You got a Letter 11 (often printed as LT11, or Letter 1058), and the balance on it does not look right. What you want is simple: pay only what you actually owe, and keep the IRS off your paycheck and bank account while the number gets fixed.

That can be worked. The danger is time. Letter 11 is the IRS’s Final Notice of Intent to Levy, and the IRS can levy on a wrong balance just as easily as a right one. The strongest way to challenge it closes 30 days after the date on the letter.

Letter on the table right now? Call me at (407) 531-8705. Bring the letter. I take it from there.

What can make a Letter 11 balance wrong?

In the cases that come across my desk, the errors usually fall into a few groups:

A return the IRS filed for you. When years go unfiled, the IRS can build a Substitute for Return from the W-2s and 1099s it receives. Deductions and credits are generally not allowed on it (individuals do get the standard deduction), so the tax it produces is often higher than the real number (IRM 4.12.1).
Payments that never got credited. A payment applied to the wrong year, or not applied at all, still shows up as a balance due.
Income that is not yours. A W-2 or 1099 from an employer you never worked for can be a sign of identity theft, which is a different problem from a tax you owe.
Penalties and interest stacked on top of an inflated base. If the tax is overstated, everything calculated from it is overstated too.

Why the 30 days on Letter 11 matter so much

Letter 11 carries your right to a Collection Due Process hearing with IRS Appeals. The request has to be made within 30 days of the notice (IRC §6330(a)). A timely request generally suspends the levy actions that are the subject of the hearing while it is pending (IRC §6330(e)(1)), and if you disagree with the result there is a further 30 days to take it to the Tax Court (IRC §6330(d)(1)).

Miss the 30 days and an equivalent hearing can still be requested within one year of the notice, but Appeals then issues a Decision Letter instead of a Notice of Determination. There is no Tax Court review, and the IRS is not required to hold off collection while Appeals reviews it (Treas. Reg. §301.6330-1(i); IRM 5.1.9.3.2.2).

Can you argue the balance itself at that hearing?

Sometimes, and this is where people get caught. The hearing can cover collection alternatives and other relevant issues, but the underlying tax can be challenged only if you did not receive a statutory notice of deficiency for it, or did not otherwise have an opportunity to dispute it (IRC §6330(c)(2)(B)).

For a non-filer whose balance came from a Substitute for Return, that question decides which road is open. If the notice of deficiency was received and ignored, the hearing is generally not the place to argue the number, and the route is usually an original return filed to replace the IRS version, which the IRS works as a reconsideration of the assessment (IRM 4.13.1). Getting that call wrong wastes the 30 days.

What happens if nobody challenges it?

The IRS’s own description of this notice is direct: it can levy wages and bank accounts up to the amount owed, and it can reach business and personal assets, state tax refunds and Social Security benefits. It may also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, which is public. A wrong balance collected this way is much harder to get back than a wrong balance stopped before the levy.

Where are you on the 30-day clock?

The letter came in the last few weeks

This is the strongest position you will have. A Collection Due Process request filed inside the 30 days generally holds the levy actions in that notice while Appeals reviews the case (IRC §6330(e)(1)), and it keeps the Tax Court open if Appeals gets it wrong. Call before the date passes.

More than 30 days have gone by

You have not run out of road, but it is shorter. An equivalent hearing is still available within one year of the notice, without Tax Court review and without a required hold on collection (Treas. Reg. §301.6330-1(i)). The sooner the case is opened, the more options stay on the table. Book a free consultation today.

A levy has already hit your paycheck or bank account

Now it is a levy case. A bank generally has to hold levied funds for 21 days before sending them to the IRS (IRC §6332(c)), and a wage levy keeps taking from every paycheck until it is released (IRC §6331(e)). That is the window to act in. See IRS levy help in Central Florida, or call (407) 531-8705.

How Tax Debt Relief Group works a disputed Letter 11

When you bring me a Letter 11, the first thing I look at is the date, because the 30 days decide everything else. Once your Form 2848 and Form 8821 are processed, I pull your IRS account and wage and income transcripts, so the case runs on what the IRS actually has on file, not on guesses.

From there I sort out which problem you really have:

An inflated Substitute for Return, where the fix is getting the real returns prepared and filed so the assessment can be reconsidered.
Payments that were not credited, where I match your proof against the account transcript and put it in front of the IRS.
Income that is not yours, which is handled as an identity theft matter and follows the IRS’s own instructions in the notice, not a filed affidavit (the IRS says most people who already received a notice should not file Form 14039).
A real balance that is correct, where the work turns to stopping the levy and finding a resolution you can live with, such as a payment plan or hardship status.

If the 30 days are still open, I request the hearing on Form 12153 so the levy actions are held while Appeals reviews the case. In many of my cases, once the Form 2848 is signed and I have called the IRS, collection has been put on hold within 24 to 48 hours. The IRS makes that decision, so I cannot promise it in any individual case.

I am Peter Kici, an Enrolled Agent and Marine Corps veteran, and I have been representing taxpayers before the IRS for five years. I once went six years without filing my own returns, so I am not going to judge anyone for being behind. Clients have given Tax Debt Relief Group a 5.0 rating across 19 Google reviews. I handle the IRS contact so you do not have to.

The only step on your side

The consultation is free and confidential. You do not need anything organized. Bring the letter and whatever else the IRS has sent, and check the date on it. Then call me while the 30 days are still running: (407) 531-8705. Or book a free, confidential consultation.

Not ready to call yet? Start with my free book, Haven’t Filed Your Taxes in Years?, built from real cases in my practice.

Frequently asked questions

Is Letter 11 the same as a CP504?

No. A CP504 is an earlier notice. Letter 11 (LT11) or Letter 1058 is the Final Notice of Intent to Levy, and it is the notice that carries the 30-day Collection Due Process hearing right under IRC §6330.

Can I dispute the amount on Letter 11?

At the hearing, only if you did not receive a notice of deficiency for that tax or otherwise had no chance to dispute it (IRC §6330(c)(2)(B)). If you did, the amount is usually corrected another way, for example by filing the original returns to replace a Substitute for Return.

Will the IRS take my home?

Levy on a principal residence requires a court’s approval (IRC §6334(e)(1)), so it is not the first thing the IRS reaches for. Wages and bank accounts usually come first.

What if I already missed the 30 days?

An equivalent hearing can still be requested within one year of the notice, but it carries no Tax Court review and collection is not required to stop while it is pending (Treas. Reg. §301.6330-1(i)). Call right away; there may still be other ways to stop the levy.

Sources: IRC §6330 and §6334(e)(1) (uscode.house.gov); Treas. Reg. §301.6330-1(i); IRS, Understanding your LT11 notice or Letter 1058 (irs.gov); IRM 4.12.1, 4.13.1 and 5.1.9.3.2.2; IRS Identity Theft Guide for Individuals (irs.gov).

Is the Balance on Your IRS Letter 11 Wrong?