LT36: The IRS Letter Sent to Federal Employees and Retirees

What the letter actually is

LT36 is a letter IRS Collection created in May 2025, working with Treasury and IRS Counsel, to support the Federal Employee/Retiree Delinquency Initiative (FERDI). The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) describes its purpose plainly: it "encourages a federal employee or retiree to voluntarily resolve their outstanding tax obligations," and it directs recipients to self-service tools, including IRS Online Account access, electronic payment options, and electronic filing resources.

The IRS mailed it to federal employees and retirees whose accounts had an outstanding balance or a delinquent return and who had not established a commitment to resolve the problem. A balance due and a missing return are both enough — you can receive it without owing anything if the issue is an unfiled return.

Who got it, and how many

The widely repeated figure is 525,000 letters. TIGTA's report says something narrower. The IRS's initial analysis identified about 525,000 current or retired federal employees who were noncompliant as of April 30, 2025 — that is the population it looked at. Before mailing, it removed people who were under criminal investigation, in a combat zone, in bankruptcy, or already on a payment plan, among other exclusions. Mailing began June 13, 2025, and approximately 427,000 letters had been sent by July 14, 2025.

TIGTA also reports that IRS Collection management described LT36 as a one-time reminder and said it does not anticipate using the letter again. So if a letter carrying this code reaches you, it is most likely from that 2025 mailing. If one arrives outside that window, read the body of your own letter rather than assuming it matches this description.

What LT36 gets confused with

LT36 is not a Notice of Intent to Levy and it does not give you Collection Due Process rights. Before the IRS levies, the law requires written notice of your right to a hearing (IRC 6330), and IRM 5.19.18 tells IRS staff to issue an LT11 where the hearing-notice requirement for a balance has not been met. That final notice is the one that opens the 30-day window to request a hearing — not LT36.

It is also not the first bill. A balance due normally runs through the CP14 and reminder sequence and then the CP504 before a final notice. LT36 sits alongside that sequence as a compliance nudge aimed at one population, not as a replacement step in it.

Why federal employees are treated differently

FERDI dates to 1993. IRM 5.19.18 says the program incorporates 5 CFR 2635.809, the ethics regulation directing executive-branch employees to satisfy in good faith their obligations as citizens, "especially" federal, state, or local taxes. The IRM identifies FERDI taxpayers by matching Social Security numbers on individual balance-due and return-delinquency accounts against Office of Personnel Management, Department of Defense, and Postal Service personnel files. Survivors' annuities are excluded.

The practical difference is collection mechanics. The IRM states that FERDI taxpayers receive federal payments that are subject to a 15 percent continuous levy through the Federal Payment Levy Program, with exceptions for active-duty military, National Guard and Reservists, military retirees receiving disability payments, and Medal of Honor recipients. On a joint account, the FERDI indicator posts to the primary Social Security number regardless of which spouse is the federal employee or retiree.

What to do with one

Check the account first. Your IRS Online Account shows any balance and the filing status the IRS has on record. If a balance is real, a payment or an installment agreement resolves the immediate pressure; if the problem is an unfiled return, file it. If the record is wrong — a payment misapplied, a return already filed, an account that is not yours — respond in writing with proof and keep a copy.

For where a balance sits in the wider collection sequence, and which notices carry real deadlines, the Collections hub lays out the order. Anyone whose balance has already reached a final notice should read the LT11 guide above next, because that is the letter with a clock on it.

Where this comes from

Every LT36-specific fact on this page comes from the TIGTA report (Report 2026-3S0-023, May 6, 2026, pp. 9-10), which is the only primary source that describes the letter. The program rules come from IRM 5.19.18, and the pre-levy hearing right from IRC 6330. The IRS has not published a plain-language page for LT36, so the letter's exact wording is not reproduced here.

Common Questions