An IRS notice intake workflow a small firm can finish before anyone calls Practitioner Priority Service

IRS Topic no. 652 describes Notice CP2000. The first page has a summary of proposed changes, a phone number, and the steps to respond. It shows what you reported, what payers reported, and a Response form. It is not a bill. You still have to reply. The IRS asks you to respond within 30 days of the notice date, or 60 days if you live outside the United States, if you want a quicker resolution. Interest on a CP2000 generally runs from the due date of the return, without regard to extensions. (Topic no. 652)

Publication 5181 covers CP2000, Letter 2030, CP2501 and Letter 2531. Review the notice against the return. Reply by the deadline on the notice. If you cannot, call the number on the notice and ask for more time. In most of these reviews you do not file an amended return just to answer. (Publication 5181)

You can reply with the IRS Document Upload Tool, by fax to the number on the notice, or by mail to the address on page one. The IRS currently documents those options on the CP2000 series page. (Understanding your CP2000 series notice)

Admin opens a card before a CPA sees it. If a field is blank, the card is not ready.

Add two more once a CPA looks: agree, disagree or mixed; and whether you already have Form 2848 on file for that year and that tax matter. Do not store the original paper as the file. Keep the PDF. Publication 583 still wants records you can produce. The paperless page is the naming scheme.

For a CP2000, Topic no. 652 lets the taxpayer authorize someone to contact the IRS about that notice in the Authorization section of the Response form. Use that when the only job is this notice. Form 2848 is the power of attorney and declaration of representative when you need to speak for them on that year and matter, or on more than this letter. Form 8821 is tax information authorization only. Submit one Form 2848 at a time, even for married filing jointly. The IRS online upload is IRS.gov/Submit2848. Tax Pro Account can process some individual authorizations in real time without the PDF. Check current IRS pages before you pick a path. Processing of uploaded, faxed and mailed forms can be delayed. (Submit Forms 2848 and 8821 online, Tax Pro Account)

On Form 2848, name representatives who may practice before the IRS. Check the box under a representative if they should receive copies of notices. The IRS will not send copies to more than two representatives for the same matter. Enter the nine digit CAF number, or None if they have never been assigned one. (Instructions for Form 2848)

Do not call about a CP2000 on a year you are not listed for. Do not treat a signed 1040 engagement as a blank check for every notice that arrives later.

A CPA decides. Admin assembles the packet.

Copies, not originals. Explain how each document supports the item. If you cannot produce a document, explain how the amount was determined. (Publication 5181, Topic no. 652)

Use this when the client texts a photo of page one.

Client: Maya Chen. Notice: CP2000, tax year 2024. Payer: a design firm. Proposed change: $18,400 of nonemployee compensation not on the return. Due date on the notice: 30 days from the notice date. She did the work. She forgot the form. Your file has no 1099-NEC.

If she disagrees because the payer issued the form in error, you need a corrected 1099-NEC or a signed explanation plus bank support. That collection is the same muscle as 1099 season data collection, only the calendar is the IRS due date, not 31 January.

Download the notice intake board. One row per notice. The six fields, Form 2848 status, agree or disagree, packet sent date, and who owns the reply.

If the CPA agrees the 1099 belongs on the return, you still need the form or a signed explanation. Collecting that file is the 1099 season data collection job, on the IRS due date instead of 31 January.