a passport for someone with seriously delinquent tax debt.

If a bank account is the concern, an IRS bank levy freezes the funds for 21 days before the bank pays the IRS. A paycheck levy, an IRS wage garnishment, continues until it is released.

Penalties Climb After a Notice of Intent to Levy

The IRS says on its failure to pay penalty page that if you do not pay your tax within 10 days after receiving a notice of intent to levy, the penalty rate is 1 percent per month or part of a month, up from the usual 0.5 percent. The total penalty is still capped at 25 percent of the unpaid tax.

So the notice raises the price of waiting in two ways. The hearing window shortens, and the monthly penalty doubles.

Where an IRS LT11 Notice Falls in the Notice Sequence

On many accounts, the order runs CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504, and then the LT11 or Letter 1058. The IRS says a CP504 alone does not let it levy your wages or bank account. The formal notice of intent to levy and right to a hearing comes next, and that is this letter. Every earlier notice is one of the IRS notices and letters that lead up to this one.

The exception is the state tax refund. The IRS can levy that after a CP504, and it sends the hearing-rights letter afterward if one is still owed.

Earlier balance-due letters in the sequence include the IRS notice CP14 and the IRS notice CP503 reminder.

Steps to Take After an IRS LT11 Notice or Letter 1058

1. 1

   Find the Date on the Letter and Count 30 Days

   Write the date on your calendar and mark the 30th day. Plan to mail any hearing request with proof of mailing a few days before it.

2. 2

   Check Your Balance in Your IRS Online Account

   The IRS tells you to check your balance there. Compare it with the letter, and gather proof of any payment you believe was not credited.

3. 3

   Pay What You Can and Ask About a Payment Plan

   Paying in full stops further interest and penalties. If you cannot, the IRS says to pay what you can, since payments reduce the interest and penalties added later. If you are current on your filings, you can request an installment agreement. The IRS says that if you owe less than $50,000, the online payment agreement tool is the fastest way. Which IRS payment plan fits depends on the balance owed.

4. 4

   Decide Whether to Request a Collection Due Process Hearing

   Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, is how you ask. You list your reasons or proposed alternatives, such as a payment plan or an offer in compromise. Send it to the address on the letter before the 30th day.

5. 5

   Send Proof if You Already Paid

   If you paid in full or think a payment was not credited, the IRS says to send proof of payment to the address at the top of the letter.

6. 6

   Keep Every Record

   Save the letter, the envelope, the mailing receipt for your hearing request, and notes from each call with the date and the IRS employee's ID number.

Collection Due Process Hearing or Equivalent Hearing

A timely request gets you a Collection Due Process hearing. The IRS says the 10-year period it has to collect your taxes is suspended while a timely hearing is pending, and you can take Appeals' decision to the United States Tax Court if you disagree.

If you miss the 30 days, you may still ask for an equivalent hearing, generally within one year of the date of the levy notice. Publication 1660 says that with an equivalent hearing the law does not prohibit levy, the collection statute is not suspended, and you cannot go to court over the decision. That gap is why the 30-day date is worth treating as firm.

A hearing is a review. It does not decide in advance what Appeals will rule.

Disputing the Amount After an IRS LT11 Notice

In a hearing, you can raise the amount you owe only in limited circumstances, mainly when you did not get a notice of deficiency or otherwise had no earlier chance to dispute it. The IRS's CDP FAQs list other routes: paying and filing a refund claim, requesting an audit reconsideration with new information, or submitting an offer in compromise based on doubt as to liability.

An offer in compromise based on doubt as to liability asks the IRS to reconsider whether you owe the tax at all.

Common Mistakes With an IRS LT11 Notice or Letter 1058

The classic mistake is calling the IRS and assuming that stops the clock. It does not. A second is counting 30 days from the day you opened the letter instead of the date printed on it.

A third is mailing the hearing request without Form 433-A or financial information when you want a payment arrangement considered. The IRS says Appeals needs your financial statement to consider collection alternatives, which delays things when it is missing.

A fourth is hiring someone and assuming the deadline is theirs to meet. Ask in writing who will file the request and when.

When Getting Help With an IRS LT11 Notice Makes Sense

With a 30-day deadline and levies on the table, most people want someone to read the letter with them. A representative can book a free consultation with Innovative Tax Relief to go through the date, the balance, and which tax years are on the notice. It is confidential and judgment-free.

If your wages or a bank account are already being levied, tax levy relief depends on the type of levy. Results vary and are not guaranteed. The IRS and Appeals make the final decision.