We used your refund to pay a past-due tax bill

Why you might get this

• You had a refund coming from you, your spouse, or a former spouse.
• The IRS used that refund to pay a past-due tax balance instead of sending it to you.
• There may still be a balance left over after the refund was applied.

The deadline

If you still owe money, the IRS wants you to pay by the date printed on your notice to avoid more penalties and interest. If you already have a payment plan, keep making your payments on schedule. If you don't owe anything, there's no deadline to worry about.

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 how your refund was used and whether you still owe anything.
2. If you owe, pay the remaining balance now to keep penalties and interest from growing.
3. If you're already on a payment plan, continue making your payments as usual.
4. If you can't pay in full, look into a payment plan, an Offer in Compromise (settling for less than you owe), or a temporary delay on collection.
5. If you disagree, write or call using the contact info on your notice and include proof such as cancelled checks or an amended return.
6. If you don't owe anything, you don't need to do anything.

What happens if you ignore it

If you still owe and do nothing, penalties and interest will keep adding up on the unpaid amount, and the IRS can continue its collection process to get the money.

You can authorize someone to represent you before the IRS. You may also qualify for free help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service or a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic if you're struggling to resolve this or pay what you owe.

The CP39 notice tells you the IRS took a refund — yours, your spouse's, or a former spouse's — and used it to pay a tax bill you already owed. This is a way the IRS collects on past-due balances before sending money back to you.

Start by reading the notice closely. It explains exactly how much of the refund was applied and whether you still owe anything. If a balance remains, paying it now helps you avoid extra penalties and interest. If you're already on a payment plan, just keep making your payments. And if the notice shows you don't owe anything more, you're all set.

Can't pay the full amount? You have options, including a payment plan, an Offer in Compromise (settling for less than the full amount), or asking for a temporary hold on collection. If you think the IRS got something wrong, you can write or call using the contact details on your notice — bring proof like cancelled checks or an amended return.

Keeping track of these updates can feel like a lot. Solace can watch your IRS account for you and let you know when something changes, so you're never caught off guard.