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NoticeKey

IRS & state tax notices, decoded

That IRS letter has a number in the corner.
We tell you what it means.

You opened the envelope and your stomach dropped. Take a breath — most IRS letters are a known, numbered step in a known, printed process. Paste the text or upload the letter, and in about a minute you'll have a plain-language summary, every deadline printed on it, and a scam check. Free.

Decode my notice — freeor scan all 28 notice types first

Read once, discarded, never used to train anything. Not a law firm. No account needed.

ONE JOB, ONE SIDE

NoticeKey has one job: read the letter in your hand and tell you, in plain words, what it says — the deadline printed on it, whether it's real, and the options it gives you. It takes no money from the IRS, no referral fees from tax-resolution firms, and never sells what it reads. One letter, one side of the table. Yours.

THE ACTUAL OUTPUT

Here's what comes back.

Not a mockup of what NoticeKey could do — the actual shape of a real decode, for a real notice type.

  1. 1

    Find the code

    Top or bottom corner of the letter: CP2000, CP503, LT11… Type it in and you'll instantly know what kind of letter you're holding.

  2. 2

    Paste or upload

    Paste the text or upload a PDF/photo. It's read once, in memory, and discarded — we couldn't show it to you again if we wanted to.

  3. 3

    Get the decode

    Plain-language summary, ranked findings with citations to your own letter, every printed deadline, your options, and when to bring in a human.

Sample decode

What this letter says

The IRS says a 1099-NEC for $9,212 in rideshare income wasn't on your 2024 return, and proposes you owe $2,140.00 more — tax, penalty, and interest combined. This is a proposed change, not a bill.

DeadlineRespond by June 18, 2026

Proposed increase: $2,140.00

“Proposed amount due: $2,140.00” — page 1

1099-NEC not on your return

“Nonemployee compensation reported to IRS: $9,212.00” — page 1

First: make sure this is real

A real CP2000 arrives by mail with a response form attached — the IRS does not send these by email.

Your options

  • Agree with all changes
  • Partially agree — explain and document
  • Disagree entirely — explain and document

Sample decode — CP2000, illustrative letter. Your decode runs on your letter and your numbers.

WHAT IT DOES

Four things it does, explicitly.

  1. Identify & decode

    Paste the notice text or upload a PDF or photo, and NoticeKey matches the code in the corner — CP2000, CP503, LT11, and 25 others — to a plain-language explanation of what it is and why it was sent. Every finding cites the exact line in your letter it came from, so you can check it against the paper in your hand.

  2. Deadlines

    Your notice prints its own response date — that date, not a general rule, is what governs your case. NoticeKey surfaces it in plain sight on the decode, and the Response Pack turns it into a calendar file and optional reminders so it stays visible after you close the tab.

  3. Scam check

    Every decode opens with a legitimacy check: how a real notice arrives, what a real one never asks for, and the number to call to confirm it yourself. Identity letters (5071C, 4883C) and any notice demanding gift cards, wire transfers, or crypto get flagged loudly, every time.

  4. Options + human handoff

    NoticeKey lays out the options printed on your notice — agree, partially agree, dispute, request more time — without telling you which to pick; that call needs your records. When a situation is bigger than a decode, it names the door: a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic if you qualify by income, the Taxpayer Advocate Service for hardship, or the IRS directory of credentialed CPAs and Enrolled Agents.

THE COLLECTION LADDER

The ladder is printed. So is your rung.

The balance-due ladder is public and always climbed in the same order: CP14, then CP501, then CP503, then CP504, then a final notice — LT11, Letter 1058, or CP90. The code on your letter tells you exactly which rung you're on; nothing about that position is a guess. Responding at any rung — first bill or final notice — stops the climb.

Decode my notice — free
  1. 1

    CP14

    First bill

  2. 2

    CP501

    First reminder

  3. 3

    CP503

    Second reminder

  4. 4

    CP504

    Intent to levy (state refund)

  5. 5

    LT11 / LETTER 1058 / CP90

    FINAL notice — hearing rights

COVERAGE

28notice codes, and counting

Every code below has its own decode: what it is, why it was sent, and what the printed deadline governs.

CP14CP501CP503CP504LT11LETTER 1058CP90LETTER 3172FORM 668-AFORM 668-WCP508CCP2000CP2501CP3219ACP11CP12CP21CP22CP49CP60CP71CP161CP523CP210LT16CP595071C4883COregonWashingtonCaliforniaNew YorkTexas

Plus state notices for Oregon, Washington, California, New York, and Texas — five agencies whose letters follow their own numbered ladders.

State coverage is newer than IRS coverage and runs shallower for now — a plain-language decode and agency basics, not yet a rung-by-rung ladder for every letter type.

THE CHARTER

Built to be on exactly one side: yours.

Read once, discarded

Your document is processed in memory and gone when the page finishes loading. Never stored, never sold, never used to train anything.

Grounded, or it says so

Every finding cites the exact place in your letter it came from. If your document doesn't state something, the decode says “not stated — confirm with the IRS,” not a guess.

No money from the other side

No IRS contracts, no tax-resolution referral fees, no lead selling. We never take money from the institutions we critique, or the industry that preys on people who get these letters.

Money never changes the answer

Free and paid users get the identical analysis, every time. The $48 pack adds paperwork artifacts, not a “better” decode.

It never pretends to be your accountant

NoticeKey never calculates tax, never tells you whether to agree, never promises an outcome. When your situation needs a human, it says so and names one.

Scam-aware by default

Identity letters get a legitimacy check before anything else. Gift-card demands, wire-transfer requests, and “pennies on the dollar” pitches get flagged, every time they appear.

28

IRS notice types decoded

5

states covered — OR, WA, CA, NY, TX

$0

to decode, always

0

documents stored, ever

The full promise lives on our charter page.

PRICING

Honest pricing

Free

$0

  • The full decode, in plain language
  • Your position on the collection ladder — “you are here”
  • Every deadline — printed on your notice, not a typical window
  • Scam & legitimacy check
  • Your options, plus when to bring in a human

Response Pack

$48 flat, once

  • Notice-claims-vs-your-records worksheet
  • Response letter shell — you fill the bracketed fields
  • Mailing and fax instructions for your notice
  • Prep brief for a CPA, EA, or LITC meeting
  • Deadline calendar file (.ics), built in your browser — the date never leaves it
  • Optional email reminders, 7 days and 1 day before

No subscription. No upgrade prompts inside the free decode. The analysis itself is never paywalled — the pack only adds paperwork.

STRAIGHT ANSWERS

Fair questions.

Is the decode really free?
Yes — the full decode: what your letter is, where you sit on the collection ladder, every printed deadline, your options, and the scam check. The $48 Response Pack only adds action artifacts — worksheet, letter shell, mailing instructions, prep brief, a deadline calendar file, and optional reminders. Free and paid users get the identical analysis.
What happens to my letter after you read it?
It's read once, in memory, and discarded. We never store it, never sell it, never use it to train anything. The only things we ever persist are your email (if you opt in), Stripe payment records, and anonymized outcome reports you explicitly choose to share.
Will you tell me whether to agree with the IRS?
No — and be suspicious of any tool that does. We decode what the notice says, what the printed deadlines are, and what options exist. Whether to agree, dispute, or escalate depends on your records, which only you (or a professional you choose) can judge.
Can you settle my tax debt for pennies on the dollar?
No, and neither can the ads. Offers in Compromise exist, are free to apply for, and most applicants don't qualify. If a firm promises a specific outcome before seeing your records, that's the warning sign — we have a whole section on it in every decode.
What if my situation is bigger than a decode?
We say so, plainly, and point you to real human help: Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (free if income-eligible), the Taxpayer Advocate Service (hardship), or the IRS directory of credentialed CPAs and Enrolled Agents.
Does NoticeKey track my deadline for me?
No — you type the date printed on your notice; NoticeKey never guesses it or tracks it on our end. The Response Pack's calendar file (.ics) is built inside your browser from the date you typed, and never leaves it. Email reminders (7 days and 1 day before) are optional and off unless you turn them on.
Which notices do you understand?
Twenty-eight IRS notice types, grouped by what they're about:
  • The balance-due ladder: CP14, CP501, CP503, CP504, and the three final-notice variants (LT11, Letter 1058, CP90)
  • Enforcement beyond the ladder: the federal tax lien notice (Letter 3172), bank and wage levies (Form 668-A, Form 668-W), and passport certification (CP508C)
  • Underreporter and deficiency: the proposed-changes notice (CP2000), its initial-contact version (CP2501), and the Statutory Notice of Deficiency (CP3219A)
  • Return corrections and account notices: CP11, CP12, CP21, CP22, CP49, CP60, CP71, CP161, CP210, CP523, CP59, LT16
  • Identity verification: 5071C and 4883C
Plus state notices for Oregon, Washington, California, New York, and Texas.

The letter is scarier unopened.

Decode my notice — free

Hear when we add new notice types

Opt-in only. We'll email when new codes join the library — nothing else, ever. Unsubscribe anytime.