CP210 and CP220 Notices: The IRS Changed Your Business Tax Account

What the CP210 and CP220 notices say

The IRS page opens with one line: “We made change(s) for the tax year specified on the notice.” The notice itself explains each change the IRS made to your tax account.

The Internal Revenue Manual (IRM), the IRS’s staff rulebook, files both notices under its Business Master File (BMF) notices, the IRS’s records for business accounts. It calls each one an “Examination (Audit) or Data Processing Tax Adjustment” notice. In plain words, either an audit or IRS processing staff changed the account.

The IRM also names the Spanish versions: CP910 for the CP210, and CP920 for the CP220.

Why you got a CP210 and not a CP220, or the reverse

IRM 3.14.2.6.14.1 explains the split. The IRS sends a CP220 when the change leaves a balance due at or above an amount the IRM does not publish, and the IRS had not already started collecting an unpaid balance for that period. It sends a CP210 for most other results: a refund, a zero balance, a small balance due, or a balance due the IRS was already collecting.

Several kinds of change can trigger either notice. IRM 3.14.2.6.14 lists a change to the tax, a change to credits, and a change to certain penalties. One of those penalties is the failure-to-deposit penalty, which shows on an account transcript as TC 186. A CP210 also goes out when the IRS charges a penalty on a return that otherwise produced a refund.

If you have the business’s account transcript, compare it with the notice. Our transcript analyzer explains each transaction line in plain words.

What to do by the date on your notice

Read the whole notice first. The IRS page tells you to read it carefully, because it explains each change.

If you agree and the notice shows a balance, pay it by the due date on the notice. The IRS page says interest builds on any unpaid balance after that date, and a late payment penalty applies if you do not pay the tax in full.

If you disagree, call the number on the notice. The IRS page suggests you say you received a CP210 or CP220 and need to review your account with a representative.

If you cannot pay in full because of circumstances beyond your control, the IRS page says to call by the payment due date; depending on your situation, the IRS may remove the penalty. Our collection alternatives router compares a payment plan with the other options for a business.

Then correct the copy of the return you kept, so your records match the IRS’s.

When a phone call is not the right fix

A call works when the change came from IRS processing. The IRM tells phone staff to ask for supporting papers, by fax or by mail to the address on the notice.

A call does less when the change came from an audit. For a business that disputes an audit result, the IRM points staff to audit reconsideration, a separate request to reopen the audit that a business can make under certain conditions.

One more case: if the billing summary says “Imputed Underpayment,” the change came from an audit of a partnership under the Bipartisan Budget Act rules. The IRM tells staff to explain that the audit has ended, either through Appeals or because the time to appeal has run out, and to ask you to pay the amount owed. For details on the assessment, contact the partnership representative for the year on the notice.

What people mistake the CP210 and CP220 for

Some owners read a CP210 or CP220 as a first audit letter. It is not. The notice reports a change the IRS already made to the account.

Others confuse the CP220 with the CP220J. The CP220J is a different notice: it bills an employer shared responsibility payment under the Affordable Care Act. If the corner of your notice says CP220J, use that page instead.

Some owners also do not remember asking for a change. The IRS page says to call the number on the notice to find out what the IRS received.

Common Questions