CP90C Notice: The IRS Levied a Federal Contractor Payment, and You Can Ask for a Hearing
By Forrest Baumhover, CFP®, EA · Last verified October 29, 2026
A CP90C says the IRS has already levied a federal payment owed to you as a federal contractor. The law lets the IRS levy first and offer the hearing afterward. You can still ask for that hearing.
If you got this letter
Got a CP90C in the Mail?
The IRS has levied federal payments owed to you, so it can take them to pay a tax debt. The notice tells you that and gives you a right to a hearing.
If you disagree, file Form 12153 by the date on your notice. You can upload it with the IRS Document Upload Tool and the access code on your notice, or mail it to the address on the notice.
To resolve the debt, pay it, set up a payment plan, or make an offer in compromise. Call the number on your notice.
What a CP90C says
The IRS CP90C page says, “We levied your assets for unpaid taxes and are informing you of your right to a Collection Due Process hearing.” A levy means the IRS takes property or money to pay a tax debt.
IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4 explains where the levy comes from. When an account carries a federal contractor marker, the Federal Payment Levy Program can send a levy to the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service. That levy reaches federal payments other than Social Security or railroad retirement benefits. The program then sends a CP90C to an individual, or a CP297C to a business. If your business holds the contract, the business gets the CP297C version.
The levy does not end with one payment. The IRM says the program serves the levy even when it finds no federal payment yet, so that a matching federal payment later meets the levy when the government pays it.
Why the IRS levied before it warned you
Most levies need a hearing notice first. The CP90C page explains the exception: “We’re permitted to issue levies to federal contractors without providing prior Collection Due Process rights under Internal Revenue Code 6330(f).”
The statute says that when the IRS “has served a Federal contractor levy,” the pre-levy rule does not apply. Instead, the IRS must offer you the hearing “within a reasonable period of time after the levy.” IRC §6330(h)(2) defines a federal contractor levy as “any levy if the person whose property is subject to the levy (or any predecessor thereof) is a Federal contractor.”
Federal contractor levies are one of four exceptions in §6330(f). The others cover a levy when collection is in jeopardy, a levy on a state tax refund, and a disqualified employment tax levy.
The IRS sent an earlier notice. IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4 says these levies come only after the IRS issues a CP504, which meets the advance-notice rule in IRC §6331(d).
How to ask for the hearing
The CP90C page says to request a Collection Due Process hearing on Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing. Send it by the date on your notice. Keep the notice: it carries the access code and the address you need for the request. You can upload it with the Document Upload Tool and the access code on your notice, or mail it to the address on the notice.
The page says the hearing lets you “appeal the levy and address any other issues you may have with your tax situation.” IRM 5.11.1.6.2 adds that you can ask the Tax Court to review the decision that comes out of the post-levy hearing.
You do not have to wait for the hearing to work on the debt. The CP90C page says you can call the number on your notice to resolve it by paying the tax bill, entering an installment agreement or proposing an offer in compromise.
At the hearing you can propose a way to pay. Our collection alternatives router compares installment agreements, offers in compromise and currently-not-collectible status.
What people mistake a CP90C for
Many people mistake it for a CP90. The CP90 is a warning before a levy, with a hearing right. The CP90C comes after the levy. IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4 calls the CP90C a post-levy notice.
Others think a hearing request stops the levy. For federal contractor levies, it may not. IRM 5.11.1.6.3 says the IRS can serve a federal contractor levy during a timely requested hearing, or during the court review that follows.
Some people confuse it with the CP91 or CP298, which warn about a levy on Social Security benefits. The federal contractor levy behind a CP90C reaches other federal payments, not Social Security or railroad retirement benefits.
For tax professionals
On the transcript, the levy posts as a TC 971 with action code 677, and the notice posts a TC 971 AC 069, per IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4. The federal contractor marker is TC 971 AC 647 on the entity, and IRM 5.11.1.6.2 says only the federal contractor may appear on the levy. If a client does not know why the IRS treats them as a federal contractor, raise it at the hearing.
IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4 says the program leaves married-filing-jointly modules out of these automated levies. Check the module before you assume a joint debt drove the levy.
The CP90C page also flags passports: it warns that an unpaid debt may keep you from getting or renewing a U.S. passport.
Common Questions
Why didn’t the IRS warn me before the levy?
IRC §6330(f) lets the IRS levy a federal contractor first and offer the hearing afterward. The CP90C page says so. You likely got a CP504 earlier.
How do I ask for a hearing?
File Form 12153 by the date on your notice, through the Document Upload Tool with your access code or by mail to the address on the notice.
Will the hearing stop more levies?
Not always. Under IRM 5.11.1.6.3, the IRS can serve a federal contractor levy during a timely requested hearing. The CP90C page says you can resolve the issue by paying, by entering an installment agreement, or by proposing an offer in compromise.
Does the CP90C levy take Social Security?
No. IRM 5.19.9.4.3.4 says this levy covers federal payments other than Social Security or railroad retirement benefits.