IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your letter 226-J
Letter 226-J is the initial letter issued to Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) to notify them that they may be liable for an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP). The determination of whether an ALE may be liabl…
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- Letter 226-J
- Category
- Penalty
- Severity tier
- Tier 3 — Time-sensitive response. The notice carries a response deadline or may affect account standing if ignored.
- Governing law
- §4980H; §6751 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- Statutory response window
- 30-day window — always confirm the exact deadline against the date printed on your notice.
- Source
- IRS.gov — Understanding Your IRS Notice
What this notice is
Letter 226-J is the initial letter issued to Applicable Large Employers (ALEs) to notify them that they may be liable for an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP). The determination of whether an ALE may be liable for an ESRP and the amount of the proposed ESRP in Letter 226-J are based on information from Forms 1094-C and 1095-C filed by the ALE and the individual income tax returns filed by the ALE’s employees.
Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
What the IRS says to do
Read your letter and attachments carefully. These documents explain the ESRP process and how the information received affects the computation. The letter fully explains the steps to take if you agree or disagree with the proposed ESRP computation. Complete the response form ( Form 14764, ESRP Response PDF ) indicating your agreement or disagreement with the letter. If you disagree with the proposed ESRP liability, you must provide a full explanation of your disagreement and/or indicate changes needed on Form 14765 PDF (PTC Listing). Return all documents as instructed in the letter by the response date. If you agree with the proposed ESRP liability, follow the instructions to sign the response form and return with full payment.
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:
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-letter-226-j
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)