Request an IRS Collection Due Process hearing

The notice controls the filing deadline and destination

Not every IRS collection letter gives a right to a Collection Due Process hearing. Use the notice that expressly offers a hearing under Internal Revenue Code sections 6320 or 6330. Follow its “request by” date and hearing-request address. Calling the IRS or discussing payment does not extend the written-request deadline.

1. Confirm that the notice offers a CDP hearing

Common qualifying notices include a Notice of Federal Tax Lien Filing and Your Right to a Hearing, a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, and certain post-levy or state-refund levy notices. The notice should identify the tax type, tax periods, collection action, filing deadline, and office that must receive the request.

A general balance-due reminder, installment-agreement letter, audit report, or ordinary billing notice may use a different appeal route. Do not send Form 12153 merely because an IRS letter mentions collection.

2. Protect the deadline shown on the notice

For a levy CDP notice, the statutory 30-day period generally begins the day after the notice date. For a filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien, the 30-day hearing period begins after the five-business-day notice period following the filing. The IRS notice states the applicable file-by date; use that date rather than calculating from memory.

If the notice arrived late, preserve the envelope and contact the IRS immediately. Current IRS guidance recognizes limited circumstances in which a late request may still be treated as timely, but that is not automatic and depends on the facts. Do not delay filing while trying to resolve the debt by telephone.

3. Use the current Form 12153

The current official form is Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, revision July 2022. The IRS also publishes Form 12153 (SP) in Spanish. A signed written request containing the same required information may be accepted, but the official form reduces the risk of omitting an essential item.

Mark whether the dispute involves a filed federal tax lien, a proposed or actual levy, or both. If the CDP deadline may have passed, the form includes an option to request an equivalent hearing. Do not enter a Social Security number, EIN, bank data, or tax-account information on WhatDoIFile; place sensitive information only on the official IRS form or approved IRS channel.

4. Identify every tax period and collection action

Attach a copy of each CDP notice. List the tax type, form number, and tax periods exactly as shown. A request ordinarily covers only the periods and collection actions identified in the notice. If joint taxpayers are requesting the hearing together, follow the form’s signature instructions for both taxpayers.

Keep the scope clear. A hearing about a levy does not automatically create a separate lien hearing, and a hearing for one tax period does not automatically cover another period.

5. Explain each reason for disagreement

Form 12153 requires a reason. Depending on the facts and prior opportunities, possible issues may include:

a payment was not applied correctly;
the tax was discharged in bankruptcy;
appropriate innocent-spouse relief;
withdrawal, discharge, or subordination of a filed lien;
economic hardship or current inability to pay;
an installment agreement, offer in compromise, or another collection alternative; or
a challenge to the existence or amount of the underlying tax when the taxpayer did not receive a notice of deficiency and did not otherwise have a prior opportunity to dispute it.

Raise all relevant issues and provide supporting records during Appeals. Issues already considered in a prior proceeding, frivolous positions, and arguments raised solely to delay collection may be excluded.

6. Prepare financial information when seeking an alternative

If you request an installment agreement, offer in compromise, or currently-not-collectible treatment, Appeals may need a current Form 433-A for individuals or Form 433-B for businesses, together with the records requested by those forms. Form 12153 states that the financial statement is not always required with the initial hearing request, but early submission can speed review.

Continue filing required tax returns and paying current taxes. Appeals may be unable to approve a collection alternative if required returns, estimated payments, or federal tax deposits are not current.

7. Send the request to the correct IRS office

Send or deliver the signed request to the hearing-request address shown on the CDP notice—not a separate payment address. Include a copy of the notice. If the notice provides a fax number or approved electronic upload method, follow those instructions. If it does not provide a fax number and you need one, call the number on the notice or the IRS number listed on Form 12153.

Keep a complete copy, the envelope, certified-mail or other mailing proof, fax confirmation, upload receipt, and any delivery record. Timeliness can depend on the destination, postmark, fax timestamp, or received date.

8. Understand what a timely request changes

A timely CDP request generally suspends levy action for the appealed tax and periods while the hearing and any timely judicial review are pending. It also suspends the federal collection limitations period for the affected liability. The suspension can extend the time the IRS has to collect.

The request does not automatically prevent the IRS from filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, does not resolve the balance, and does not stop every collection action in every statutory exception. Follow the notice and any case-specific instruction from Appeals.

9. Know the difference if the request is late

A late taxpayer may request an equivalent hearing within the period stated in Form 12153—generally one year from a levy CDP notice or one year plus five business days from the filing of the federal tax lien. An equivalent hearing generally follows a similar administrative process, but it does not prohibit levy action, does not suspend the collection limitations period, and ordinarily does not provide Tax Court review of the Appeals decision.

Mark the equivalent-hearing option on Form 12153 when appropriate. Do not assume that a late request automatically becomes a timely CDP request.

10. Prepare for the Appeals conference and decision

Appeals may conduct the conference by telephone, correspondence, or, when requirements are met, in person. Bring the notice, account records, proof supporting each issue, filed returns, current financial information, and a specific proposed resolution. Appeals may ask the IRS Collection function to verify new information and should give you an opportunity to respond.

After a CDP hearing, Appeals generally issues a Notice of Determination. A taxpayer who wants U.S. Tax Court review generally must file a petition within 30 days of the determination’s mailing. Court deadlines and jurisdiction can have serious consequences; read the determination immediately and seek qualified tax or legal help when needed.