Long story short - I got a Notice CP23 from IRS claiming that we had not paid enough in taxes in 2024, and that they were charging a penalty and interest. I was sure they were wrong, checked my records, and confirmed. I then went to my account on IRS.gov, and their summary of my account showed the correct number and amount of tax payments, and a reversal of the penalty and interest charges.
After a loooong time on hold today, I spoke to someone at IRS who confirmed that we owe nothing. They said they could transfer me to someone who could send us a payout letter showing a zero balance, but when I was transferred that person had no idea what I was talking about and didn’t know who to send me to for such a thing.
So - because I like to document stuff like this, I’d like to send a letter to the IRS confirming the actions I took, documenting the “missing” payments from the CP23, and essentially stating, “based on all this I owe you nothing.” I feel better when stuff is in writing.
The problem is that I can’t find a mailing address for correspondence of this sort. There was none on the CP23, I can find none on the IRS web site, and my web searches have come up dry. Does anyone know where I can find such an address? Should I just send a letter to my local Taxpayer Assistance Center? Any other suggestions for closing this loop?
Contact your House of Representatives member. They will tell you how/where to send the letter - probably through a form on their website or else mailed to an office address - and they will forward it to the IRS.
Are you sure this was a real communication from the IRS? Was it email or a text or a hardcopy? The fact that your irs.gov account showed you were all paid up is suspicious.
I’m a TaxAide volunteer and all the IRS correspondence I’ve seen lists their mailing address:
…
If you disagree with the changes we made
By mail: Send your response to the address shown in the “What to do if you disagree with our changes” section of your notice. Please include a copy of the notice along with your correspondence or documentation and allow 30-60 or more days for a resolution.
OTOH, the IRS is a real mess these days, with layoffs, firings and the shutdown and I suppose its possible they aren’t proofreading their correspondence too carefully. If there really is no return address on the letter, I’d call the Taxpayer Advocate and ask them for the address, but I wouldn’t count on the Advocate Center forwarding any of your documents to them.
Legitimate IRS communications always includes the mailing address. Always. And they don’t send such things by email. Or phone you.
Even now, with the Trump-induced chaos & short staffing at the IRS, they are most likely to just be copying & re-using standard form-notices as used for previous taxpayers, which would have mailing addresses for replies.
It is a legit IRS mailing (hard-copy; not electronic). My account statement shows the issue of said notice, along with subsequent corrections about the amounts involved. There’s a return address on the envelope, so in the absence of anything else I’ll use that.
I am not super-worried that anything else is going to happen; it looks like it was something like a clerical error or system glitch. I have just always liked to document phone conversations and such, so wanted to do the same here. Possibly a bit of a belt-and-suspenders thing, especially since everything I can access at irs.gov shows us in the clear. It’s just the way I work.
