IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your CP42 notice
We reduced your refund because you, your spouse, or a former spouse owed on another tax year.
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- CP42
- Category
- Refund and adjustment
- Severity tier
- Tier 1 — Routine. Informational or administrative notice; no response typically required.
- Governing law
- §6213(b); §6402 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- Source
- IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice
What this notice is
We reduced your refund because you, your spouse, or a former spouse owed on another tax year.
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 used your refund and what’s remaining. You don’t need to do anything at this time.
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.
Official IRS reference
Read the official notice page on IRS.gov: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp42-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)