Notice of Intent to Levy Your State Refund (CP504)

Why you might get this

• You didn't respond to earlier bills and reminders.
• A balance from a past-due tax year is still open.
• Penalties and interest have continued to grow, and the IRS is preparing to collect.

The deadline

This lets the IRS take your state tax refund after about 30 days. It is not yet the final levy notice that carries formal hearing rights.

What to do

1. Don't ignore this — it's a serious escalation toward collection.
2. Pay the balance in full if you can.
3. If you can't pay in full, set up a payment plan (an installment agreement) right away.
4. If you believe the balance is wrong, call the number on the notice immediately with your records.

What happens if you ignore it

The IRS can take your state tax refund and will move toward a final levy notice (LT11 or CP90) that lets it seize wages, bank accounts, and other property.

CP504 is followed by a final levy notice with hearing rights: CP504 → LT11/Letter 1058 or CP90.

What the IRS CP504 notice really means

A CP504 sounds frightening — and it should get your attention — but it's often misunderstood. The letter is titled a "Notice of Intent to Levy," which makes people think the IRS is about to empty their bank account. In reality, a CP504 specifically allows the IRS to seize your state tax refund and signals that it is preparing to pursue other assets.

What a CP504 does not do is give you the formal Collection Due Process hearing rights that come with the true final levy notice (an LT11/Letter 1058 or a CP90). Those later notices are the ones that unlock a 30-day statutory right to request a hearing before your wages or bank accounts can be levied.

So the CP504 is a strong, urgent warning — the last quiet exit before the process turns into full-blown collection. This is the moment to pay the balance, set up a payment plan, or, if the amount is wrong, get it corrected. Doing any of those stops the escalation.

Ignoring a CP504 leads directly to a final levy notice, and from there to actual seizure of income and property.

Solace can flag exactly where you are in the IRS collection sequence and what a notice like this can and can't do, so you can act with the right level of urgency.