Tax Resolution Clarity

Business Tax Debt

Where the business notices differ from the individual ones, and where the difference is not published.

The thing most worth knowing

The business variants are not always documented as variants. CP504B is the business counterpart of CP504 and states a response deadline that CP504 does not; CP297 is the business counterpart of CP90; CP140 is the business counterpart of CP40. But the IRS does not state on every page which taxpayer type it is issued to. Where it does not, this site does not infer it — and neither should you. Read the notice you received.

What this covers

  • The business counterparts of the individual collection notices, where the IRS identifies them as such
  • Where a business notice states a deadline its individual twin does not
  • The Collection Information Statement for businesses
  • Why unpaid employment tax is a different problem from unpaid business income tax

This page routes. It does not repeat what the pages below already say, and it does not tell you which situation you are in.

Questions this raises

Is CP504B the same as CP504?

No, and the difference is a deadline. The IRS states on CP504B that it is providing the notice of intent to levy as required by Internal Revenue Code section 6331(d). The CP504 page states no number of days; the CP504B one does. Do not read either across to the other.

A private firm is calling about a business tax debt. Is that real?

It can be. The IRS states it is required by law to contract with qualified private debt collection agencies for certain overdue federal taxes, and sends CP140 naming the assigned agency. The verification is two-way: you give the first five numbers of the Taxpayer Authentication number on your notice and the agency gives the last five back. A caller who cannot supply the last five has not been assigned your account.

Does business debt reach the owners personally?

Unpaid employment tax can, through a separate mechanism. The IRS states that a person responsible for withholding, accounting for, depositing or paying those taxes who willfully fails to do so "can be held personally liable for a penalty equal to the full amount of the unpaid trust fund tax, plus interest". Whether that applies to any individual is an IRS determination on facts this site does not have.

Notices that arrive in this situation

CP504BNotice of Intent to Levy — businessCP297Final Notice - Businesses - Intent to LevyCP297ANotice of Levy Already Made — No Pre-Levy Hearing Because of an Earlier OneCP297CNotice of Levy Already Made — Federal Contractor, No Pre-Levy HearingCP140Your Overdue Business Account Was Assigned to a Private Collection AgencyLT73Notice That a Levy Was Issued for Unpaid Employment Tax

Options the IRS publishes

IRS Installment AgreementOffer in Compromise (OIC)Currently Not Collectible (CNC)

Listed because they relate to this situation, not because any of them applies to you. That is the IRS’s determination on your full financial position.

The vocabulary

Form 433-A/433-BForm 433-H (Installment Agreement Request and Collection Information Statement)Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP)Failure to Deposit PenaltyPrivate Debt CollectionTaxpayer Authentication Number

What this page does not say

  • The IRS does not state on the CP91/CP298 or CP92/CP242 pages which taxpayer type each notice is issued to, although the numbering implies an individual/business split. Those pairs carry a gap on their own records rather than an inferred distinction.

Sourced to primary IRS materials and editorially reviewed. Not reviewed by a tax professional. Not tax advice. Every fact on this page comes from a linked record that carries its own sources and review date.