What is irs notice response support?
The CP2000 or letter answered with a reconciliation and evidence — representation itself is licensed work, and we build the file behind it.
An IRS notice arrives with a deadline already running, and the letter itself rarely explains what happened in language a business owner can act on. The most common one is a CP2000 — the underreporter notice the IRS's Automated Underreporter program generates when a W-2, 1099 or other third-party information return doesn't match what the taxpayer reported on their 1040. It isn't an audit and it isn't a bill; it's a proposed change, and the taxpayer has 30 days from the date on the notice — 60 if they live outside the United States — to agree, partially agree, or dispute it with documentation, per IRS Tax Topic 652. Miss that window and the IRS moves to a statutory notice of deficiency, which starts a harder, more formal process to unwind.
Representing a taxpayer before the IRS on that notice — signing Form 2848 (Power of Attorney), corresponding with the IRS on the client's behalf, appearing in an interview if it gets that far — is restricted by Circular 230 to attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents. A PTIN alone, the credential that lets someone prepare a return for a fee, carries no representation rights at all. That line sits above CapEasy's own PTIN-based prep work and above what this leaf can do directly: an EA, CPA or attorney partner signs the 2848 and files the actual response.
Who does what
Representation before the IRS belongs to an EA, CPA or attorney under Circular 230; CapEasy prepares the reconciliation and evidence pack they respond from.
Who does what
| Your CapEasy team | IRS notice response support, the reconciliations and reporting behind it, and the questions list that keeps it honest. |
| Your CPA or enrolled agent | Everything that carries a licence in United States — rendered exactly as written: issue compilation, review or audit reports — those are restricted to licensed cpa firms. |
| You | One conversation with one named person, and the decisions that are genuinely yours. |
IRS notice response support in United States
Circular 230 draws the representation line, not a PTIN
A PTIN lets someone prepare and even e-file a federal return for a fee — no CPA, EA or attorney credential required. It confers zero representation rights before the IRS. Signing Form 2848, speaking to the IRS as the taxpayer's agent, or appearing at an interview is restricted to attorneys, CPAs and Enrolled Agents under Circular 230; a PTIN-only preparer has, per the IRS's own guidance, no authority to represent a client at all. CapEasy prepares the reconciliation and the draft response; the EA, CPA or attorney partner signs the 2848 and represents the client.
Tax Topic 652 sets the clock: 30 days, 60 if the taxpayer is abroad
IRS Tax Topic 652 states the CP2000 response window directly: 30 days from the date on the notice, or 60 days if the taxpayer lives outside the United States. The general CP2000 explainer page only says 'reply by the date listed,' so Topic 652 is the source that gives the actual number — and the date that matters is the one printed on the specific notice in hand, not a generic 30-day assumption, since a notice can arrive weeks after its own issue date.
A CP2000 is a proposed change, not an assessment — silence is what turns it into one
The IRS's Automated Underreporter program flags a mismatch and proposes an adjustment; it does not assess additional tax on its own. If the taxpayer doesn't respond within the window, the IRS issues a statutory notice of deficiency and can move to assess the proposed amount by default. A CP2000 that's actually wrong — a duplicate or corrected 1099, income already reported on a different line — only stays wrong on paper if nobody replies with the documentation that shows it.
A state notice can follow a federal one on its own separate clock
Most states share data with the IRS or trigger their own underreporter checks once a federal adjustment posts, and the state notice that follows runs on the state Department of Revenue's own deadline, not the federal one. Resolving the CP2000 doesn't automatically close the matching state exposure — that follow-on notice, if it arrives, needs its own response inside its own window.
What your CPA or enrolled agent receives from us
- A line-by-line reconciliation of the notice against the filed 1040 and every W-2, 1099 and K-1 referenced, showing exactly where the IRS's figure and the return's figure diverge and by how much.
- The documentary evidence behind each contested line — a corrected or duplicate 1099, a transaction record, a prior-year comparison — organized in the order the notice raises the issues.
- A draft written response addressing each proposed change as agree, partially agree, or dispute, with the reasoning and supporting document referenced for each position.
- A summary of the response deadline as printed on the specific notice (30 days, or 60 if the taxpayer is abroad, per Tax Topic 652), flagged early enough for Form 2848 to be signed and the response mailed inside the window.
- A completed draft Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) ready for the EA, CPA or attorney partner's signature — CapEasy prepares the form; only the partner signs it.
- A note on any related state Department of Revenue exposure the same underlying adjustment is likely to trigger, so that notice doesn't arrive as a surprise on its own clock.
