IRS NOTICE REFERENCE
Understanding your LT16 notice
If you received a simple LT16 notice, it’s because we’re trying to collect unpaid taxes from you and/or our files show we’re missing tax returns from you. It is essential that you take action in order to avoid potential …
General information only. Not legal or tax advice.
Notice details
- Notice code
- LT16
- Category
- Appeals and collection due process
- Severity tier
- Tier 4 — Escalation warranted. The notice involves collection enforcement, appeals rights, or significant penalty exposure.
- Governing law
- §6320; §6321; §6323 (Internal Revenue Code sections)
- 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 simple LT16 notice, it’s because we’re trying to collect unpaid taxes from you and/or our files show we’re missing tax returns from you. It is essential that you take action in order to avoid potential enforcement action, which can include seizing your assets or wages. Enforcement action could also include the filing of a notice of federal tax lien, which could affect your credit score and ability to borrow. See a detailed explanation of what enforcement action may involve.
Source: IRS.gov. Reproduced for reference. General information — not legal or tax advice.
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 5.1.9 — 5.1.9 Collection Appeal Rights
- IRM 5.19.8 — 5.19.8 Collection Appeal Rights
- IRM 5.12.6 — 5.12.6 Appeals Processes Involving Liens
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-lt16-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)