When You Receive Notice CP215 After Letter 5699

If you ignore Letter 5699, you may receive Notice CP215 notifying you that civil penalties have been assessed on your account. 

Notice CP215 alerts you that the IRS is assessing penalties against your business. If you receive this notice, you must appeal, pay the penalty, or make other arrangements. This guide explains what to expect if you receive Notice CP215 after Letter 5699.

What Is Notice CP215?

Notice CP215 (Civil Penalty Assessment) is a notice the IRS sends to businesses being assessed a penalty due to not filing an information return. If you receive Notice CP215 after Letter 5699, your civil penalties are due to not filing Forms 1094/1095-C.

The IRS also uses this letter to alert businesses about other civil penalty assessments. Your business may also receive Notice CP215 if you failed to file W2 forms, Form 3520 (Annual Return To Report Transactions With Foreign Trusts and Receipt of Certain Foreign Gifts), Form 8938 (Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets), or other information returns.

What to Do If You Receive Notice CP215

If you received Notice CP215 after Letter 5699, here's what you should do.

1. Find the due date noted on the letter — Typically, the deadline is 30 days. You must respond by this date if you don't want the situation to escalate.
2. Decide if you want to appeal — If you disagree with the information in Letter 5699 or Notice CP215, you can appeal through a Collection Due Process Hearing or a Collection Appeal Procedure. If you don't appeal within the specified time frame, you may lose your chance, and the assessment could become final. 
3. Get in compliance with your 1094/1095-C filing requirements — Make sure that you have filed these forms correctly. If you're filing late, include an explanation about why you're filing late. 
4. Apply for penalty abatement — The IRS offers penalty abatement to taxpayers who have a reasonable excuse for filing late or not filing. The agency is especially lenient for first-time offenders. But you have to apply. The IRS will not erase your penalties if you don't ask to have them removed.
5. Pay the penalty — You can simply pay the penalty without appealing or requesting abatement. If you pay the penalty and then receive penalty abatement, the IRS will give you a refund.

If you feel comfortable with the process, you can respond to CP215 on your own. Or, you can hire a tax pro to help you with the process. CPAs, enrolled agents, and tax lawyers deal with penalty assessments regularly. 

How a Tax Pro Can Help You With CP215

A tax pro can file your unfiled 1094/1095-C forms or handle any other steps you need to get back into compliance with the IRS. They can also appeal if you don't need to file these forms, and they can help you apply for penalty abatement. 

These professionals are experienced in dealing with the IRS. They know how to negotiate the best outcome for your situation. 

Other IRS Notices You May Receive After Letter 5699

The IRS sends Letter 5699 to large employers who have not filed their 1094/1095-C returns. This letter is the first point of contact the agency makes with these filers. Letter 5699 outlines what you need to do to take care of these outstanding returns. It also tells you what information you should send the agency if you aren't obligated to file these returns. 

If you ignore Letter 5699 or provide the IRS with an unsatisfactory response, the agency may assess penalties on your account and send you Notice CP215. But this isn't the only notice the IRS sends after Letter 5699. Here are some of the other notices you may receive and a brief explanation of what they mean:

• Letter 1865C — You may receive this notice before Letter 5699. This notice tells you that the IRS couldn't process your 1094/1095-C forms due to a typo or another reason. 
• Letter 5698 — This is typically the first letter you receive after you respond to Letter 5699. It may request more information or inform you if you owe a penalty for not filing Forms 1094/1095-C. 
• Notice 972CG — This notice lists all of the information returns your business should have filed and the proposed penalties for not filing. At this point, the penalties have just been proposed and you have a chance to respond. 
• Letter 1948C — This is the IRS's response to your response to Notice 972CG. It either requests more details or tells you that the IRS has waived your penalties. 
• Letter 3064C — The IRS uses this letter to request more information or to notify you about a penalty assessment. 
• Letter 226J — One of your employees received a premium tax credit, and the IRS is assessing a penalty because you were not compliant with the ACA's Employer Mandate. The IRS generally sends Forms 14764 and 14765 with this letter.
• Letter 227s — This is the IRS's response to your response to Letter 226J.
• Letter 5005-A — Usually accompanied by Form 886-A, this letter outlines your requirements to file Forms 1094/1095-C, and it tells you how much of a penalty you owe.
• Letter 972CG — This is another late penalty notice for businesses that didn't file Forms 1094/1095-C. 
• CP504B — This letter means that you still haven't taken care of your ACA penalties, and the IRS is going to levy (seize) your property. 

You will not receive all of these notices. The notices you receive can vary based on your business type, how late your returns are, and the examiner the IRS assigns to your case. 

Get Help Responding to CP215

Receiving an IRS penalty assessment can be scary and confusing. If you're unsure how to respond to this notice, you are not alone — the tax code is extremely complicated. 

You don't have to deal with this situation on your own. A tax professional can help you respond to CP215 and guide you toward the right steps to reduce your penalties and get back into compliance with the IRS. To learn, more contact a tax pro today. When you search for a tax pro on TaxCure, you can find a local professional who is experienced with your particular tax issue.