Understanding your CP160 notice

Notice details

Notice code

CP160

Category

Balance due and collection

Severity tier

Tier 2 — Action or response expected. The IRS has taken or proposed an action and expects a response or payment.

Governing law

§6303; §6321 (Internal Revenue Code sections)

Source

IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice

What this notice is

This notice reminds you that you still have a balance due and it requires your immediate attention.

Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.

What the IRS says to do

Read your notice carefully. It explains how we calculated your amount due. Compare the figures on the notice with your tax return. Check the list of payments we applied to your account to verify if we applied all the payments you made. Pay the amount due by the date on the notice. Request a payment plan if you can't pay the full amount you owe. Contact us if you disagree by calling the toll-free number shown on your notice.

This is the IRS’s own guidance reproduced from the IRS notice page. It describes the IRS’s process — it is not legal or tax advice from TaxRiskOS.

Governing IRS procedure (Internal Revenue Manual)

The IRS’s own internal procedures for handling this notice type are documented in the Internal Revenue Manual:

• IRM 5.19.1 — 5.19.1 Balance Due
• IRM 5.19.4 — 5.19.4 Enforcement Action
• IRM 5.1.1 — 5.1.1 Miscellaneous Collection Procedures

Reference to published IRS procedure. General information — not legal or tax advice.

Official IRS reference

Read the official notice page on IRS.gov: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp160-notice

Related tools

TaxRiskOS is workflow software for practitioners — it captures the notice, computes the deadline, surfaces the escalation tier, and builds a document checklist. It documents process; it does not give advice or draft responses.

Check this notice’s deadline (free tool)

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