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.
Full Definition
A Notice of Intent to Levy is the written notice Internal Revenue Code section 6331(d) requires the IRS to send before it levies on salary, wages, or other property. The notice must be given in person, left at your dwelling or usual place of business, or sent by certified or registered mail to your last known address, no less than 30 days before the day of the levy. The requirement in section 6331(d)(1) does not apply where the Secretary has made a jeopardy finding. CP504 is a Notice of Intent to Levy under section 6331(d).
Read the title on your own notice carefully, because a differently titled document — "Final Notice - Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing" — is a different notice carrying Collection Due Process rights and a 30-day window to request a hearing. The Taxpayer Advocate Service states that filing a timely request protects your right to go to Tax Court. If your notice mentions a right to a hearing, treat that 30 days as a deadline and see the Collection Due Process entry.
TRC interpretation of primary law: we read the 30 days in section 6331(d) as a minimum waiting period imposed on the IRS before it may levy, rather than as a response window imposed on you. The statute sets out what the IRS must do and when; it does not describe an action you must take. This reading is ours, not a quotation from the IRS.
What to do next
Read the title line on your own notice. If it also says "Notice of Your Right to a Hearing," you are on a 30-day clock and should read the Collection Due Process entry now; if it does not, the IRS payment and appeal instructions printed on the notice are your starting point.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. §6331 — Levy and distraint — United States Code, retrieved 2026-08-18
- Understanding your CP504 notice — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-18
- Internal Revenue Manual 5.11.1, Background, Pre-Levy Actions and Restrictions on Levy — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-18
Last reviewed 2026-08-20 by Tax Resolution Clarity editorial.
Sourced to primary IRS materials and editorially reviewed. Not reviewed by a tax professional. Not tax advice.
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Where to go next
The IRS publishes the rules this page describes. Your own notice governs your dates.