IRS LT16 Notice: Please Call About Your Overdue Taxes or Returns
An LT16 is an Automated Collection System letter saying the IRS wants to hear from you about an unpaid balance, unfiled returns, or both — it asks for contact within 10 days and signals the account is in active collection, a short step from levy notices.
Deadline calculator
The LT16 clock runs from the date printed on the notice — not the day you opened it.
Estimate only, based on the standard 10-day LT16 window. Your notice controls — always use the specific date printed on it.
What a LT16 actually means
The LT16 sits in the middle of the ACS sequence: past the polite service-center reminders, before the final levy notices. It often flags two problems at once — a balance due and missing returns — because the IRS generally won't resolve one without the other. No payment arrangement gets approved while required returns are unfiled.
The 10-day contact request isn't a levy deadline, but it isn't decorative either: accounts that stay silent after ACS letters move to CP504 and then a final notice of intent to levy. The useful way to read an LT16 is as the IRS handing you the agenda for one phone call — file what's missing, address the balance — while every resolution option is still cheap and available.
What to do, step by step
- 1Pull the full picture first: your IRS online account or transcripts show every year with a balance and every missing return, so nothing surprises you mid-call.
- 2Prepare and file any unfiled returns — compliance is the gate to every payment option.
- 3Decide your resolution before calling: full pay, installment agreement, Currently Not Collectible, or an Offer in Compromise candidate.
- 4Call the number on the notice (or have a representative do it) and set the resolution in motion — silence is the only truly bad response.
- 5If the balance is large or several years are unfiled, get professional help now, while the account is still pre-levy.
Common questions
What happens if I ignore an LT16?+
The account keeps moving through Automated Collection: a CP504 (intent to levy your state refund) and then a final notice of intent to levy with a 30-day appeal window. After that, wage garnishments and bank levies can be served without further warning. The LT16 stage is when resolving things is still entirely on your terms.
Why does the IRS want returns filed before it will discuss my balance?+
Filing compliance is a precondition for every collection alternative — installment agreements, hardship status, and Offers in Compromise all require that your required returns are in. The LT16 pairs the two issues because the IRS resolves them as one account, not as separate problems.
Should I call the IRS myself or get representation?+
For a single year and a balance you can realistically pay, calling yourself is fine — have the notice and your figures ready. For multiple unfiled years, payroll taxes, or a balance you can't pay, a representative who negotiates with ACS daily will usually get a better arrangement and keeps you from committing to a payment you can't sustain.
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.
Go deeper
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