Received CP3219A Notice of Deficiency - Do I need to do anything else after paying online?

I've helped several clients through this exact situation. Let me walk you through handling a CP3219A notice properly. The CP3219A is a Notice of Deficiency, which is actually a more serious notice than the CP2000 you never received. The CP2000 is a proposed assessment that gives you time to respond, while the CP3219A is the IRS formally saying "we're assessing this tax" - it's the last step before they can legally collect. Regarding your questions: 1. When you pay through Direct Pay, you can select "Notice" as the reason for payment and enter the notice number. This will properly apply the payment to your case. 2. Interest is calculated from the original due date of the return until you pay in full. The penalty section may be blank because they're still calculating final amounts. Typically, you'll face a failure-to-pay penalty of 0.5% per month (up to 25% total) plus interest (currently around 7% annually). On $2,550 from 2018, you could be looking at roughly $500-700 in combined penalties and interest. 3. You should still return the response form (Form 5564) indicating you agree with the assessment. Even though you're paying online, mail the form to the address on the notice. This creates a paper trail showing you've acknowledged and accepted the assessment. The most efficient approach is to pay online immediately to stop additional interest, then mail in the response form to properly close the case in their system.

I've been in similar situations where the IRS says I owe money and it's nearly impossible to get through on the phone. I started using https://taxr.ai to analyze notices like this and it's been super helpful. When I got a CP3219A last year, I uploaded the document to taxr.ai and it explained exactly what I was being charged for, what the penalties would likely be (even though they weren't listed on my notice either), and the exact steps I needed to take. The tool broke down what income sources the IRS was adjusting (in my case it was unreported 1099 income) and even calculated what my penalties and interest would probably be. It saved me hours of research and confusion, and I knew exactly what to expect before I made my payment. Honestly, without this I'd have probably paid the wrong amount or forgotten to send in the response form, which would have caused more headaches down the road.

I just wanted to follow up about my experience with taxr.ai after trying it with my CP3219A notice. I was really confused about why I was being hit with an additional $3,800 tax bill, and the IRS letter was super vague. After uploading my notice to the site, it identified exactly what triggered the adjustment - turns out the IRS had received a 1099-K from PayPal for my side business that didn't match what I reported. The analysis showed me the specific numbers the IRS was using and even calculated that I'd be facing about $740 in penalties and interest on top of the tax amount. The most helpful part was that it gave me a checklist of exactly what to do next, including which forms to return and how to make the payment. I was able to handle everything in one afternoon instead of stressing for weeks. Definitely worth checking out if you're stuck with one of these notices and can't get through to the IRS.

If you're still struggling to reach someone at the IRS to discuss your notice, I'd recommend trying https://claimyr.com instead of wasting hours on hold. I had a similar issue with a CP3219A notice last year and couldn't get through after multiple attempts. Claimyr basically holds your place in the IRS phone queue and calls you back when an agent is about to answer. I was skeptical at first, but after being hung up on by the IRS automated system four times, I gave it a try. Got connected to an IRS agent within a day, and they helped me understand exactly what I needed to do with my notice. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c The IRS agent I spoke with was actually really helpful once I finally got through. They explained that I needed to both pay online AND mail back the response form, and they gave me a direct number to call if I had any follow-up questions. Saved me a ton of stress.

I just wanted to update about my experience with Claimyr after being so skeptical. I decided to try it as a last resort after spending another 3 hours on hold with the IRS yesterday and getting disconnected again. Honestly, I was shocked that it actually worked. I signed up yesterday afternoon, and this morning I got a call connecting me to an actual IRS representative. The whole process took maybe 2 minutes from getting the call to speaking with an agent. The agent confirmed everything that was mentioned here - I needed to both pay online AND return the form, and they were able to tell me exactly how much the penalties and interest would be ($612 in my case, on top of the tax amount). They also noted in my account that I never received the CP2000 notice and suggested I apply for penalty abatement after paying. I'm still processing that I wasted 10+ hours trying to call them myself when this service got me through in basically no time. Just wanted to share since I was the skeptic earlier.

Don't forget about the 90-day window! This is really important with a CP3219A notice. You have 90 days from the date of the notice to either pay/agree OR file a petition with the Tax Court if you disagree. If you do nothing within that 90-day window, the IRS will automatically assess the tax and you lose your right to challenge it in Tax Court before paying. Based on what you're saying, it sounds like you agree with the assessment, but just be aware of that timeline. Also, one thing that hasn't been mentioned - if paying the full amount would cause financial hardship, you can apply for a payment plan on the IRS website. Interest and some penalties will continue to accrue, but it's better than ignoring it.

I just want to caution you about one thing - make sure the CP3219A is legitimate before paying anything! There are a lot of scams out there. Double check the phone number against the official IRS website (not just Google), and never pay through gift cards or wire transfers. Real IRS notices have a notice number in the upper right corner, and you can verify it by creating an account on irs.gov and checking your account transactions. If you're at all unsure, you can also request your wage and income transcript from the IRS website to verify what income they have on file for you for 2018.

Just wanted to add my experience with CP3219A notices since I've dealt with a few of these over the years helping family members. One thing that often gets overlooked is that you should make a copy of everything before you mail it back - the Form 5564, the notice itself, and any payment confirmations. Also, when you pay online through Direct Pay, print out the confirmation page immediately. The IRS payment system sometimes has glitches where payments don't show up in their system for several days, and having that confirmation number can save you a lot of headaches if there are any questions later. I'd also suggest sending the Form 5564 via certified mail with a return receipt. It only costs a few extra dollars, but you'll have proof that the IRS received your response within the 90-day window. This becomes really important if there are any disputes later about whether you responded on time. The good news is that once you pay and submit the form, this should be resolved fairly quickly. Most people I've helped have seen their account updated within 2-3 weeks of payment, and the case gets closed out completely.