You opened an IRS Letter 11 and you have years you never filed. Two things may be true at once: the IRS is preparing to levy for a balance it calculated without you, and it may also be holding money that belongs to you on other years. Both clocks are running. One is 30 days. The other closes a year at a time, every April.
Tax Debt Relief Group works this exact situation. We stop the levy clock first, then we go after the numbers the IRS built without you. Your only job is to call us and bring the letter.
What does Letter 11 mean for someone with unfiled years?
Letter 11 (LT11, or Letter 1058) is the IRS’s Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. The law says the IRS cannot levy until it has told you in writing of your right to a Collection Due Process hearing, at least 30 days before the first levy (IRC §6330(a)).
For a non-filer, the balance on that letter often did not come from you at all. When returns go unfiled, the IRS can prepare a Substitute for Return from W-2s, 1099s and other third-party records (IRC §6020(b)). Under the IRS’s own manual, that substitute return allows the standard deduction but does not allow other deductions or credits, such as the Child Tax Credit (IRM 4.12.1). Itemized deductions are not allowed unless you file a signed return electing them.
That is why the number on a Letter 11 can be higher than what you would owe on a real return.
Could the IRS actually owe you money?
On some years, yes. A filed original return counts as a claim for refund for the overpayment it shows (Treas. Reg. §301.6402-3(a)(5)). If tax was withheld from your paychecks in a year you never filed, that withholding may be more than the tax you owed.
Here is the catch: a refund on a year you never filed does not land in your bank account while you owe on another year. The IRS is authorized to credit any overpayment against any federal tax liability you have, and to refund only the balance (IRC §6402(a)). Every dollar recovered on a refund year goes toward the balance behind the Letter 11 first. That is still money working for you, because it shrinks the debt the IRS is trying to levy.
Why waiting costs you refunds for good
Refunds on unfiled years have a hard limit, written into the Code:
- Tax withheld from wages is treated as paid on the original due date of that year’s return, the 15th day of the fourth month after the year ends (IRC §6513(b)(1)).
- A refund cannot exceed the tax paid within the three years before the claim, plus any filing extension (IRC §6511(b)(2)(A)).
Put together: once a return is more than three years past its due date, the withholding on that year generally falls outside the window, and the refund is gone. Each April another year ages out.
The two clocks, side by side
- The levy clock: the date on your Letter 11. A timely Collection Due Process request suspends the levy actions that are the subject of the hearing, and the collection statute, while the hearing and its appeals are pending (IRC §6330(e)(1)).
- The refund clock: three years from each year’s due date, closing every April (IRC §§6511, 6513).
Miss the first and the IRS can move toward a levy without the protection a timely hearing request gives you. Miss the second and you lose the money. They need to be worked together, by someone who knows both.
How Tax Debt Relief Group works a Letter 11 with unfiled years
Peter Kici is an Enrolled Agent, federally authorized to represent taxpayers before the IRS. When you hire us, we do the work:
- We protect the hearing right first. We read the date on your letter and, where it fits your case, file the Collection Due Process request before the 30 days run.
- We pull your IRS records. We see every year: which are assessed, which are substitutes, which are unfiled, and where withholding sits.
- We sort the years by clock. Years still inside the refund window are prepared first, so the money is not lost while we work the rest.
- We replace the IRS’s numbers with real ones. When a substitute return was assessed and an original return is then filed, the IRS treats it as a reconsideration (IRM 4.13.1). Your real filing status, dependents, deductions and credits go on the return.
- We resolve what is left. Once the balance is correct, we pursue the resolution that fits your finances: an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status.
We do not promise an outcome in any case. The IRS makes its decisions. What we promise is that your case is worked by a licensed practitioner and you never have to call the IRS yourself.
What to do today
Do not file anything yourself and do not call the IRS first. Put the letter where you can find it and call us at (407) 531-8705, or book a free, confidential consultation. Bring the Letter 11 and any other IRS mail you have.
Related reading: IRS Letter 11 for non-filers, unfiled returns and a large Letter 11 balance, and how we handle unfiled tax returns and IRS levies. Want the whole picture first? Get our free book.
Frequently asked questions
Will the IRS send me a refund if I file my missing returns?
Not while you owe on another year. The IRS can apply an overpayment to any federal tax you owe and refund only what is left (IRC §6402(a)). The refund still reduces the balance.
Can a Letter 11 balance go down after I file?
It can, when the balance came from a substitute return. A substitute allows only the standard deduction and no credits (IRM 4.12.1), and filing an original return opens a reconsideration (IRM 4.13.1). Whether it goes down depends on your actual figures.
How long do I have to claim a refund on an unfiled year?
Withholding is treated as paid on the return’s original due date (IRC §6513(b)(1)), and a refund is limited to tax paid in the three years before the claim (IRC §6511(b)(2)(A)). After about three years from the due date, the refund on that year is generally lost.
What happens if I miss the 30 days on Letter 11?
The 30-day notice is what the law requires before the first levy (IRC §6330(a)). Call us before the date on your letter, so we can protect your options while they still exist.