IRS Tax Resolution Glossary
Understand the key terms and concepts used in IRS tax resolution. From OIC to CSED, we break down the jargon so you can make informed decisions.
Accuracy-Related Penalty
A penalty for underpaying the tax shown on a return. Two common forms: negligence, and substantially understating income tax.
Alter-Ego Lien
A notice of lien filed against property held by an entity the IRS treats as indistinguishable from the taxpayer. It is appealable under the Collection Appeals Program.
Automated Collection System (ACS)
The IRS collection operation that issues the LT-series letters. It is a call-centre-and-notice function rather than an assigned officer.
Automatic Stay
The bankruptcy filing itself stops most IRS collection action immediately. It pauses collection — it does not erase the debt, and some IRS actions are excepted.
Certificate of Non-Attachment of Federal Tax Lien
A certificate saying a filed federal tax lien does not attach to a particular person — for someone with a similar name who is not the taxpayer.
Certificate of Release of Federal Tax Lien
The document releasing the lien after the debt is paid. The IRS states it releases within 30 days of full payment.
Collection Appeals Program (CAP)
An appeal route covering liens, levies, seizures and installment agreement decisions. Several different clocks apply depending on what you are appealing — check which one is yours. An Appeals decision after CAP is binding and cannot itself be taken to court, though the IRS says other review routes may remain for the underlying issue.
Collection Appeals Program Decision
A CAP decision binds both sides and cannot be taken to court. That is the trade against how fast it is.
Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing
An appeal heard before the IRS levies, available only on notices that carry the right. Requested on Form 12153 within the window your notice states — miss it and the fallback hearing cannot be taken to Tax Court.
Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED)
The date after which the IRS can no longer legally collect a tax debt, typically 10 years from assessment.
Currently Not Collectible (CNC)
An IRS status granted when a taxpayer cannot afford to pay their tax debt without causing financial hardship.
Direct Debit Installment Agreement (DDIA)
A long-term IRS payment plan paid by automatic monthly bank debit. It carries the lowest setup fee and can support a lien withdrawal request.
Doubt as to Collectibility
The offer in compromise basis for someone whose assets and income are not enough to pay the full liability. It is one of several bases, and the IRS decides which applies.
Doubt as to Liability
The offer in compromise route for disputing that you owe the tax at all. It uses a different form from every other basis — Form 656-L, not Form 656.
Economic Hardship
A determination the IRS makes, not a status you file for. It is defined against basic, reasonable living expenses.
Effective Tax Administration (ETA)
An offer in compromise basis for someone who could pay in full but where doing so would cause hardship or would be inequitable. It comes in two forms.
Enrolled Agent (EA)
A federally-licensed tax professional authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS.
Equivalent Hearing
What you get if the CDP request was late. It gives you a hearing and takes away three things the CDP hearing has.
Failure to Deposit Penalty
An employer penalty on employment tax deposits. The rates step up with lateness, and they replace each other rather than stack.
Failure to File Penalty
A penalty for filing late, charged monthly against the tax due and capped at a quarter of it.
Failure to Pay Penalty
A penalty for paying late, charged monthly on the unpaid tax and capped at a quarter of it. The rate changes if you are on a payment plan.
Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP)
A program under which the IRS can generally seize up to 15% of federal payments. It does not apply to private-employer wages.
First-Time Penalty Abatement (FTA)
An IRS administrative waiver that removes failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties for first-time offenders.
Form 12153 (Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing)
The form used to request a Collection Due Process hearing. It is the CDP route, not the CAP route — and it only applies if your notice carries CDP rights.
Form 12256 (Withdrawal of Request for Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing)
The form that withdraws a hearing request. Signing it gives up the Tax Court route the CDP hearing carried.
Form 12277 (Application for Withdrawal of Filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien)
The form that asks the IRS to withdraw a filed lien notice. It lists five grounds, and being on a direct debit installment agreement is one of them.
Form 1310 (Statement of Person Claiming Refund Due a Deceased Taxpayer)
Claims a refund on behalf of someone who died before receiving it. Not needed at all in the two most common situations — a joint return, or an appointed representative filing the original return.
Form 13711 (Request for Appeal of Offer in Compromise)
The form for appealing a rejected offer in compromise. A separate route from the collection appeals a lien or levy uses.
Form 13844 (Application for Reduced User Fee for Installment Agreements)
Applies for low-income status on an installment agreement, which reduces the setup fee and may waive or reimburse it. A separate form from the installment agreement request itself.
Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit)
Reports that someone else used your identity on a federal tax matter. Do not file it twice for the same incident, and it is not the form for a misused SSN by a parent or guardian.
Form 14134 (Application for Certificate of Subordination of Federal Tax Lien)
The form that asks the IRS to let another creditor move ahead of its lien. The lien stays; its position changes.
Form 14135 (Application for Certificate of Discharge of Property from Federal Tax Lien)
The form that asks the IRS to release the lien from one specific piece of property, usually so a sale can complete.
Form 433-A/433-B
IRS financial disclosure forms used to evaluate your ability to pay tax debts.
Form 433-D (Installment Agreement)
The form that formalizes an approved installment agreement — the payment amount, due date, and (if elected) direct debit authorization the IRS signs off on.
Form 433-F (Collection Information Statement)
The shortest of the three Collection Information Statements. It is the one CP522 asks for, and the IRS says not to mail that one.
Form 433-H (Installment Agreement Request and Collection Information Statement)
A combined installment agreement request and financial statement for wage earners. The IRS directs you to it when a proposed monthly amount does not meet its requirements.
Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return)
The paper route to any transcript type. Useful mainly where the online account is not available.
Form 656
The official IRS application form for submitting an Offer in Compromise.
Form 656-L (Offer in Compromise, Doubt as to Liability)
The offer form for disputing that you owe the tax at all. No application fee, no deposit, and a different form from the ability-to-pay offer.
Form 668-A (Notice of Levy on a Bank or Third Party)
The levy form served on a bank or other third party. Unlike a wage levy it attaches once, to what was there when it arrived.
Form 668-W (Notice of Levy on Wages, Salary, and Other Income)
The levy form the IRS serves on an employer. It is continuous — it keeps taking from each pay period until one of three things happens.
Form 668(Y) (Notice of Federal Tax Lien)
The public document the IRS files to alert creditors that a federal tax lien exists. The lien and the notice of it are two different things.
Form 8379 (Injured Spouse Allocation)
Gets back your share of a joint refund that was, or will be, applied to your spouse's past-due debt. Not the same relief as innocent spouse — different form, different question.
Form 843 (Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement)
The written route to penalty relief, and to disputing interest caused by an IRS error or delay. One form, several unrelated uses.
Form 8821 (Tax Information Authorization)
Lets someone inspect or receive your confidential tax information. It does not let them represent you or act on your behalf — that is Form 2848.
Form 8857 (Request for Innocent Spouse Relief)
The form that requests innocent spouse relief. It has its own filing deadline, and by law the IRS must notify the other spouse — with no exception, including for abuse.
Form 911 (Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance)
The request form for Taxpayer Advocate Service help — for a tax problem causing financial difficulty, an unresolved IRS delay, or a system that is not working as it should.
Form 9423 (Collection Appeal Request)
The form used to request a Collection Appeals Program review. Which deadline applies depends on what you are appealing — a lien or levy, a seizure, or an installment agreement decision each run on a different clock.
Form 9465 (Installment Agreement Request)
The paper route to a payment plan. The IRS points to the online application first, and states that route is cheaper.
Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)
A six-digit number that must be entered on your return to file it. Anyone who can verify their identity can enroll — it is not limited to identity theft victims.
Information Return Penalties
Two separate penalties — one for the return, one for the payee statement — charged per document, on a schedule that steps up with lateness.
Innocent Spouse Relief
Relief from tax your spouse understated on a joint return. It is narrower than the name suggests — five categories of tax are excluded by name.
Installment Agreement
A payment plan that allows you to pay your tax debt over time in monthly installments.
IRC Section 6330
The statute creating the right to a hearing before levy — and the 30-day window to request one, which is a real deadline.
IRC Section 6331
The statute giving the IRS authority to levy, and requiring at least 30 days written notice before it does.
IRS Independent Office of Appeals
The part of the IRS that resolves disputes without litigation. It is separate from the Collection function whose decision you are disputing.
IRS Notice
Official correspondence from the IRS regarding your tax account, such as balance due, adjustments, or collection actions.
Levy Exempt Amounts
The part of your wages a levy cannot take. It is a dollar amount based on the standard deduction and dependents — not a percentage of your paycheck.
Levy Release
The IRS states a wage levy MUST be released where it causes immediate economic hardship, and a bank levy MAY be. The two verbs are different and both are the IRS's.
Lien Discharge
Removes the federal tax lien from one specific piece of property.
Lien Notice CDP Window
The hearing clock after a lien filing runs in two stages: five business days for the IRS to notify, then thirty days for you.
Lien Subordination
Does not remove the lien, but lets another creditor move ahead of the IRS in priority.
Lien vs. Levy
A lien secures the government's interest in your property. A levy actually takes it.
Lien Withdrawal
Removes the public Notice of Federal Tax Lien from the record. You still owe the debt.
Nominee Lien
A notice of lien filed against property held in someone else's name for the taxpayer's benefit. Like an alter-ego lien, it is appealable under CAP.
Notice of Federal Tax Lien (NFTL)
A public notice to your creditors that the IRS has a right to your assets. The IRS states no timetable for filing one.
Notice of Intent to Levy
The notice required by IRC §6331(d) — the CP504 kind. Check your notice: if its title also says "Notice of Your Right to a Hearing," you have a 30-day deadline and should read the CDP entry instead.
Notice of Seizure
The document the IRS provides or leaves when it seizes property. It starts a ten-business-day appeal clock.
Passport Certification (Revocation or Denial)
The process by which the IRS certifies a seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department, which can then deny or revoke a passport.
Penalty Abatement
The removal or reduction of IRS penalties. The IRS publishes three routes: administrative relief, reasonable cause, and statutory exception.
Power of Attorney (Form 2848)
IRS authorization form that allows a tax professional to represent you before the IRS.
Private Debt Collection
The IRS is required by law to assign certain accounts to private firms. The notice you receive is how you tell a real one from a scam.
Property Seizure
A levy carried out against physical property. Appealing after one runs on a ten-business-day clock from the Notice of Seizure.
Publication 1660
The IRS booklet on collection appeal rights, covering both Collection Due Process and the Collection Appeals Program.
Publication 594
An IRS booklet about the collection process. We have read its sections on levy exceptions and the Federal Payment Levy Program.
Reasonable Cause
The standard the IRS applies when deciding whether to remove a penalty. It is decided case by case on all the facts, so no page can tell you how yours will go.
Reasonable Collection Potential (RCP)
The IRS's assessment of what it could collect from you. It drives what an offer in compromise needs to be worth — but the IRS decides it, and no calculator settles it.
Record of Account Transcript
Combines the return transcript and the account transcript into one document. Useful when a request calls for both without saying which.
Revenue Officer
An IRS employee assigned to a specific collection case. Where there is one, the appeal route runs through their manager first.
Seriously Delinquent Tax Debt
Unpaid federal tax debt above an annually adjusted threshold — $66,000 for tax year 2026 — that also meets further conditions, and which can affect your passport.
Shared Responsibility Payment (SRP)
The amount owed for not having minimum essential health coverage. It is collected differently from income tax, and has its own installment agreement notice.
Short-Term Payment Plan
An IRS plan to pay a balance in 180 days or less, with no setup fee. Penalties and interest still accrue.
State Tax Refund Levy
One of the situations where the IRS can levy first and offer the hearing afterward.
Substitute for Return (SFR)
A return the IRS prepares for you when you do not file. It may omit deductions you were entitled to, and it starts a 90-day clock.
Tax Account Transcript
The transcript that shows what happened to an account after filing, including the collection statute date.
Tax Levy
The legal seizure of property or assets to satisfy an unpaid tax debt.
Tax Lien
A legal claim the IRS places on your property as security for unpaid tax debt.
Tax Return Transcript
The transcript of the return as filed. It does not show anything that happened afterwards, which is usually what a collection question turns on.
Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
An independent IRS organization that helps taxpayers resolve problems with the IRS.
Taxpayer Authentication Number
A ten-digit number printed on a private collection notice. It is split between you and the agency so each can prove who they are.
Third-Party Contact
The IRS contacting other people to find or verify your contact information. It states what it discloses, for how long, and that you get a list.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP)
A personal liability for unpaid withheld taxes. It reaches individuals for a business's debt, at the full amount of the trust fund tax.
Wage and Income Transcript
Shows what was reported to the IRS by employers and payers — W-2s, 1098s, 1099s, 5498s — for a given year. Not what you reported; what they did.
Wage Garnishment
When the IRS requires your employer to withhold a portion of your wages to pay your tax debt.
Wrongful Levy
A claim by someone who is not the taxpayer that the IRS levied their property. It has a court route that a CAP appeal does not.
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