CP21B: We Made the Changes You Asked For (Refund Coming)

Why you might get this

• You asked the IRS to change your tax return (for example, you filed an amended return or sent a correction).
• The IRS reviewed your request and agreed to make the changes.
• Those changes resulted in a refund owed to you.

The deadline

This notice is mainly good news and does not set a hard deadline for you to act. The IRS says you should get your refund within a couple of weeks of the date on your notice. If you disagree with the changes, reach out to the IRS using the phone number printed in the "What you need to know" section of your notice.

This notice doesn't carry a fixed response deadline, but it still deserves attention — see what to do below.

What to do

1. Check the changes on your notice against your own copy of the tax return.
2. Update the copy of your return you keep for your records so it matches the IRS's changes.
3. Watch for your refund, which the notice says should arrive within about 2-3 weeks.
4. If the IRS paid you interest, plan to report that interest as income on next year's tax return.
5. If you get $10 or more in interest, watch for a Form 1099-INT (an interest income statement) by January 31 of next year.
6. If you disagree with the changes, or don't remember asking for them, call the number printed in the 'What you need to know' section of your notice.
7. If you need to make another correction, file Form 1040-X (Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return).

What happens if you ignore it

There's usually no penalty for ignoring this notice, since it confirms changes you asked for and a refund. But if you don't check the details, you could miss an error, and you may forget to report any interest the IRS paid you on next year's return, which the IRS expects you to include.

If you don't get your refund within about 3 weeks and you don't owe other debts the IRS collects (like child support), call the number on your notice. If you've contacted the IRS several times without answers, you can reach the Taxpayer Advocate Service at 877-777-4778 (TTY/TDD 800-829-4059). If you don't recognize this change at all, it could point to identity theft — call the IRS and check Identity Theft Central.

What a CP21B notice means

Getting a CP21B notice is usually good news. It means the IRS made the changes you asked for on your tax return, and those changes added up to a refund headed your way.

The notice tells you which tax year it covers and how much your refund should be. The IRS says you should receive it within about 2 to 3 weeks of the date printed on the notice.

Take a minute to compare the changes to your own copy of the return, and update your records so they match. One easy thing to miss: if the IRS paid you interest along with your refund, you'll need to report that interest as income on next year's tax return. If it's $10 or more, you should get a Form 1099-INT by January 31.

If you don't recognize this change, or you disagree with it, call the phone number in the "What you need to know" section of your notice. And if your refund doesn't show up in about three weeks, that's a good reason to call too.

Not sure what to watch for next? Solace can keep an eye on your IRS account so you know when your refund posts and if anything changes.