What Are CP90 and CP297?

CP90 is sent to individual taxpayers. CP297 is the equivalent notice sent to business taxpayers. Both are titled "Final Notice — Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing."

These notices represent a critical legal threshold. Receiving CP90 or CP297 means:

  1. The IRS has exhausted its standard notice sequence
  2. You have 30 days from the notice date to request a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing
  3. After those 30 days, the IRS can begin levying your wages, bank accounts, retirement accounts, Social Security benefits, and other assets without further notice to you

This is the IRS's most serious pre-levy notice. Take it seriously.

Your Most Important Right: The CDP Hearing

When you receive CP90 or CP297, the clock starts on your right to a Collection Due Process (CDP) Hearing before the IRS Office of Appeals. This is a fundamental taxpayer right under the Internal Revenue Code.

File Form 12153 (Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing) within 30 days of the notice date.

Benefits of requesting a CDP Hearing:

  • Levy action is suspended while your case is pending with Appeals
  • You can challenge the underlying tax liability if you never received a prior opportunity to do so
  • You can propose alternative collection methods (installment agreement, OIC, CNC)
  • You preserve your right to petition the U.S. Tax Court if Appeals denies your request

Missing the 30-day deadline is extremely costly. If you miss it, you can still request an "Equivalent Hearing" within 1 year, but you lose the right to petition Tax Court, and levy action is not automatically suspended during the equivalent hearing.

What Happens After the 30 Days?

If no CDP Hearing is requested and no resolution is in place:

  • The IRS can issue a bank levy — freezing your bank accounts for 21 days before the funds are sent to the IRS
  • The IRS can issue a wage levy (Form 668-W) to your employer — garnishing most of your paycheck continuously
  • The IRS can levy Social Security benefits, retirement account distributions, and other income
  • The IRS can seize and sell physical assets (vehicles, real estate) with additional approvals

How to Stop the Levy Clock

Request a CDP Hearing (Form 12153) — Your fastest and most protective option. Suspends all levy action. File immediately.

Establish an Installment Agreement — If approved before levy action begins, the IRS must release any levy. An online payment plan for balances under $50,000 can be set up in minutes at IRS.gov.

Submit an Offer in Compromise — Suspends levy action during the review period. Must be filed and acknowledged by the IRS before levy action starts.

Request Currently Not Collectible Status — If paying creates genuine financial hardship, document your income and expenses and request hardship status .

Pay in Full — Immediately resolves all collection actions.

What If You Never Received Earlier Notices?

If CP90 or CP297 is the first notice you have seen (which can happen if you moved or if prior notices were lost), you can raise this in a CDP Hearing. The IRS is required to follow proper notice procedures. If you can demonstrate you never received proper notice, the Appeals officer may provide additional relief.

Business Taxpayers: CP297 Specifics

For business owners, CP297 is particularly serious because it can lead to levies on:

  • Business bank accounts
  • Accounts receivable (payments from clients directed to the IRS)
  • Business assets and equipment
  • Personal assets of business owners in some cases (particularly for trust fund tax liability)

If you own a business and received CP297, payroll tax (Form 941) issues require especially urgent attention — the IRS treats trust fund taxes (employee-withheld income tax and Social Security) with particularly aggressive enforcement authority.