IRS notice CP59
CP59 notice: the IRS has no record of your tax return
A CP59 means the IRS has no record that you filed your personal tax return for the prior year. It asks you to file it immediately, or to tell it why you did not need to.
If you have not filed
File the return now. If the IRS has issued you an Identity Protection PIN because of identity theft, include it on the return as directed, and on a joint return include each spouse’s PIN.
Waiting costs more than filing. The IRS points out that the tax code sets strict time limits for claiming refunds and some credits, so a late return can lose them, and that if you owe, penalties and interest keep building until you file and pay in full. If you cannot pay what you owe when you file, you can ask for a payment plan.
Only recent years can be filed electronically, and you need a preparer or software that supports prior-year e-filing; older years go on paper.
If you already filed
If you filed within the last eight weeks, you do not need to do anything. If it has been longer, check that the name, Social Security or taxpayer identification number and tax year on the notice match the return, make sure the return was not rejected, and mail the IRS a signed and dated copy of it.
If you did not need to file
Complete Form 15103, Form 1040 Return Delinquency, and mail or fax it, or upload it through your IRS Online Account. If you are a bona fide resident of a U.S. territory such as the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands and filed with your territory tax office, the IRS says to contact that office for guidance, which may include sending the IRS a copy of your territory tax transcript.
Returns to file before you can set up a plan?
The IRS generally wants every required return filed before it agrees to a long-term payment plan, and a notice can be the first sign that a year is missing. USTAXX prepares current and past-due returns, one year at a time, so the account is complete. 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
What should I do if I get a CP59?
File the missing return right away, or, if you did not have to file, send Form 15103 explaining why. If you filed within the last eight weeks, you do not need to do anything.
What if I already filed my return?
If it was more than eight weeks ago, check that the name, number and year match the notice and that the return was not rejected, then mail a signed and dated copy.
What happens if I ignore a CP59?
You may lose the right to a refund or certain credits, because the law sets strict time limits for claiming them. If you owe, penalties and interest keep accruing until you file and pay.
Where these rules come from
- IRS: Understanding your CP59 notice
- IRS: Filing past due tax returns
- IRS: Form 15103, Form 1040 Return Delinquency
General information, current when written, not advice about your situation. Fees and forms change; the official pages above are the authority.