IRS Letter LT11

What to Do If You Receive IRS Letter LT11

Act Quickly to Protect Your Assets

When you owe back taxes, the IRS can come after your income or assets to cover your bill if you don’t act quickly. You will receive several IRS notices that demand payment before any drastic actions are taken, and if you want to protect your assets, you need to be sure that you don’t ignore the notices.

In particular, if you receive LT11 or LT1058, you need to respond promptly or you risk facing asset seizure. These are both final warnings sent via certified mail that the IRS intends to levy your property or rights to property. 

If you have questions or need help with IRS LT11, contact us today — the tax attorneys at the W Tax Group have extensive experience helping taxpayers negotiate the best resolution possible with the IRS.

This guide covers what the LT11 Final Notice of Intent means and what to do next.

Key Takeaways:

• LT11 is a Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing.
• The IRS sends LT11 when you have ignored prior notices about your outstanding tax balance. 
• The IRS plans to levy (seize) your assets if you don’t respond.
• LT1058 and CP504 are similar notices regarding the IRS’s intent to levy.
• You usually have just 30 days from the notice date before the IRS moves forward with the levy.
• You can file an appeal and request a Collection Due Process hearing if you don’t agree with the notice.
• Examples of property that the IRS could seize include wages, tax refunds, real estate, personal assets, or Social Security benefits.
• Options to pursue if you can’t afford to pay your full tax balance are a payment plan, offer in compromise, PPIA, or CNC status.

Why Did I Receive Letter LT11?

The IRS sends Letter LT11 or LT1058 when a taxpayer has an unpaid tax liability. In most cases, you will receive several other IRS letters before you get the LT11, so this is not the first time you’ll be hearing from the IRS when the agency is trying to collect. Thus, the LT11 shouldn’t be a surprise, though it can still be worrisome and stressful.

Prior to sending Notice LT11, the IRS typically sends CP14 (Initial Tax Assessment and Balance Due Notice), CP501 (Reminder of Balance Due Notice) and CP502 (Reminder of Balance Due Notice). If you still haven’t responded, the IRS will send CP503 (Reminder of Balance Due). Failure to respond to the third reminder leads to Notice CP504 (Notice of Intent to Levy) and/or LT11. Both CP504 and LT11 alert you that the IRS plans to seize your assets.

Letter LT11, LT1058, and CP504: What’s the Difference?

The other IRS intent to levy letter you may receive is LT1058, which is basically the same thing as LT11. Typically, if an IRS revenue officer is already working on your case, you will likely see LT1058 come through.

In contrast, LT11 is issued by the Automated Collection System (ACS), which the IRS relies on to automatically find tax return and taxpayer issues and send out notices accordingly.

Other than that, these letters will provide the same information about the IRS’s notice of intent to levy, or seize, your property to cover your tax bill.

The other notice that alerts you of the IRS’s intent to levy is Notice CP504. The CP504 states that the IRS can levy your assets if you don’t pay your taxes, but in spite of the scary verbiage, at this point, the IRS is just focused on seizing your state tax refund and potentially alerting you about passport revocation. Before taking your wages, bank accounts, or other assets, the IRS must send you another notice that also tells you of your right to a hearing. That is the key distinction between the CP504 and the two other notices. 

Often, you may receive a CP504 followed by an LT11 or LT1058. Receiving any of these notices means you need to act immediately to prevent the IRS from seizing your property.

How Long Do I Have to Respond to the LT11 or LT1058?

Both of these notices give you 30 days to respond. The due date is on the left-hand side of the notice, so pay close attention to that deadline. If you don’t respond by the due date, the IRS will continue to move forward with its plans to levy your assets.

I.R.C. § 6331 outlines the IRS’s right to levy assets as well as the agency’s responsibility to notify you at least 30 days in advance by sending you a notice through certified mail, giving it to you in person, or hand delivering it to your usual place of business.

A tax professional at W Tax Group is ready to help you navigate this complex process. If you’ve missed a deadline or are worried about paying on time, get in touch to talk about your options.

What If I Disagree with the Information on LT11?

If you don’t agree with the amount due on the notice, you have the right to appeal. Depending on the situation, you can:

• Request an audit reconsideration
• Apply for an offer in compromise based on doubt as to liability
• Utilize your right to a Collection Due Process Hearing with the Office of Appeals

If the IRS is mistaken and you have already paid the bill, contact the IRS immediately to provide proof of payment information. Paying off the balance resolves the issue, but you’ll still have to pay any penalties and interest accrued.

What if I Don’t Respond or Pay?

The notice makes clear that if you don’t pay the amount due by the due date, the IRS may seize (levy) your property or rights to property after the due date. This means the IRS could come after assets such as:

• Bank accounts
• Income (wages, salary, etc.)
• Tax refunds (state or federal)
• Real estate
• Personal assets
• Social Security benefits

Needless to say, you don’t want the IRS to start taking your money or property. Respond within 30 days of the LT11, whether you are paying off your balance, setting up a payment plan, or submitting an appeal if you disagree with the information.

In addition, under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act, your passport could be revoked.

To avoid asset seizure, never ignore IRS notices. If you simply do nothing, the IRS will begin to come after your property in an attempt to collect what you owe. Letter LT11 is essentially the last chance you have, within 30 days, to rectify the issue.

How Can I File an Appeal to LT11?

You may want to hire a tax attorney with experience appealing levies. As indicated above, you have the legal right to request a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing. This will stop the IRS from issuing a levy or seizing your assets.

The request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing is filed using IRS Form 12153 (Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing). You have 30 days to request a CPD hearing, and once you file the request, you effectively prevent the IRS from levying your property. You also entitle yourself to a hearing where you get to work directly with an IRS settlement officer, which means that you position yourself to resolve the matter outside of the IRS Collection Division.

If you wait longer than 30 days, you still have the right to request an equivalent hearing, but by this point, the levy may already be in progress. 

Generally, from the time the appeal is filed, it takes the IRS four to eight months to process it. Once the appeal request has been processed, you can expect a letter from the IRS Settlement Officer to schedule a hearing date. Generally, the hearing date is two to four weeks after you receive the letter from the Settlement Officer.

If you disagree with the results of the CPD hearing, you can appeal to the Tax Court. You don’t have further appeal rights to deal with unwanted results from equivalent hearings, unfortunately.

What If I Can’t Afford to Pay My Taxes?

If you don’t have the money to pay the tax bill in full, you can contact the IRS to arrange a payment plan. But remember: regardless of your situation, don’t ignore this notice even if you don’t have the money to pay. If you don’t take action in 30 days, the levy will move forward, and at that point, your options will be much more limited.

Call the IRS immediately at the phone number on the form to speak with an agent and tell them about your situation. You may want to contact a tax attorney with questions too.

Here are some of the tax resolution options to pursue that can help you avoid a levy on your assets:

• Installment agreement: A monthly payment plan which allows you to pay off the tax liability over a certain number of years.
• Offer in compromise: This is where the IRS agrees to allow taxpayers that qualify to settle their tax bill for less than the full amount owed.
• Currently not collectible (CNC): The IRS will not require you to pay your tax bill if it causes severe economic hardship. To qualify for CNC status, you will need to prove to the IRS you cannot afford to pay both your living expenses and tax bill.
• Partial payment installment agreement (PPIA): This type of payment plan allows you to pay off your balance over time, and then when the collection statute expiration date hits after 10 years, the IRS will not try to collect the remaining balance.

There are also other resolution options you can discuss with a tax professional. At The W Tax Group, we help people deal with unpaid IRS and state taxes every day, and we would love to help you.

Contact W Tax Group for Help with LT11 or LT1058

If you received IRS LT11 or are experiencing any other IRS or state tax problems, contact the team of tax attorneys at The W Tax Group for your free tax case review. We will evaluate your finances and situation to determine whether you qualify for an IRS program to settle your back taxes. Call us directly now at (877) 500-4930.

FAQs About Letter LT11 or Letter LT1058

What Is an IRS Notice of Intent to Levy?

The IRS sends out these notices to inform taxpayers that the IRS could soon seize their assets to cover their tax bill. This will happen if you owe back taxes and completely ignore the IRS’s previous notices that demand payment. It could take a few months before you would receive LT11 or LT1058.

Do I Have to Respond to an IRS Notice LT11?

You do need to act immediately when you receive this notice, as it is very serious. Your options are to contact the IRS if you disagree, file an appeal, pay off your balance in full, set up a payment plan, or request a form of tax relief. If you do nothing, the IRS may move forward with asset seizure.

How Long Do I Have to Respond to an IRS Intent to Levy Letter?

The IRS will outline your deadline in the notice. Typically, you have 30 days from the date of the letter or notice to respond before the IRS will levy property.

Can I Go to Jail After Receiving IRS LT11?

In very few instances does the IRS send someone to jail for back taxes. However, if you continue to do nothing after the IRS has tried to collect what you owe, and you do not pay, you risk increasing penalties, fines, and interest charges. Eventually, the IRS may charge certain taxpayers with tax evasion, which could lead to legal problems like criminal penalties and even jail time.

When Does the IRS Have to Stop a Levy?

The IRS cannot move forward with the levy if the agency made a mistake in issuing it, if the statute of limitations for collection has expired after 10 years, or if you can prove that releasing the levy would allow you to pay your taxes.

Lead Tax Attorney at The W Tax Group

Stephen A Weisberg