CP24: We Adjusted Your Estimated Tax Payments (You May Have a Credit)

Why you might get this

• Your return listed a different amount of estimated tax payments (payments you send throughout the year, instead of having tax withheld) than the IRS actually posted to your account.
• A payment from a prior year may have been applied to this year's return.
• You may have entered the wrong amount on the estimated tax line of your return.
• A payment may have been applied to your account by mistake.
• The IRS may have made other changes while processing your return, which this notice also explains.

The deadline

If you agree with the changes, you don't need to respond. If you disagree, you must contact the IRS by the date printed on your notice. Acting by that date protects your right to have the issue reviewed before the changes become final.

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

What to do

1. Read the notice carefully to see exactly what was changed and how it affected your refund.
2. Compare the estimated tax payments listed on the notice to your own records — make sure every payment you made is there.
3. Check any payments the IRS applied from a prior year.
4. If everything looks right, do nothing — expect your remaining refund within about 4-6 weeks (unless you owe other taxes or debts).
5. If a payment is listed that you didn't make, or one you made is missing, call the phone number on your notice and have your tax return and proof of payment (like canceled checks) ready.
6. Correct the personal copy of your tax return that you keep, but don't send it back to the IRS.
7. If you disagree with the changes, call the number on your notice by the date shown.

What happens if you ignore it

If you agree with the changes, ignoring the notice is fine — no response is needed. But if the numbers are wrong and you don't speak up by the date on your notice, the IRS's version of your account stands. If you received a refund you weren't entitled to, you'll have to pay it back.

If you can't resolve a payment dispute through the phone number on your notice, you may be eligible for free help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) or a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic.

What a CP24 Notice Means

A CP24 notice (which also covers CP24E, CP24G, and CP24U) means the IRS found a difference between the estimated tax payments you claimed on your return and the payments they actually have on record. Estimated tax payments are amounts you send during the year instead of having tax withheld from a paycheck. When these numbers don't match, the IRS corrects your return — and this often means you have a credit coming your way.

What to do next

Start by reading your notice and comparing the payments it lists to your own records. Make sure every payment you made shows up, and check any credit carried over from a prior year. If everything matches, you don't need to do anything — your remaining refund should arrive within about four to six weeks. If a payment is missing or one appears that you never made, call the number on your notice with your return and proof of payment ready.

If you disagree with the changes, contact the IRS by the date printed on your notice.

Keeping an eye on your account can catch these mismatches early. Solace can watch your IRS account and let you know when something changes.