CP14I: What It Means and How to Respond

What the notice actually says

CP14I is the IRS's notice for a balance due tied specifically to an IRA or tax-sheltered account issue — either a shortfall against the required minimum distribution, or a contribution above the allowed limit. The actual sample notice illustrates the RMD-shortfall version directly: "Our records show you did not withdraw the minimum required distribution amount from your IRA or annuity for the tax year... The difference between the minimum amount and the amount you withdrew is taxable."

CP14I is a genuinely separate, separately-numbered notice from plain CP14 — not just a relabeling — but its payment structure is identical: the same 21-day/10-business-day rule, and the same IRC §6651 failure-to-pay and §6601 interest citations appear on both notices. Only the explanation of why the balance exists differs.

What actually triggered it

IRS records show either an insufficient withdrawal from a traditional IRA or annuity relative to the required minimum distribution for the year, or a contribution to a tax-sheltered account that exceeded the allowed limit. Both scenarios are ordinarily computed on Form 5329, Additional Taxes on Qualified Plans (Including IRAs) and Other Tax-Favored Accounts. The IRS's CP14I page names Form 5329 for the missed-RMD waiver. Neither that page nor the sample notice cites the Code sections (IRC §4974 for the RMD shortfall, §4973 for excess contributions), so this page names them as its own reading, not as law the notice cites.

Response deadline and what happens if you miss it

The payment deadline is stated plainly on the actual sample notice and matches plain CP14: 21 calendar days from the date of the notice if you owe less than $100,000, or 10 business days if you owe $100,000 or more. Miss it, and interest keeps accruing under §6601, and the failure-to-pay penalty under §6651 continues to run on tax your return showed, or starts under §6651(a)(3) on tax the IRS assessed later — the same notice also states that if a Notice of Intent to Levy is later issued and still unpaid within 10 days, the failure-to-pay rate increases from 0.5% to 1% per month going forward. Neither the sample notice nor the general IRS.gov page cited above states these specific figures side by side, so this page draws the payment-deadline detail from the sample notice directly rather than the consumer explainer.

Neither the IRS.gov page nor the sample notice names a specific follow-on notice number for continued nonpayment — only a general reference to eventual collection activity. This page doesn't invent one.

What to do next

Determine which of the two triggers actually applies — an RMD shortfall or an excess contribution — since the corrective action differs, and they are not interchangeable. For a missed RMD, the client withdraws the shortfall (if not already done) and can request a waiver of the §4974 excise tax via Form 5329 with a letter of explanation showing reasonable error and the correction taken. For an excess contribution, there is no reasonable-cause waiver under §4973. Removing the excess and its earnings by the applicable deadline treats the excess as never contributed; after that deadline, the tax recurs each year the excess stays in the account until the client distributes the excess (a §408(d)(5) distribution) or contributes less than the limit in a later year (IRC §4973(b)(2)).

Address the payment deadline in parallel with the underlying correction — requesting a waiver for a missed RMD doesn't itself pause the 21-day/10-business-day payment clock, so don't let a client wait on that outcome before dealing with the balance shown on the notice (IRC §6601(e)(3)).

What people mistake CP14I for

The obvious mix-up is with plain CP14 — the payment mechanics are identical, so it's easy to treat CP14I as a routine balance-due letter and stop there. The real cost of doing that: CP14I signals an underlying qualified-plan compliance problem (an ongoing RMD shortfall or an excess contribution) that, left unaddressed, can recur and trigger the same excise tax again next year. Paying the bill without fixing the underlying IRA issue solves nothing beyond the current notice.

A second, easier mix-up: CP14IA is a different, unrelated notice about compliance with an existing IRS installment agreement — not an IRA notice at all, despite the similar name. Don't let that resemblance send a client searching for the wrong fix entirely, since the two letters share four characters in their number and nothing else in substance.

Common Questions