IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your CP187 notice
You received this notice because you still have an unpaid balance on your tax account and it requires your immediate attention.
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- CP187
- 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
You received this notice because you still have an unpaid balance on your tax account 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
Pay your unpaid balance . Interest and applicable penalties will stop being added as soon as you pay your balance in full. Pay the amount you owe online . It’s fast, secure, and you’ll receive instant confirmation of your payment. Sign in to your account to view the amount you owe. Use the free Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS) to make payments. Pay as much as you can now even if you can’t pay the full amount you owe. Set up a payment plan to pay the remaining balance over time. You may qualify for a payment plan by applying online through the Online Payment Agreement Tool . You’ll receive immediate notification if your payment plan is approved. Call us at the phone number shown on your notice if you aren’t able to apply for a payment plan online.
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-cp187-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)