If you've received a “CP21C Notice” from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the odds are that you're confused. And your confusion may be justified as the IRS often sends the CP21C notice by mistake. But let's go over the notice and why you may have received one in error.

What is a CP21C for?

The IRS's CP21C notice should be a reply to you, relating to a communication with the IRS that you've already done. For example, you caught an error on your return, filed an amended return, or contacted the IRS, asking the service to correct it.

The IRS then sends a CP21C to confirm that the agency has made the changes and concluded that your balance is zero. The good news/bad news is that you don't owe any additional money, but you're not entitled to a refund, either. 

What If I Didn't Contact Them?

If you didn't contact the IRS, your account might have been compromised, and you're the victim of identity theft.  

However, there's another explanation for more than 109,000 taxpayers recently receiving a CP21C. It was a mistake.

These taxpayers were wrongly informed that the IRS was applying their COVID-related stimulus payments to pay their outstanding tax debts. To see if you're one of the taxpayers who got these letters in error, check if the letter references “your 2007 tax account.” If the letter's about 2007, all of the information is probably wrong.

Instead, the IRS should have sent an entirely different notice. The proper notice would have likely said that you hadn't yet filed a 2018 return and the IRS hadn't yet processed your 2019 return (if you'd filed one). Given that, the IRS couldn't yet issue you a stimulus payment.

If you are one of the impacted filers, you may be eligible to claim a recovery revenue credit on your 2020 return, so if you didn't, you might want to find out if you're eligible to file an amended return.  

It's scary enough any time you get a letter from the IRS. But if you're getting any IRS notice you didn't expect or don't understand, don't wait. If you need help, call Senior Partner, Tax Controversy Attorney, and former IRS attorney Brandon A. Keim at (602) 200-7399 or contact him online to discuss your options.