Enforcement stage — a lien or a levy can follow
IRS Notice CP504: What It Means and What to Do
Notice of Intent to Levy. The tone of the sequence changes here.
What this notice is
CP504 is your Notice of Intent to Levy, issued under Internal Revenue Code section 6331(d), because the IRS has not received payment of your unpaid balance. In the IRS's own words it is a final reminder that it intends to levy your wages, bank accounts, or your state tax refund.
The deadline
The notice tells you to pay immediately. It does not carry the 30-day appeal window that the final notice does — that comes with the LT11 or CP90.
What happens if nothing is done
The IRS states it can file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, which publicly establishes its priority against your creditors, and can seize any state tax refund you are entitled to. The notice also explains the denial or revocation of a United States passport under the FAST Act.
Your options
- Pay the amount immediately, online or by the envelope enclosed with the notice.
- Pay what you can now and contact the IRS about a payment plan — under $50,000 the online tool is the fastest route.
- Contact the IRS if you disagree, using the toll-free number on the notice.
- Request an appeal under the Collection Appeals Program (CAP) before collection action takes place, following the instructions on the notice.
The part people get wrong
A common misreading: people treat CP504 as the last word and wait for something worse before acting. The IRS's own page says it can file a lien and seize a state refund off the back of this notice — a lien is public and reaches assets you acquire later.
Where this notice sits
The IRS collection sequence runs roughly in this order. Notices can arrive out of order or be skipped, so treat this as the shape of the process, not a timetable.
- 1CP14The first bill. The IRS says you owe money on unpaid taxes.
- 2CP501A reminder that you still have an unpaid balance on one of your tax accounts.
- 3CP503The second reminder. The IRS has still not heard from you.
- 4CP504 — you are hereNotice of Intent to Levy. The tone of the sequence changes here.
- 5CP523Your installment agreement is about to be terminated.
- 6LT11 / Letter 1058The final notice before seizure — and the one with a 30-day clock on your appeal right.
- 7CP90Final notice of intent to levy, with notice of your right to a hearing.
- 8CP508CYour tax debt has been certified as seriously delinquent — and the State Department has been told.
Two notices sit outside this sequence: CP2000 proposes a change and is not a bill, and CP49 reports that a refund was already applied to a debt.
Every statement on this page comes from the IRS's own page for this notice, read on 2026-09-01. Where the IRS does not state something — a fixed number of days, for instance — this page does not state it either.
If you owe the money
Interest runs at 7% a year, compounded daily, and the failure-to-pay penalty adds 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month. An approved payment plan halves that penalty to 0.25%. On a $10,000 balance carried for a year the difference is $300 — for a step that costs nothing today.
IRS Fresh Start
Payment plans and what they change
Penalty Abatement
When the IRS removes penalties
Tax Debt Forgiveness
What is real and what is marketing
Currently Not Collectible
When you genuinely cannot pay
When Collection Rights Expire
The ten-year clock
Wage Garnishment Calculator
What a levy leaves you
Other IRS notices
CP14
The first bill. The IRS says you owe money on unpaid taxes.
CP501
A reminder that you still have an unpaid balance on one of your tax accounts.
CP503
The second reminder. The IRS has still not heard from you.
LT11 / Letter 1058
The final notice before seizure — and the one with a 30-day clock on your appeal right.
CP90
Final notice of intent to levy, with notice of your right to a hearing.
CP523
Your installment agreement is about to be terminated.
CP508C
Your tax debt has been certified as seriously delinquent — and the State Department has been told.
CP49
Your refund was used to pay a tax debt.
CP2000
Not a bill. The income reported to the IRS does not match your return.
This page is for general information only and is not tax or legal advice. Settlement Insight is not a law firm, is not a tax representative and does not represent any party. Consult a licensed tax professional or attorney about your specific notice.