Got a letter from the IRS or FTB: read, answered and handled for you
Free tax review
Find out what we’d handle and what it costs
Thirty minutes by phone; you leave with one written price.
We read your letter, tell you what it asks and by when, then answer the Internal Revenue Service or California’s Franchise Tax Board and prepare any return behind it. The first call is free, the work after it is one flat fee quoted in writing before we start, and a written response to the letter starts at $295. Based in Santa Clarita, we work with people holding an IRS or FTB letter in any state.
Typical situations
Do you help with letters from the IRS and the FTB?
Yes, we take on IRS and FTB letters: a CP2000 proposing a change to your return, the balance-due notices from a CP14 to a CP504, a CP59 about a year with no return, an identity letter holding a refund, an FTB Notice of Proposed Assessment, and an FTB order garnishing wages.
A CP2000 over a W-2 or 1099 left off the return
A CP2000 is the IRS notice proposing a change when payer reports (the W-2s and 1099s employers, banks and other payers send the IRS each year) don’t match the return. Have the CP2000 with its response form, the return as filed for that year, and the W-2s and 1099s it lists ready. Left unanswered, the IRS goes on to send a Statutory Notice of Deficiency — its formal notice of the tax it intends to assess — and the change can end up assessed and billed. We compare each payer’s figure with the return and the wage and income transcript (the IRS’s record of what payers reported), and check the other years for the same mismatch. We send the response form, marked agree or disagree with the documents for anything disputed, timed to the date on the notice (30 days from the notice date, 60 if you live outside the United States), and add a Form 1040-X (the amended return) only when the notice is right and there’s more to report. A written response starts at $295; any amended return is priced into the quote.
A balance that’s gone from a CP14 toward a CP504
A CP14 is the first bill, the CP501 and CP503 are reminders, and the CP504 is the notice of intent to levy (the IRS taking wages, a bank balance or a refund to pay a tax debt), after which the IRS says it can levy wages and bank accounts and take the state tax refund. Have the CP14, CP501 and CP503, the return that created the balance, and proof of any payment already made ready. We match the balance on each notice to the IRS account transcript (the agency’s own record of the account) and any payment already made, and request the payment plan your income and expenses support, with the financial statement when the plan needs one, once any missing return is filed.
A CP59 for a year with no return on file
A CP59 is the IRS notice that it has no return for a year. Have the CP59, that year’s W-2s and 1099s or the wage and income transcript, and the last return that was filed ready. If no return goes in, the IRS can file a substitute return (a return it builds itself) that may not credit deductions and exemptions. You file the year, or, if no return was required, say so on Form 15103 (the form for telling the IRS a return wasn’t required). A return filed within the last eight weeks needs nothing more. We pull the wage and income transcript, prepare each missing year as its own return, oldest first, and file your own return for any year the IRS built a substitute return for. Here is how the missing return is prepared; individual returns start at $350.
A refund held by a Letter 5071C or 4883C
Letter 5071C and Letter 4883C are identity-verification letters. Have the letter, a copy of the return it names, and the documents the letter lists ready. Until the IRS hears from you, it won’t process the return or send the refund. We gather the return and the documents the letter asks for. With a Form 2848 (the IRS power of attorney form) on file, we make the 4883C call with you on the line or, when the letter offers online verification, go through it at irs.gov/verifyreturn together. You confirm your own identity, and if you didn’t file that return you say so, because it may be identity theft.
A state audit that ended in an FTB Notice of Proposed Assessment
The FTB sends a Notice of Proposed Assessment — its notice that it intends to assess more tax — after an audit. Have the notice and its explanation of the changes, that year’s state and federal returns, and the records behind each item the FTB changed ready. If no protest is filed in time, the assessment becomes final and the FTB bills it, with penalties and interest. We compare each change the FTB made with the return and the records behind it and, where the records support it, draft and file the protest (a formal written disagreement).
A pay stub with a new FTB garnishment line
An earnings withholding order is the FTB’s wage garnishment. Have the copy of the order the employer passed on, the pay stubs showing the withholding, and the FTB balance-due notices that came before it ready. The employer keeps sending part of each paycheck to the FTB until the balance is paid in full or the FTB releases the order. We confirm the balance and the years behind the order with the FTB, file any return the FTB is still missing, and ask for the payment plan or the change to the order your numbers support — the FTB decides.
What it asks
What is my IRS letter asking me to do?
The letters on this page propose a change you can agree with or dispute, correct a refund, bill a balance, or ask you to file a return or verify your identity, and the date printed on the letter is the one that matters.
The notice or letter number (a CP or LTR number) is in the right corner, and a proposed change such as a CP2000 isn’t a bill, while a CP14 and the notices after it are demands for a balance due. If you agree with a change and the letter doesn’t ask for a reply, none is needed; if you disagree, replying by the due date keeps your appeal rights.
On the free call we read the letter for the agency, the notice number, the date on it, the response or due date and the tax year, and tell you what it asks and what the agency says happens if no one answers. Send it to us as soon as it arrives, so the response can go in by the date on it.
Representation
Can someone talk to the IRS for me?
Yes — sign Form 2848, the IRS’s power of attorney form, and our team can talk to the IRS for you, see your IRS records and act for you on the years and matters it lists.
We sign on as your representative and pull your transcripts. Once every required return is filed, we request the plan your income, expenses and balance support: a plan of 180 days or less, or an installment agreement (a monthly IRS payment plan). Penalties and interest keep running until the balance is paid. With certain exceptions, the IRS generally can’t levy while a payment plan request is pending. We ask for penalty relief when the history or the facts fit. When the letter offers one, we request an appeal to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, which is separate from the IRS’s examination and collection staff. The IRS decides each one.
What you get
What do you get when we take on an IRS or FTB letter?
You get the letter explained on the free call, then the written response or protest once the engagement letter and power of attorney are signed. Where the letter calls for it, we add the payment plan, penalty relief or appeal request, and we prepare and file the return behind the letter, first when the letter is about a missing return.
The free 30-minute call
What the letter is, what it asks and doesn’t ask, the date that matters, the options that fit, and what the work would cost. If the letter needs no reply, we tell you so and you’re done.
The written response or protest
The response form marked agree or disagree, each disputed item with the record behind it, and a signed statement, timed to the date on the notice. For an FTB proposed assessment, the protest saying what is disputed and why, with the records behind it.
The plan, penalty or appeal request
Where the letter calls for it: the payment plan request, the IRS penalty relief request or the appeal, with the agency’s answer explained when it comes. The agency decides; no approval is promised.
The return behind the letter
The return or amended return the letter turns on, prepared and filed; for a missing year, the return is the first thing we prepare.
What we check
What do we check before anything goes to the IRS or the FTB?
Before anything goes to the IRS or the FTB, we check each payer’s figure against the return, payments already made against the account transcript, other years for the same mismatch, and any unfiled year that would block a payment plan. The documents behind that: every page of the letter with its response form, any earlier letters about the same year, the return for that year as filed, the IRS account and wage and income transcripts pulled once the authorization is on file, the W-2s and 1099s the notice lists, proof of any payment already made, and the records behind anything you dispute.
- The tax year and the response date on the letter
- The notice number against the agency’s own published list
- Earlier letters about the same year, against the new one
- The income and expense figures a financial statement asks for, when a plan needs one
- Each FTB change against the records behind it
- The years and balance behind an earnings withholding order
California
What’s different when the letter is from California’s Franchise Tax Board?
In California, four things are different: protesting a proposed assessment, answering a Request or Demand for Tax Return, paying over time, and the power of attorney form.
- Protesting a proposed assessment. An FTB Notice of Proposed Assessment can be protested within 60 days, by the Protest By date printed on it, online or in writing saying what you disagree with and why; a protest doesn’t stop interest, and if you agree, you pay it rather than file an amended return. We draft and file the protest with the records behind each disputed item, and a representative can handle the protest and its hearing for you.
- Answering a Request or Demand for Tax Return. A Request or Demand for Tax Return is the FTB asking for a state return it has no record of. Either one gives 30 days from its date to file or reply, and an unanswered Demand brings an estimated assessment with penalties and a cost recovery fee. We prepare the missing state return, or the reply that one was already filed or wasn’t required.
- Paying the FTB over time. An FTB installment agreement typically gives up to 3 to 5 years to pay, and with an earnings withholding order in place it’s requested by phone; only the FTB can change how much an order takes. We make that request with the income and expense figures behind it.
- The FTB’s power of attorney. For the FTB the form is FTB 3520-PIT, the FTB’s power of attorney form. It is signed by hand, and each spouse signs their own on a joint return. The FTB generally takes about three weeks to process it. The form authorizes the named person to represent you before the FTB, but the FTB doesn’t mail copies of most notices to representatives, so you keep forwarding each FTB letter. We send the signed form to the FTB and deal with the FTB for you on the matters it covers once it’s processed.
Pricing
What does IRS and FTB letter help cost in 2026?
The free 30-minute call reads your letter and explains it, a written response to the IRS or the FTB is from $295, an audit or collection case is from $1,500, and the return behind a letter is priced like any return: individual returns from $350, self-employed returns from $650 (one business or one rental), business returns from $850 with the owner’s personal return included, and each missing year priced as its own return. Each response, case and return is a flat fee quoted in writing after the free call, before we start.
An amended return, an FTB protest, a payment-plan or penalty-relief request, identity-letter help and a garnishment change are priced inside the written quote. What moves a quote: how many tax years and how many letters are open, whether a return has to be prepared first or an amended return goes with the response, the IRS alone or the IRS and the FTB, whether collection has started (a levy or a wage garnishment), whether a payment plan needs a financial statement, and an audit rather than a letter.
Letter response
from $295
The written response to the IRS or the FTB, drafted and sent with the documents behind it.
Audit or collection case
from $1,500
Representation before the IRS or the FTB through an audit or a collection case (a levy or a garnishment); any payment plan, IRS penalty relief or appeal request is priced inside the written quote.
The return behind the letter
from $350
The return for the year the letter is about, or each missing year as its own return, federal and state prepared and filed together.
The quote is the price.
How it works
What happens after the free call?
The engagement letter goes out during the free call; signing it sets up a short onboarding call, and the secure-portal invite and a short checklist come from that call.
The 30-minute call
Bring the letter; the call ends with one flat price for the work we’d take on, in writing before we start.
The engagement letter
Sign it when you’re ready; it doesn’t expire.
The documents
Through the portal: every page of the letter with its response form, any earlier letters about the same year, the return for that year as filed, and the signed power of attorney form.
The response
We send the signed power of attorney to the agency, pull the transcripts, then draft and send the response or protest, timed to the date on the letter — or ask for more time where the IRS takes a request — and request the payment plan or penalty relief that fits. You choose which option to take.
The return
Half the return fee starts the work, and you see the return before it’s filed. For a missing year, this step comes first.
Communication
You’ll know where your letter stands.
The person who answers the phone is on the same team that reads your letter and prepares the return behind it.
The same-day rule
Call or email during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day — all twelve months.
One letter or a stack
A single CP2000, or a CP14 through a CP504 for several years at once — the free call ends with a straight answer on what the work looks like and whether we’re the right fit.
Admitted to practice before the IRS
Our team of IRS representation specialists is admitted to practice before the IRS. With the signed form on file, we speak to the agency for you.
The N&T Tax & Advisory Group team
For a person holding an IRS or FTB letter, we read the letter, answer the agency, and prepare the return behind it.
Tax planning · Tax preparation · IRS representation · Direct line: (661) 554-4495
Reviews
Rated 5.0 on Google
Twelve reviews, every one five stars, every one verifiable. Read all of them on Google →
“Alex helped me resolve a complicated tax situation that had been causing me a lot of stress. He was extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and efficient throughout the entire process.”
Kevin B. — via Google
“Working with Alex was straightforward. I hadn’t looked at my books all year, but he made my life easy and handled the whole profit and loss at the end of the year so I could get my taxes done.”
Levon B. — via Google
“I came to this company with previous tax years and bookkeeping that were done incorrectly. They’re very knowledgeable about what they do and help me get everything in order at a very reasonable price.”
Sayra A. — via Google
Where we work
Do you work with people holding an IRS or FTB letter outside California?
Yes, remotely in any state. You send the letter and its response form through the secure portal, and we go over what the agency is asking by phone and screen share. If you live in another state, we prepare that state’s return too and price it into your quote. In the Santa Clarita Valley? See IRS representation in Santa Clarita.
What we don’t do
We are not a law firm and don’t represent anyone in court: bankruptcy, a criminal investigation, a Tax Court petition or any other court case, and any claim against a former preparer go to your attorney. We don’t pay the IRS or the FTB for you, hold your money or endorse a refund check; we don’t represent anyone before a tax agency other than the IRS and the FTB; and we don’t give investment, financial or legal advice.
Worth reading
What can you read before you call?
These posts cover unfiled years and a missing W-2: what each missing year costs, how to file a year when the W-2 never came, and what actually happens when a return isn’t filed.
Not Filed Taxes in 3 to 5 Years? What Each Missing Year Costs and How to Get Current
If a W-2 never came and the year still needs filingHow to File Taxes Without a W-2: What to Do Before the April 15, 2027 Deadline
If you’re worried a missed return is a crimeCan You Go to Jail for Not Filing Taxes? What the IRS Actually Does in 2026
FAQ
IRS and FTB letter questions
Is a CP2000 a bill?
No. A CP2000 is the IRS proposing a change to your return because a W-2, 1099 or other payer report didn’t match what was filed, and the change can raise the tax, lower it or leave it the same. If it goes unanswered or the disagreement isn’t resolved, the IRS sends a Statutory Notice of Deficiency by certified mail, and from it there are 90 days to petition the U.S. Tax Court, a period neither the IRS nor the court can extend; with no agreement and no petition, the tax is assessed and billed. A Tax Court petition is a court filing, so it goes to your attorney; we answer the CP2000 itself.
How can I tell if a letter is really from the IRS?
The IRS normally makes first contact by a letter in the U.S. mail, and you can look up its notice or letter number on IRS.gov. A call, email or text that is unexpected, rushes or threatens you, asks for personal or financial information or demands payment now isn’t the IRS, and a social media message never is. If a letter doesn’t show up in that search or looks suspicious, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 rather than any number in the message. We check the notice number before anything is answered.
What if I can’t pay the balance on my IRS notice?
There are options: file any missing return first, pay what you can by the due date to cut interest and penalties, and a payment plan spreads the rest. If paying would leave you unable to meet basic living expenses, the IRS can delay collection (currently not collectible), which doesn’t make the debt go away. An offer in compromise asks to settle for less than the full balance, and the IRS’s own pre-qualifier doesn’t mean the offer will be accepted. We match the option to your income, expenses and balance, and the IRS decides.
Can the penalties on my IRS notice be removed?
Sometimes, and the IRS decides. First-time relief rests on the three prior years filed and paid on time (for 2025 returns onward the IRS is moving to an Automatic Exemption from Penalty), and reasonable cause is decided case by case on documented circumstances, such as a fire, a serious illness or records you couldn’t get; relying on a preparer or lacking the money generally doesn’t qualify. When a penalty comes off, its interest comes off too, but interest on the tax generally stays. We check the three-year history, document any reasonable cause, and ask.
Will the IRS stop writing to me once you represent me?
No. The IRS keeps writing to you; with Form 2848 on file, the representative receives copies of your IRS notices only when the form authorizes copies, so each new letter still comes to you. Either way, send us each new letter the day it arrives.
The IRS changed my refund. Can I dispute it?
Yes, by the date on the notice. A CP12 means the IRS corrected the return during processing and the refund changed; if you agree, there’s nothing to send. If you disagree, you contact the IRS at the number shown on the notice by the date it gives, and after that date the formal right to have the change reversed, and to take it to the U.S. Tax Court, is gone. We compare the IRS’s correction with the return and the forms behind it before that date.
Ready to know what the letter wants?
One free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what the letter asks, what we’d handle and what it costs.
Rather talk now? Call (661) 554-4495 — reach us during business hours and you’ll hear back the same day.
Our team includes a federally licensed tax practitioner admitted to practice before the Internal Revenue Service. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.