IRS Notice CP12 - IRS Adjusted Refund Letter | What It Means

February, 21 2022 by Kate Ferreira, CTEC

You successfully filed your tax return and breathe a sigh of relief that the process is over. Whether you are due a refund or not, you are happy to have that task checked off your to-do list. Not long later, you open your mailbox and see an envelope with the letters I-R-S stamped in the top left-hand corner. You rip open the envelope and realize that you have received a notice from the IRS – an IRS Notice CP12 to be exact. So, what is an IRS Notice CP12? What does it mean?

For starters, you received an IRS Notice CP12 because the IRS corrected one or more mistakes they believe were made on your tax return. As a result, you are now either due a refund when you originally owed additional tax (yay) or the original refund amount changed. The refund could also be due to an overpayment you made to the IRS.

Now that you know why the letter was sent, you are probably wondering what you need to do! Make sure you review the notice carefully and compare the information on the notice against your tax return. If you have questions about the changes that were made, you can call the IRS number listed on your notice.

If you agree with the changes the IRS made, no action is needed on your part. The IRS will be mailing a refund check to you within 4-6 weeks, as long as you do not owe other tax debts the IRS is required to collect. Additionally, you might want to correct your copy of the tax return for your records to reflect the changes made on the notice – but there is no need to send a copy of the corrected return to the IRS.

If you do not agree with the changes, you will want to take action within 60 days of receiving the notice. You can either contact the IRS at the number listed on the notice or respond by mail to the address listed on the notice. For additional information about this process, check out this IRS page for more details. If you have audit defense with TaxAudit, you can start a case with us by clicking here. We will help you take the action required.

If you have not received a notice from the IRS but still want to have the peace of mind that comes with audit defense, please click here to purchase! Not only are we able to help with letters such as the IRS CP12 – we can also assist with dozens of other types of notices as well as audit letters from both the IRS and state taxing agencies!