IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Initial Contact Letter
An Initial Contact Letter is your notification that your tax return has been selected for an audit (also called an examination). Included in the letter is a listing of the specific items reported on your tax return or th…
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- Initial Contact Letter
- Category
- Examination and audit
- Severity tier
- Tier 3 — Time-sensitive response. The notice carries a response deadline or may affect account standing if ignored.
- Governing law
- §7602 (Internal Revenue Code section)
- Source
- IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service
What this notice is
An Initial Contact Letter is your notification that your tax return has been selected for an audit (also called an examination). Included in the letter is a listing of the specific items reported on your tax return or that you failed to include on your return that are being questioned by the IRS, with a request that you provide documentation to support the identified items. For example, Letters 2202B and 566S are generally sent by correspondence auditors who wish to customize the Initial Contact Letter for the items on your return under examination. Letter 566S is generally used for the audit of a specific item. Letter 566E is typically used for the audit of wages, withholding, and refundabl
Source: IRS Taxpayer Advocate Service. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
What the IRS says to do
Read the letter and follow the instructions. Submit the requested documentation to the address and by the due date shown in the letter. Don’t send original documents – send copies. If you fax the information, include your name and taxpayer identification number (Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number) on each page. This will help the IRS associate the documents with your file. If you have questions about your examination or are uncertain about what information you need to provide the IRS, call the number on your letter, write to the IRS at the address shown on the letter, or make an appointment to visit your local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. You may choose to
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 4.10.1 — 4.10.1 Overview of Examiner Responsibilities
- IRM 4.10.3 — 4.10.3 Examination Techniques
- IRM 4.13.1 — 4.13.1 Examination Audit Reconsideration Process
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.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/notices/letter-notifying-taxpayer-of-audit-with-request-for-additional-information/
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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