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. Most IRS letters are one numbered step in a printed process. A CP14, for example, is the first bill in a series of five. Paste the text or upload a photo of your letter, and in under a minute you'll know what it is, every deadline printed on it, and whether it's real. The decode is free.
No account needed. Your letter is read once and discarded, and nothing trains on it. NoticeKey is not a law firm.
One Job, One Side
NoticeKey reads the letter in your hand and tells you, in plain words, what it says: the deadline printed on it, whether it's real, and the options it gives you. One letter, one side of the table. Yours.
What Comes Back
Here's what comes back.
This is the decode of a sample CP2000, the letter the IRS sends when it proposes changes to your return. Yours has the same sections, filled from your own letter.
- 1
Find the Code
It sits in the top or bottom right corner and looks like CP2000, CP503 or LT11. Type it in and you'll see what kind of letter you're holding before you paste a word.
- 2
Paste or Upload
Paste the text, or upload a PDF or a phone photo of the page. The more of the letter you give it, the more precise the decode.
- 3
Read Your Decode
A plain-language summary, findings ranked by urgency with a quote from your own letter behind each one, every printed deadline, your options, and when to bring in a human.
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.
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, in every decode.
The Letter, Named
Paste the text or upload a PDF or photo. NoticeKey matches the code in the corner, whether it's CP2000, CP503, LT11 or one of 25 others, to a plain explanation of what the letter is and why it was sent. Every finding quotes the line in your letter it came from, so you can check it against the paper in your hand.
The Deadline, Shown
Your notice prints its own response date, and that date governs your case. The decode lists it with every other date printed on the letter. The Response Pack turns it into a calendar file and optional email reminders, so it stays in front of you after you close the tab.
The Scam, Checked
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 and 4883C) and any letter that asks for gift cards, wire transfers or crypto are flagged at the top, every time.
Your Options, Laid Out
The decode lists the options printed on your notice, such as agreeing, partly agreeing, disputing or asking for more time. Picking one takes your records, so the choice stays yours. When your situation is bigger than a decode, it names the door: a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic if your income qualifies, the Taxpayer Advocate Service for hardship, or the IRS directory of CPAs and Enrolled Agents.
The Collection Ladder
The ladder is printed. So is your rung.
The balance-due letters come in a public order: CP14, then CP501, CP503 and CP504, then a final notice (LT11, Letter 1058 or CP90). The code on your letter tells you which rung you're on, and nothing about that position is a guess. Responding at any rung, from the first bill to the final notice, stops the climb.
Find Your Rung- 1
CP14
First bill
- 2
CP501
First reminder
- 3
CP503
Second reminder
- 4
CP504
Intent to levy (state refund)
- 5
LT11 / LETTER 1058 / CP90
FINAL notice — hearing rights
Coverage
28notice codes, each with its own decode
For every code below, the decode knows what the letter is, why it was sent, and what its printed deadline governs.
State notices too, from Oregon, Washington, California, New York and Texas, five agencies whose letters follow their own numbered ladders.
State coverage is newer than IRS coverage and shallower for now. A state letter gets a plain-language decode and the agency basics, and the rung-by-rung ladder doesn't yet cover every state letter type.
The Charter
Six promises to the person holding the letter.
Read Once, Discarded
Your letter is read in memory and gone once the decode loads. It is never stored, sold or used to train anything.
Quoted From Your Letter
Every finding quotes the place in your letter it came from. When your letter is silent on something, the decode says it is not stated in your document and names who to confirm it with.
No Money From Them
No IRS contracts, no referral fees from tax-resolution firms, no selling your name to lead buyers. NoticeKey takes no money from the agencies whose letters it reads, or from the industry that preys on the people who get them.
Same Answer, Free or Paid
Free and paid users get the identical decode, every time. The $48 pack adds the paperwork for answering the letter: a worksheet, a letter shell, mailing instructions and a prep brief.
Never Your Accountant
NoticeKey never calculates tax, never tells you whether to agree, and never promises an outcome. When your situation needs a human, it says so and names one.
Scams Flagged First
Identity letters get a legitimacy check before anything else. Demands for gift cards, wire transfers and “pennies on the dollar” pitches are 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
Free to read. $48 to answer.
Free
$0
- The whole decode, in plain language
- Your rung on the collection ladder, marked “you are here”
- Every deadline printed on your notice
- A check that the letter is real
- Your options, and when to bring in a human
Response Pack
$48 flat, once
- A worksheet setting the notice's claims against your records
- A response letter shell, with bracketed fields you fill in
- Mailing and fax instructions for your notice
- A prep brief for a meeting with a CPA, EA or clinic
- A deadline calendar file (.ics) built in your browser, so the date never leaves it
- Optional email reminders, 7 days and 1 day before
No subscription, and no upgrade prompts inside the free decode. The pack adds paperwork, and the analysis stays free.
Straight Answers
Fair questions.
Is the decode free?
What happens to my letter after you read it?
Will you tell me whether to agree with the IRS?
Can you settle my tax debt for pennies on the dollar?
What if my situation is bigger than a decode?
Does NoticeKey track my deadline for me?
Which notices do you understand?
- The balance-due ladder, CP14, CP501, CP503 and CP504, and the three final notices (LT11, Letter 1058 and CP90)
- Enforcement beyond the ladder: the federal tax lien notice (Letter 3172), bank and wage levies (Form 668-A and Form 668-W), and passport certification (CP508C)
- Proposed changes and deficiency: the 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 and LT16
- Identity verification, 5071C and 4883C
Paste it in. You'll know what it says in under a minute.
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