Success Story: How I Got My Years-Old IRS Lock-In Letter Removed

I wanted to share a positive experience I just had dealing with an old IRS lock-in letter that's been haunting me for years. After discovering this issue was still active with my employer, I came here last week looking for advice on how to get it removed. Some amazing folks here pointed me to the exact IRS information I needed, including the specific number to call. Today I finally got around to making that call. I was mentally prepared for a nightmare, but surprisingly it wasn't too bad! After being on hold for about 75 minutes (typical IRS wait time I guess), I finally reached a real person. The agent was actually pretty reasonable and agreed that I've been tax compliant for several years now. The whole conversation once I got through only took about 7-8 minutes. She said they'll be sending official release letters to both me and my employer removing the lock-in restrictions. I did get a mini-lecture about making sure I stay compliant with filing and paying on time to prevent this from happening again, but it wasn't harsh at all. For anyone dealing with the same issue, don't be intimidated! It's fixable and the process was much more straightforward than I expected. Big thanks to this community for being such an incredible resource for navigating these tricky tax situations!

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21 comments

Luca Romano

•8M

You did exactly the right thing by following through with a direct call. Lock-in letters (technically called "Withholding Compliance Letters") are issued when the IRS determines that you've had significant underwithholding in the past. They basically force your employer to withhold at a higher rate by restricting your ability to claim exemptions on your W-4. The good news is that once you've demonstrated a pattern of compliance (usually 2-3 years of proper filing and payment), the IRS is generally willing to release these restrictions. The key is making direct contact with the Withholding Compliance Unit, which you did. For others reading this who might be facing a similar situation, you'll want to call the specific Withholding Compliance Program number at 855-839-2227. Make sure you have your past few years of tax records handy to demonstrate your compliance history.

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Luca Romano

•8M

The IRS typically looks for at least 2 full tax years of demonstrated compliance before they'll consider removing a lock-in letter. If you've been compliant since 2022, you're getting close to that threshold but might want to wait until after you've filed your 2024 return in 2025 to make the call. When you do call, be sure to emphasize your consistent compliance since the lock-in was issued and politely request a review of your withholding status. Having specific dates and documentation of your timely filings and full payments since then will strengthen your case considerably.

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Mateo Hernandez

•8M

I just wanted to share my experience with tax document issues. I was completely overwhelmed trying to sort through years of tax problems until I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai). They specialize in exactly this kind of situation - confusing tax letters and notices from the IRS. After struggling with a lock-in letter myself, I uploaded my documents to their system and got a super clear explanation of what I was dealing with and the exact steps needed to resolve it. Their AI analyzed everything and gave me a personalized action plan that worked perfectly. They even explained which IRS number would be most effective to call for my specific situation. It saved me hours of research and probably prevented me from making mistakes that would have extended the problem.

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Mateo Hernandez

•8M

They don't just give you information you could Google - they analyze your specific documents and situation to provide personalized guidance. The service identified that my lock-in letter had actually expired based on specific language in my documents that I had completely missed, which saved me from an unnecessary call to the IRS. The process is super simple - you just take photos or upload PDFs of your tax documents, and their AI analyzes everything. It extracts all the important details and explains them in plain English, then gives you specific steps based on your unique situation. I was skeptical too, but it actually works really well - especially for complicated IRS notices where the official language is hard to interpret.

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Aisha Khan

•8M

Update on my situation - I tried taxr.ai after posting my question and I'm honestly shocked how helpful it was. I had a lock-in letter from 2021 that I thought was still active. After uploading my letter to the site, it immediately spotted something I missed completely - there was language indicating the restriction would automatically terminate after 24 months of compliance! The site explained exactly what that meant in plain English and gave me the exact paragraph in IRS procedures to reference when calling. When I called the IRS, I mentioned this specific policy, and the agent confirmed I was right. Would have never caught this on my own. They also gave me a checklist of documents to have ready before making the call, which made the whole process go much smoother. Saved me so much stress!

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Ethan Taylor

•8M

If you're still having trouble reaching someone at the IRS about your lock-in letter (or any other tax issue), you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was struggling with this exact same issue last year and spent DAYS trying to get through the IRS phone system with no luck. After my fifth attempt waiting on hold for over 2 hours only to get disconnected, I was ready to give up. Then I found Claimyr - they basically wait on hold with the IRS for you and call you back when they reach a real person. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I was super skeptical at first, but when they called me back with an IRS agent on the line after handling the 2+ hour wait for me, I was completely sold. The agent removed my lock-in letter during that call and I received confirmation within a week.

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Ethan Taylor

•8M

The IRS doesn't know someone else waited for you - the service just navigates the phone tree and waits through the hold time. When they reach a real person, you get a call and are connected directly to the IRS agent. You're the one who speaks with the IRS and provides all your personal information - Claimyr just handles the awful hold time. I had the exact same concern about security. The service doesn't actually get any of your tax information. They're just holding your place in line. When they connect you, it's a direct call between you and the IRS agent - you're the one who verifies your identity and discusses your tax situation. I wouldn't have used it if it required sharing my sensitive information.

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Carmen Lopez

•8M

I have to eat my words here. After my skeptical comment, I decided to try Claimyr anyway because I was desperate after trying to reach the IRS for weeks about my lock-in letter situation. This morning I used the service, and I'm completely shocked - it actually worked exactly as advertised. Instead of wasting another day on hold, I submitted my request and got a text when they were nearing the front of the queue. When my phone rang, I was connected directly to an IRS agent who helped remove my lock-in letter. The whole process from my end took maybe 10 minutes total. I was so wrong about this. My letter is being processed for removal now, and I didn't have to share any personal information with anyone except the actual IRS agent. Just wanted to update since I was so publicly skeptical before.

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Zara Rashid

•8M

They asked for my full name, address, date of birth, and Social Security Number for identity verification. Then they wanted to confirm the tax years that were affected by the lock-in letter and verify that I had been filing and paying on time since the letter was issued. They also asked me to explain why I believed I was now compliant and eligible for removal of the lock-in letter. Having my recent tax transcripts handy definitely helped speed up the process, as I could reference exactly when I had filed and paid for the last few years.

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Savannah Glover

•5M

Congratulations on getting this resolved! Your story gives me hope - I've been putting off dealing with my own lock-in letter for months because I was dreading the IRS phone call. The 75-minute wait time doesn't sound fun, but knowing it's actually fixable and that the agents can be reasonable makes me feel much more confident about tackling this. I'm curious - did you need to provide any specific documentation during the call, or was it mostly just verbal verification of your compliance history? I want to make sure I have everything ready before I make the call so I don't waste that wait time only to find out I'm missing something important. Thanks for sharing your success story and for giving back to the community that helped you!

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Ava Hernandez

•1M

Hey Savannah! I'm so glad this post gave you some encouragement - that's exactly why I wanted to share it. You're absolutely right to feel more confident about tackling this now. For documentation, I didn't need to provide anything upfront during the call itself - it was mostly verbal verification. The agent asked me to confirm my personal details (SSN, address, etc.) and then had me walk through my filing history for the past few years. She could see my compliance record on her end, so I just needed to verbally confirm the dates when I filed and that payments were made on time. That said, I'd definitely recommend having your tax transcripts or at least your filing dates handy just in case they ask for specifics. I had mine pulled up on the IRS website while we talked, which made me feel more prepared even though I didn't end up needing to reference them much. The wait time is definitely the worst part, but honestly once you get through, the actual conversation goes pretty quickly. You've got this! The relief afterwards is so worth it.

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Carmen Ortiz

•22d

This is exactly the kind of success story we need more of here! I've been dealing with a lock-in letter for about 18 months now and have been putting off calling because I assumed it would be a nightmare. Your experience makes it sound much more manageable than I thought. Quick question - when you called the Withholding Compliance Unit, did you have to explain your whole history of why you got the lock-in letter in the first place, or did they focus more on your recent compliance? I'm worried they'll want to rehash all the details from years ago when I was going through a difficult financial period. Also, do you happen to remember if there were any specific hours when the wait times might be shorter? 75 minutes isn't terrible considering what I was expecting, but if there are better times to call I'd love to know! Thanks again for sharing this - it's really motivating to know there's light at the end of the tunnel.

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Luca Bianchi

•3d

I had a very similar experience! The agent was surprisingly focused on my recent compliance rather than dwelling on the past issues that led to the lock-in letter. She briefly acknowledged that there had been underwithholding problems previously, but spent most of our time discussing how I'd been filing and paying on time for the last few years. It felt much more forward-looking than I expected. As for timing, I called around 10 AM on a Tuesday and waited about 75 minutes. From what I've read on other tax forums, mid-week mornings tend to be better than Mondays or Fridays. I avoided calling right after any major tax deadlines too, since I figured those would be their busiest times. The hardest part really is just making yourself dial the number. Once you're actually talking to someone, they seem to understand that people can get back on track after difficult periods. Good luck with your call - you're going to feel so much better once this is behind you!

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