IRS notice CP05
CP05 notice: your return is being reviewed
A CP05 means the IRS needs more time to verify the income, withholding, credits or business income on your return before it releases your refund. If you filed the return, you do not need to do anything yet. If you did not, act now.
If you filed the return
No action is needed. The IRS asks you not to call until 60 days after the date of the notice, and then only if you have not received your refund or heard from it by then. You can track the refund online or in the IRS app in the meantime.
Being selected does not mean you made a mistake. The IRS says it selects some returns for review to check that income, expenses and credits are reported correctly, and that being chosen does not mean you were dishonest.
If you did not file a return
Then someone may have used your personal information to file one. The IRS asks you to complete Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, on paper, which it says is faster here, then sign it and mail it to the address at the top of the notice.
To stop it happening again, the IRS suggests getting an Identity Protection PIN, which prevents anyone else from filing a federal return with your taxpayer identification number.
Want a second pair of eyes on it?
USTAXX can check the notice against the return it refers to. Where the answer is a return — an amended return, a missing year, a corrected form — we prepare it, and you sign and send your own reply. We are an IRS Authorized e-file provider and work with clients remotely through a secure portal, by phone or video, and in person at our office in Naperville, IL.
Questions people ask
How long does a CP05 review take?
The IRS asks you to allow up to 60 days from the notice date before contacting it, and only if you have not received your refund or heard from it by then.
Does a CP05 mean I am being audited?
It means the IRS is verifying parts of your return before releasing the refund. The IRS says selection does not mean you made an error or were dishonest.
What if I got a CP05 but did not file?
Someone may have filed using your information. Complete Form 14039 on paper, sign it, and mail it to the address at the top of the notice.
Where these rules come from
- IRS: Understanding your CP05 notice
- IRS: Get an Identity Protection PIN
- IRS: Publication 3498-A, The Examination Process
General information, current when written, not advice about your situation. Fees and forms change; the official pages above are the authority.