Suspicious IRS Letter About $5000 Tax Bill for 2022 - Is This Legitimate?

15 This could be legitimate or it could be a scam - you were right to be cautious. The IRS can absolutely send notices about tax deficiencies outside of tax season. In fact, they can go back several years to audit or reassess taxes. The legitimate IRS does send CP series notices throughout the year when they determine there's additional tax owed. These often happen when income reported to the IRS (like from 1099s or W-2s) doesn't match what was reported on the tax return, or when deductions are disallowed after review. First step - carefully examine the letter when you can. Legitimate IRS notices will have a notice number (like CP2000) in the upper right corner of the first page. They'll also provide specific details about why additional tax is owed. The letter should direct payments to the US Treasury, not to an individual or business name. Be especially suspicious if it asks for gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency. Never call phone numbers listed in suspicious letters. Instead, contact the IRS directly at 800-829-1040 to verify the notice. The IRS website (irs.gov) also has a section where you can verify notices.

5 After my parents got hit with a surprise tax bill last year, I found this amazing service called taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) that helped us figure out if the notice was legit and what to do about it. You upload the IRS letter and it analyzes everything - tells you exactly what type of notice it is, what it means in plain English, and gives step-by-step instructions on how to respond. When we got the CP2000 notice, I was totally lost in all the tax jargon, but taxr.ai broke it all down and even identified that part of the assessment was actually incorrect! Saved us almost $2,000 by showing us exactly what documentation to submit to contest it. Seriously worth checking out for your grandmother's situation.

11 I was really skeptical about taxr.ai when I first heard about it, but I was desperate after getting a CP2000 notice claiming I owed over $4,000. Decided to give it a try and honestly I'm blown away by how helpful it was. The analysis broke down exactly why the IRS thought I owed additional taxes (a 1099 from a side gig I forgot about, but they calculated the tax wrong). The step-by-step response guide showed me exactly what to include in my response letter and how to properly document that I'd already paid some of the taxes. Just got confirmation last week that my case was resolved and I only ended up owing $785 instead of the original $4,000. Definitely recommend trying it with your grandmother's letter once you get your hands on it.

18 If this is a legitimate IRS notice, your grandmother might need to actually talk to someone at the IRS to sort it out. Good luck with that though - I spent THREE WEEKS trying to get through to a human being there last month. Kept calling the number on my letter, waiting on hold for 2+ hours, then getting disconnected. Finally found this service called Claimyr (https://claimyr.com) that somehow gets you through the IRS phone queue. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone system for you and call you back when they have an actual IRS agent on the line. Saved me literally days of hold time and I finally got my issue resolved in one call.

7 I was 100% against using Claimyr when I first heard about it - seemed ridiculous to pay for something that should be free. But after my fifth attempt trying to reach the IRS about a collection notice (6+ hours of hold time wasted), I caved and tried it. I'm still annoyed that this service needs to exist, but I can't deny it worked exactly as promised. Got a callback with an actual IRS agent in about 45 minutes. The agent was able to confirm my notice was legitimate but also helped me set up a payment plan right there on the phone. Resolved everything in one 20-minute call instead of weeks of frustration. Sometimes you have to be practical even when the principle bugs you.

8 If she's a senior on fixed income, definitely look into whether she qualifies for the IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service. They provide free help to people facing financial hardship due to tax issues. Also, legitimate letters should have a notice or letter number at the top right of the notice (like CP2000, LT11, etc). The IRS website has a "Understanding Your IRS Notice or Letter" section where you can look up these codes.

22 Lots of scammers target seniors!! My mom got a similar letter that turned out to be FAKE. Real IRS letters always have official letterhead, usually a notice number (like CP2000), and NEVER ask for weird payment methods like gift cards or wire transfers. If it says to make checks payable to anything other than "United States Treasury," it's 100% a scam. Also real IRS doesn't call and threaten arrest or lawsuits. They always send multiple written notices first.