IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your CP259 Notice
We show that you are required to file a tax return for the tax periods indicated on your notice but haven’t.
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- CP259
- Category
- Filing and non-filer
- Severity tier
- Tier 2 — Action or response expected. The IRS has taken or proposed an action and expects a response or payment.
- Governing law
- §6651; §6012 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- Source
- IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice
What this notice is
We show that you are required to file a tax return for the tax periods indicated on your notice but haven’t.
Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
What the IRS says to do
File your required business return immediately. If eligible, file your return electronically with all required schedules, using your e-file provider, or File a paper return with all required schedules. If you think you’re not required to file, complete the Response form enclosed with your notice and mail it to us, using the enclosed envelope or, you can fax your documents to 855-800-5944 using either a fax machine or online fax service. Protect yourself when sending digital data by understanding the fax service’s privacy and security policies. Use the Response form on your notice to explain why you don’t think you need to file. If you have filed within the last four weeks using the same name and EIN shown on the notice, you may disregard this 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 5.1.11 — 5.1.11 Delinquent Return Investigations
- IRM 5.18.1 — 5.18.1 Automated Substitute for Return (ASFR) Program
- IRM 4.12.1 — 4.12.1 Nonfiled Returns
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-cp259-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)