CP05, 4464C and 5071C: Refund Held for Review or ID Check

Refund frozen under review: what does the IRS letter mean?

The letter's number tells you whether to wait or act. CP05, Letter 4464C and Letter 6255C need no reply if you filed the return; CP05A, the CP5071 series and Letter 4883C hold your refund or return until you send documents or verify your identity. Being picked for review does not mean you made an error.

A held refund is simple when the wages and withholding on your return are real and match your employer's records. It needs professional judgment when:

• your employer never reported your wages, or never paid in the tax it took from your pay;
• the return claims credits you may not be able to support;
• the review turns into a notice proposing more tax;
• you did not file the return the letter is about;
• earlier years are unfiled, or you live outside the US.

Gather before you do anything: the letter, the return it names, last year's return, every W-2 and 1099, your pay stubs including the last one of the year, the records behind any business income or credit you claimed, and your IRS account transcript. If your refund is late and no letter came, see late refunds and transcript codes.

Which letter did I get: is the IRS verifying income and withholding, or my identity?

Each letter checks something different and sets its own next step. Find your letter's number in the left column, then read across.

The Taxpayer Advocate Service says a review of wages, withholding, credits or expenses can take anywhere from 45 to 180 days, depending on how many issues the IRS is checking.

CP05 letter: how long does it take, and when can I call?

For CP05, Letter 4464C and Letter 6255C, the IRS asks you not to call until 60 days after the letter date, and then only if you have no refund and no word from it. The IRS lists the general number, 800-829-1040, on its Letter 4464C page. That wait is when you may call, not when the review ends; the review itself can take anywhere from 45 to 180 days. Keep any letters saying the IRS needs more time.

The letters give no way to shorten the review. A representative can call for you once the wait is over, with Form 2848 on file; the IRS sets the pace.

CP05A: which documents prove my wages and withholding?

Send what the CP05A lists, with a copy of the notice, by the reply date. The documents must show the dates you earned the wages, your gross pay and the federal tax withheld for the year on the notice.

Reply through the Document Upload Tool (the notice has a QR code), by fax to the number on the notice, or by mail to its address. Then allow 60 days from the day you replied before contacting the IRS.

My employer never reported my wages or never paid in my withholding: do I still get credit?

The law allows it if the tax was actually taken from your pay. Section 31 allows wage withholding as a credit to the employee, and the regulation says credit or refund is made "even though such tax has not been paid over" by the employer. The employer, not you, is liable for the tax it had to withhold (26 U.S.C. 3403).

The IRS decides on the proof you send, which must show the tax was withheld, not that it reached the IRS. Use the proof the CP05A lists: pay stubs showing withholding, including the year-end stub, or an employer letter. Check your wage and income transcript to see what the employer reported. If no W-2 exists at all, see missing W-2s and Form 4852.

The case is harder if you own or run the business that paid you: anyone responsible for paying over withheld tax who willfully fails to can owe a penalty equal to that tax (26 U.S.C. 6672). It is also harder if the stubs and deposits do not agree. Get help before replying.

5071C: how do I verify my identity, and how long until the refund?

Verify online at the IRS's return verification service if your CP5071 series notice offers it; otherwise follow the notice. Have the notice, the return for the year shown, last year's return if you filed one, and the W-2s, 1099s and schedules behind each return (IRS list).

On a 4883C call, a representative needs Form 2848 on file, and the IRS encourages you to be on the call too. Anyone helping without Form 2848 must call together with you, and you must take part (IRS). If the IRS finds other problems after you verify, it contacts you again, which may delay the refund.

Living in Canada? Answering an IRS letter from Canada covers replying from there; the steps above still apply.

I didn't file the return the letter is about: what do I do?

Someone may have filed with your Social Security number or ITIN. What to do depends on the letter.

If a preparer filed or changed your return without your consent, see when a preparer filed a wrong return.

Should I file an amended return or resend documents while the review is open?

Amend only to fix a real error. Letters 4464C and 6255C ask you to review your return and file a corrected or amended return if you find a mistake. A CP05A asks for documents by its reply date, and identity verification is its own step; an amended return is neither.

• Wrong wages, withholding or a credit you cannot support: an amended return fixes it. Expect it to be handled on its own timeline.
• If your return is correct, send nothing more for a CP05, 4464C or 6255C. For a CP05A, reply once with the listed documents and wait.
• The review ends in a notice proposing more tax: see CP2000 responses.
• The IRS shows no return on file at all: see a return missing from IRS records.

4464C, still no refund after the wait: when can the Taxpayer Advocate help?

Only within its current limits, so check those first. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), a free, independent office within the IRS, publishes temporary limits on the cases it accepts. Its case acceptance page currently says it is not assisting with refunds the IRS stopped through its income verification program or for a request for documents, which can cover a CP05, 4464C, 6255C or CP05A hold, and gives the date it starts accepting current-year cases.

When a case fits those limits, TAS may take it if the IRS has failed to act or the delay causes financial hardship. Its published reasons include a delay of more than 30 days beyond the IRS's regular processing time to resolve an account problem, several letters from the IRS asking for more time with no action, or no answer by a date the IRS promised.

To ask for help, send Form 911 by mail, fax or email using the details TAS lists, or call 877-777-4778. Attach the letters you received and note the date each wait period ended. A case advocate contacts you after the case is assigned.

Can the IRS release a held refund sooner for financial hardship?

Sometimes. If your refund is delayed by processing and you face a hardship such as an eviction or shutoff notice, call the IRS at 800-829-1040, explain the hardship and ask for a manual expedited refund (TAS). Expect to send proof, such as the shutoff notice and the return.

• The IRS may release only the hardship amount it verifies, and a partial release can delay the rest.
• If you claimed the earned income credit or the additional child tax credit and filed before February 15, no one can release any part of the refund before that date, hardship or not (see late refunds).
• The CP05A, 4464C and 6255C pages also point you to TAS (877-777-4778) for economic hardship; its case acceptance limits above still apply.
• TAS does not say a hardship request ends an open identity or wage check; do not count on a release before that check finishes.

Example

Illustrative figures in US dollars.

CP05 on a wage earner's refund

Ana e-files and expects a $4,200 refund, then gets a CP05. Her W-2 and return match, so she sends nothing and waits 60 days from the notice date. After that she calls; when letters asking for more time keep arriving well past normal processing, she checks the Taxpayer Advocate criteria and the current case acceptance limits before sending Form 911.

CP05A after a payroll company vanished

Ben's W-2 shows $6,000 withheld, but his employer never reported it. He replies to the CP05A by the notice date with four pay stubs, including the year-end stub, each showing federal tax withheld. He does not send the W-2. The law treats tax actually withheld as his credit; his reply has to show it was withheld.

Identity check on a joint return

A couple's $2,500 refund stops and a 5071C arrives. Their notice offers online verification, so they verify with this year's return, last year's return and their W-2s. They check the refund two to three weeks later and allow up to nine weeks for processing.

Different for you?

• Your employer never reported your wages or paid in your withholding: get individual tax help before you reply, and see missing W-2s.
• The review is about credits you may not be able to support: have the return reviewed through individual tax help.
• The review turned into a notice proposing tax: see CP2000 responses and individual tax help.
• Someone filed using your identity, or a preparer changed your return: see when a preparer filed a wrong return and get individual tax help.
• Earlier years are unfiled: see catching up on unfiled returns.
• You want someone to deal with the IRS for you: see who can represent you.
• You live in Canada: see answering an IRS letter from Canada.
• Your refund is late with no letter: see late refunds and transcript codes.