IRS CP504 Notice: Notice of Intent to Levy
A CP504 is an urgent IRS collection notice saying the IRS intends to levy (seize) your state tax refund and may pursue other property if you don't pay or make arrangements — it's the last step before final levy notices.
Deadline calculator
The CP504 clock runs from the date printed on the notice — not the day you opened it.
Estimate only, based on the standard 30-day CP504 window. Your notice controls — always use the specific date printed on it.
What a CP504 actually means
By the time you receive a CP504, you've typically ignored a CP14 and one or more reminders (CP501/CP503). The IRS can now take your state tax refund and is signaling that wage garnishment, bank levies, and federal tax liens are next.
The full levy on wages or bank accounts still requires one more letter (LT11 or Letter 1058) that grants Collection Due Process appeal rights — but waiting for that letter burns your leverage. CP504 is the moment to act.
How to recognize a real CP504
The CP504 is the IRS's formal Notice of Intent to Levy under Internal Revenue Code section 6331(d), mailed from an IRS service center after earlier balance-due notices went unpaid. It is the notice that legally allows the IRS to take a state tax refund and warns that other levies and a federal tax lien filing can follow.
- The box in the upper right reads "Notice CP504" along with the tax year, notice date, your taxpayer ID number, a phone number, and a caller ID.
- The headline reads "Notice of intent to seize (levy) your property or rights to property," with "Amount due immediately" printed in large type instead of a future due date.
- A Billing Summary breaks the balance into the amount you owed, the failure-to-pay penalty, and interest charges, with a payment stub to return if you mail a check.
- A section titled "Notice of Intent to Levy" cites IRC section 6331(d) and says the IRS can levy your state tax refund if it doesn't receive the amount due within 30 days of the notice date. Publication 594, The IRS Collection Process, is enclosed.
- Later pages explain your right to a Collection Appeals Program (CAP) appeal using Form 9423 and include a section on passport denial or revocation for seriously delinquent tax debt.
What to do, step by step
- 1Don't panic — but don't wait. You still have time to prevent levies.
- 2Verify the balance is correct (request account transcripts if unsure).
- 3If you can pay, pay; if not, set up an installment agreement or request Currently Not Collectible status if you're in hardship.
- 4Consider an Offer in Compromise if the debt is far beyond your ability to pay.
- 5Get professional help now — after the next notice (LT11), you have only 30 days to file a CDP appeal before levies can begin.
Illustrative example
Example: A CP504 after two ignored reminders
Illustrative scenario: Marisol filed her 2024 return on time but couldn't pay the $7,800 balance. She set the CP14 and the reminder letters aside. In March 2026 a CP504 arrives showing $8,610 "due immediately" once penalties and interest are added, and warning that her state refund can be levied if nothing happens within 30 days of the notice date.
Marisol can't pay in full, so the same week she pulls her IRS online account to confirm the balance and applies for an online payment plan sized to her budget. Because the plan is in place, the account moves out of the levy track. She also writes down the notice date so she knows when the 30-day window closes, in case the plan request hits a snag.
Her neighbor Tom gets a CP504 too, but the IRS had already told him in writing that collection was suspended because of financial hardship, and his finances haven't changed. The CP504 itself says that in that situation he doesn't need to do anything, so he keeps a copy of the earlier hardship letter with the new notice.
Names and numbers are made up to show how this notice typically plays out.
Mistakes that make a CP504 worse
- Assuming the only appeal is a Collection Due Process hearing. The CP504 also offers a Collection Appeals Program (CAP) appeal by phone or Form 9423 within 30 days of the notice date if you disagree with the intended levy or a lien filing.
- Letting the 30-day window slide because "the real levy notice comes later." The state refund levy can happen on the CP504 alone, and the IRS can file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien if the balance isn't paid or arranged.
- Ignoring the penalty rate change. The penalty explanation printed on IRS balance-due notices says that if a Notice of Intent to Levy goes unpaid for 10 days, the failure-to-pay penalty rises from 1/2% to 1% per month.
- Mailing a check without the payment stub or without your taxpayer ID, tax year, and form number written on it, which risks the payment landing on the wrong period.
- Contacting the IRS without first checking whether a hardship status already covers the account. The notice says taxpayers in previously approved hardship status with unchanged finances don't need to act.
What happens if you ignore a CP504
If the amount isn't paid or arranged within 30 days of the notice date, the IRS can levy your state tax refund, and the notice says it may also serve a Disqualified Employment Tax Levy or a Federal Contractor Levy. For most other levies (wages, bank accounts, other assets) the IRS first sends a final notice that offers a Collection Due Process hearing, such as the LT11 or CP90, unless it has already sent one. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien can be filed in the meantime.
Often comes before a CP504
Common questions
Can the IRS take my paycheck after a CP504?+
Not yet from the CP504 alone — wage garnishment requires a final notice (LT11/Letter 1058) with appeal rights. But the CP504 lets them seize your state refund immediately, and the final notice usually follows quickly.
Should I set up a payment plan after a CP504?+
Almost always yes, if you can't pay in full. An approved installment agreement generally stops levy action while it's in effect and stops the escalation.
Checked against IRS primary sources — see how we source these guides. You can verify any notice directly at IRS.gov. The dates and instructions printed on your specific notice always control. Official IRS explanation: Understanding your CP504 notice.
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