IRS notice, decoded
CP523: Intent to Terminate Your Installment Agreement
What it is
The IRS intends to terminate your installment agreement (payment plan) because you have defaulted on it — commonly a missed payment, a new tax liability, or a failure to file a required return. If the agreement is terminated, the entire remaining balance becomes immediately due and the IRS may proceed to seize (levy) your assets.
Why you got it
Most often sent when: a scheduled payment bounced or was missed; a new tax balance was assessed and not added to the agreement; or a required return wasn't filed on time.
The deadline structure
30 days from the notice date to resolve the issue before the agreement terminates — the IRS says to contact them no later than 30 days from the date of the notice, and to make your payment before the termination date printed on YOUR notice. The 30 days' advance notice before termination is required by IRC §6159(b)(5).
If you act within 30 days you can often reinstate the agreement (a reinstatement fee may apply). After termination, the full balance is due and levy action can begin.
The options printed on it
- Pay the missed payment and call to confirm the agreement is reinstated
- Modify the agreement to include the new balance — request by phone or at irs.gov/opa
- File the missing return (if that's the issue) and contact IRS to reinstate
- Request a Collection Due Process hearing within 30 days if you believe the termination is in error
How to respond
- Online: irs.gov/opa (IRS Online Payment Agreement) — reinstate or modify the agreement
- Phone: call the number on the notice to explain the missed payment or new balance
- Make the missed payment immediately if that's the only issue — confirm the payment applies to the right tax period
What ignoring it leads to
The installment agreement is terminated, the entire remaining balance becomes immediately due, and the IRS may begin collection action — filing a federal tax lien or levying wages and/or bank accounts (a final levy notice such as LT11/Letter 1058 typically precedes an actual levy). The notice also warns of possible denial or revocation of a U.S. passport under the FAST Act.
Next letter if nothing changes: LT11 / Letter 1058 (Final Notice of Intent to Levy) if no action taken
First: make sure this notice is really from the IRS
- The IRS initiates contact by U.S. mail — it does not call, text, or email you first about terminating a payment plan
- The IRS will NEVER ask for payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or payment app — checks are payable only to 'United States Treasury'
- A real CP523 shows a notice date and your truncated SSN — and the code checks out at irs.gov ('Understanding your CP523 notice')
- Pay only through irs.gov/payments or the address on the notice — never to an individual or a caller demanding same-day payment to 'save your agreement'
- To check a notice's legitimacy independently, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 (the main line, not a number from any email or text)
Mistakes people make with a CP523
- Assuming one missed payment automatically ends the agreement — calling promptly can often save it
- Not realising a new unfiled return triggered the notice (not just the payment)
- Missing that you have 30 days to request a CDP hearing even on installment-agreement terminations
Official sources
- Understanding your CP523 notice
- IRS Online Payment Agreement
- IRS Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights (CAP covers termination or proposed termination of an installment agreement)
- 26 U.S.C. §6159(b)(5) — 30 days' notice required before termination of an installment agreement
Our summary paraphrases these sources. Last verified: BUILD-DATE 2026-06-24 — re-verify before launch + cross-ref 2026-07-11 (Claude Fable 5; live-fetched irs.gov CP523 page, Online Payment Agreement page, Pub 1660 PDF, law.cornell.edu §6159) — seize/levy + federal tax lien + FAST Act passport language added from live page, reinstatement-fee note added, §6159 + Pub 1660 sources + scamCheck added; FLAGGED NOT CHANGED: file claims a 30-day CDP hearing right on IA termination but live Pub 1660 lists IA termination under CAP, not CDP — owner+counsel; human re-verify before launch. Your printed notice always controls.
NoticeKey is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the IRS or any state tax agency.
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