An LT11, or a Letter 1058 with similar language, is a final notice that the IRS intends to levy and that the taxpayer has a right to request a hearing. A levy can reach property or rights to property such as wages, bank accounts, business assets, some federal payments, and other assets. This is a deadline-driven notice, not a routine reminder.
Start with the date and the exact tax periods
Read the notice itself before deciding what to do. Confirm the notice date, the response deadline printed on it, the tax periods listed, the balance shown, and the address or fax instructions provided. Keep the full notice and envelope. Do not send Social Security numbers, bank information, or tax records through a public contact form.
The IRS explains that a taxpayer generally has 30 days to make a timely Collection Due Process, or CDP, hearing request. The notice and current IRS instructions control the actual deadline. A timely request generally suspends levy action for the appealed periods while the hearing is pending and preserves rights that may not be available after a late request.
Form 12153 is used to request the hearing
The IRS directs taxpayers to Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing. The form should identify the notice, tax periods, reasons for disagreement, and any collection alternative the taxpayer wants Appeals to consider. It must be sent using the instructions and destination shown on the notice.
If the normal CDP deadline has passed, IRS guidance describes an Equivalent Hearing request within the period stated in Form 12153. An Equivalent Hearing does not carry every right of a timely CDP hearing, including the same route to Tax Court review. That difference is one reason not to assume a late request is interchangeable with a timely one.
Unfiled returns can affect the response
When other required returns remain unfiled, the response may need two coordinated tracks: protect the notice deadline and determine what filing compliance work remains. Appeals may need current financial information when a taxpayer proposes a collection alternative, and the IRS generally evaluates collection options in the context of the taxpayer's actual filing and payment compliance.
If records are missing, begin by identifying which transcripts can help reconstruct the years. Our guide to IRS transcripts for missing tax years explains what account, return, and wage-and-income transcripts can—and cannot—show.
What if the balance came from an IRS substitute return?
A levy notice can relate to an assessment that began with an IRS substitute for return. Filing history, prior notices, and the account transcript help determine whether that occurred. The correct response is fact-specific: a CDP hearing has limits on when the underlying liability can be disputed, while IRS procedures may provide other reconsideration paths in appropriate cases.
Read what a substitute for return and CP3219N can mean before assuming the assessed balance represents a return prepared with every deduction, credit, filing-status choice, or business expense the taxpayer could substantiate.
A practical first-response checklist
- Preserve the complete LT11 or Letter 1058 and note the printed deadline.
- List every tax period and balance shown on the notice.
- Identify any years that may still be unfiled.
- Gather proof of payments the IRS may not have credited.
- Obtain relevant transcripts through an authorized, secure method.
- Review Form 12153 and the IRS CDP guidance before the deadline.
- Coordinate the appeal issue, filing compliance, and any proposed collection alternative.
Do not promise a particular resolution
An LT11 does not automatically mean a taxpayer qualifies for an installment agreement, offer in compromise, currently-not-collectible status, liability adjustment, or levy release. Eligibility depends on the account, filing status, financial facts, procedural history, deadlines, and IRS decisions. The immediate objective is to protect available rights and build an accurate compliance picture.
For the broader sequence, see how to respond to an IRS notice when returns are unfiled and the SetRight Back Taxes and Unfiled Return Support page.
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