Understanding your CP544 notice

Notice details

Notice code

CP544

Category

Penalty

Severity tier

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

Governing law

§6721; §6722; §6751 (Internal Revenue Code sections)

Source

IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice

What this notice is

You no longer need to withhold taxes on interest, dividends and patronage dividends you pay to the taxpayers listed on your notice. The taxpayers listed are no longer subject to backup withholding.

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

What the IRS says to do

Stop backup withholding within 30 days of receiving your notice or by Jan 1st. Report your withholding on Form 945, Annual Return of Withheld Federal Income Tax . Protect payee (taxpayer) information or you could be subject to civil damages for unauthorized disclosure (Internal Revenue Code Section 7431).

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 4.10.6 — 4.10.6 Penalty Considerations

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-cp544-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.

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