IRS Tax Relief and a CP14 notice

A CP14 tells you two things: how much the IRS says you owe and when it wants the money. Go by the letter for the amount and the date. The IRS explains the notice on its page Understanding your CP14 notice, last reviewed by the IRS on June 23, 2026.

What the IRS says to do

The IRS lists four steps: read the notice carefully, pay the amount by the due date on it, make a payment plan if you can't pay in full, and contact the IRS if you disagree. If you pay the full amount by the date on the notice, you aren't charged interest. After that date, interest builds on whatever is unpaid, and a late-payment penalty applies if you don't pay in full.

You can view and download the notice in your IRS online account, and the IRS says you can manage a debt there without calling.

If you can't pay by the date on the letter

The IRS page points to a payment plan, and it says to contact the IRS by your payment's due date. A short-term plan of 180 days or less has no setup fee, and the payment plan guide lists the long-term fees from the IRS table.

Paying part of it now still helps, because interest builds on whatever is unpaid after the due date. What to do when you owe the IRS and can't pay walks through the order to take things in.

If paying would cause a hardship

The CP14 page says that in a financial hardship, the IRS may temporarily delay collection until your situation improves. Collection pauses, but you still owe the full amount, and penalties and interest keep adding up.

If you think the amount is wrong

Call the phone number in the IRS help section of the notice, and have your paperwork, such as cancelled checks or an amended return, ready. The IRS suggests calling Wednesday through Friday, when wait times are shorter.

If you live in a disaster area

If your address of record is in a federally declared disaster area, the IRS says you should get a CP14C instead. It gives you extra time to file and to pay the amount on the notice, and you don't need to contact the IRS to get that time.

If you'd like help sorting it out

The form on this page asks a partner tax-relief firm to call you. Have the notice nearby when you send the form or take the call.

After a CP14, Can the IRS take my house? explains the warnings the IRS has to send first. For an offer, see how long an offer in compromise takes. The Spokane page explains why an income-tax bill there is a federal one.