IRSLetterDecoded
Fake IRS letters are a business of their own — they copy real notice numbers, real letterheads, and real fear. Real ones are scary enough. Before you pay, call, or panic, run the three checks that separate the IRS from its impersonators.
1. Decode the code. Every real notice carries a code, and the IRS publishes a page for each. If the code on your letter exists in the library here and the letter matches what that notice does — same ask, same clocks — that's the first sign of a real one.
2. Look at your own account. Sign in at IRS.gov (type the address yourself, never from a link in the letter) and view your account or transcripts. A real balance-due notice matches a real balance on your account, for the same tax year.
3. Call the number from IRS.gov, not from the letter. The general line is 800-829-1040; notice-specific numbers are listed on the IRS's own notice pages. If the letter's phone number doesn't match the IRS's published one, the letter is the problem.
Private collection agencies do work for the IRS on old, inactive debts — but only after the IRS writes you first naming the agency, and they still direct payment to the U.S. Treasury. In-person visits by revenue officers happen too — always after letters, and officers carry two forms of official ID you can verify.
The free decoder tells you what the letter means and when it is due. The Kit is the doing: response letters for every notice family, the penalty-relief scripts, the payment-plan and Offer in Compromise reality checks, and the proof habits that keep a sent letter from becoming a lost argument.
Get the IRSLetterDecoded Kit — $39
One-time payment. No subscription. Education only — we are not a tax firm, and this is not tax advice.
No — the numbers are public, which is why fakes use them. The account check is what proves it: your balance at IRS.gov either matches the letter or it doesn't.
Report it — the Treasury Inspector General (TIGTA) takes impersonation reports, and your bank may still be able to act if you move immediately. Then check your real account: the fake payment never touched your actual tax balance.
The library explains what each notice is and how its clocks work, sourced to the IRS's own pages. Your account's specifics — amounts, years, prior notices — live with the IRS. When the two disagree, believe your transcript and treat the letter as a dispute waiting to be filed.