IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your CP523 notice
If you received a CP523, CP523 (SP) or CP623 notice, the IRS is informing you of the intent to terminate your installment agreement and seize (levy) your assets. You have defaulted on your agreement.
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- CP523
- Category
- Installment agreement and collection alternatives
- Severity tier
- Tier 4 — Escalation warranted. The notice involves collection enforcement, appeals rights, or significant penalty exposure.
- Governing law
- §6159; §6331 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- Statutory response window
- 30-day window — always confirm the exact deadline against the date printed on your notice.
- Escalation flag
- This notice carries a forfeitable right, a hard statutory deadline, or criminal-preparer risk. It is flagged for escalation in the TaxRiskOS workflow.
- Source
- IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice
What this notice is
If you received a CP523, CP523 (SP) or CP623 notice, the IRS is informing you of the intent to terminate your installment agreement and seize (levy) your assets. You have defaulted on your agreement.
Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
What the IRS says to do
Make your payment before your termination date to prevent your installment agreement from being terminated. Go to the payments page to make your payment or find out more about your payment options. Contact the IRS right away to see if you can reinstate your agreement. You may have to pay a fee to reinstate it or you may have to pay any new tax liability in full. Read your notice carefully — it explains what to do now that you have defaulted on your installment agreement. If you don't respond, we will terminate your installment agreement and begin taking collection action, which can include filing a federal tax lien or seizing (levying) your wages and/or bank accounts
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 5.14.1 — 5.14.1 Securing Installment Agreements
- IRM 5.14.5 — 5.14.5 Streamlined, Guaranteed and In-Business Trust Fund Express Installment Agreements
- IRM 5.14.2 — 5.14.2 Partial Payment Installment Agreements and the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED)
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-cp523-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)