IRS Help for Individual Taxpayers and Families

This section is for people whose tax life runs through Form 1040: employees who get a W-2, retirees with pensions, Social Security or IRA withdrawals, students, and families who claim credits for children or dependents. Most of the time your contact with the IRS is routine. You file once a year, a refund arrives or you pay a balance, and that is it. When a letter does show up, it usually means the IRS's records and your return don't match, a payment is missing, or the IRS needs to confirm who you are. This page walks through the year, the notices you are most likely to get, and where to start.

If you also earn money from apps, side jobs or freelance work, see our guide for gig workers and freelancers. If you run a business, see the pages for the self-employed and small business owners.

Your IRS year at a glance

These are the dates most individual taxpayers need for the rest of 2026 and for the 2027 filing season. When a deadline falls on a weekend or legal holiday, it moves to the next business day.

An extension is for filing, not paying. Interest and the failure-to-pay penalty start on any tax not paid by April 15. Filing on time, even if you can't pay, avoids the much larger failure-to-file penalty.

Numbers that changed for 2025 and 2026

Several figures changed after the 2025 tax law the IRS calls the One, Big, Beautiful Bill. The IRS published these amounts:

• Standard deduction for 2026 (returns filed in 2027): $16,100 for single or married filing separately, $32,200 for married filing jointly, and $24,150 for head of household. For 2025 it was $15,750, $31,500 and $23,625 (IRS, IR-2025-103).
• Child Tax Credit: worth up to $2,200 per qualifying child for 2025, with up to $1,700 per child refundable as the Additional Child Tax Credit (IRS Child Tax Credit page). For 2026 the amounts stay at $2,200 and $1,700 (IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32).
• New SSN rule for the Child Tax Credit: each qualifying child needs a Social Security number valid for work and issued before the return's due date. On a joint return, at least one spouse needs a valid SSN. The other spouse needs an SSN or an individual taxpayer identification number (ITIN) (Form 1040-ES, 2026).
• Enhanced deduction for seniors: people born before Jan. 2, 1962, may deduct up to $6,000 each on 2026 returns. The deduction shrinks above $75,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($150,000 joint) (Form 1040-ES, 2026).
• Charitable gifts without itemizing: beginning in 2026, you can deduct up to $1,000 of cash gifts to eligible charities ($2,000 joint) even if you take the standard deduction (Form 1040-ES, 2026).

Refunds now go electronic

The IRS began phasing out paper refund checks for individuals on Sept. 30, 2025. When you file, enter the routing and account numbers for your bank account, credit union account, or a prepaid card or app that has those numbers. If your return shows a refund but the bank details are missing, invalid or rejected, the IRS may send a CP53E notice. You then have 30 days to add an account through your IRS Online Account or choose one of the limited exceptions. If you don't respond, the IRS says it will mail a paper check after 6 weeks.

Refunds can also shrink before they reach you. The IRS can apply a refund to back taxes (see CP49), and the Treasury Offset Program can take it for other debts like past-due child support. Our guide to refund delays and offsets explains both.

Notices individual taxpayers get most often

Each notice code is printed in the top or bottom right corner of the letter. Click through for a full explanation of each one.

Balance due and collection. A CP14 is the first bill for unpaid tax. If it isn't paid, reminders follow: CP501, CP503, then CP504, a notice of intent to levy. Later come the final levy notices, LT11 or CP90, which come with appeal rights. If you owe for older years, you may get a yearly reminder, the CP71.

Changes to your return. A CP2000 proposes changes because income reported by employers, banks or brokers doesn't match your return. A CP2501 sometimes comes first, asking you to explain the difference. A CP11 means the IRS fixed a math or credit error and you owe more. A CP12 means a correction changed your refund. A CP10 means your refund is smaller than expected.

Refund holds and credit reviews. A CP05 means your refund is on hold while the IRS checks your income or withholding. A CP75 asks for documents to support the Earned Income Tax Credit or other family credits. A CP09 says you may qualify for a credit you didn't claim. A CP79 means a credit was denied and you must recertify before claiming it again. A Letter 12C asks for missing information, such as a form for the premium tax credit.

Identity checks. A Letter 5071C, Letter 4883C or Letter 5747C asks you to confirm your identity online, by phone, or in person before the IRS processes a return filed in your name. A CP01A gives you an Identity Protection PIN.

Missing returns. A CP59 says the IRS has no record of your return. A CP518 is a final reminder to file.

Common problems and where to start

You can't pay what you owe. File anyway, pay what you can, and look at a payment plan. As of October 2026, the IRS charges no setup fee for a short-term plan of 180 days or less. A long-term plan set up online costs $29 with automatic bank payments or $69 without them. The fees are higher by phone or mail and are reduced or waived for low-income taxpayers (IRS payment plans page). Start with what to do if you can't pay and IRS payment plans, or estimate a monthly payment with our payment plan calculator.

You were charged a penalty. A new IRS program called the Automatic Exemption from Penalty replaces first-time abatement starting with 2025 returns. If you filed and paid on time for the three prior years, the IRS is not supposed to assess failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties at all. Instead it sends a letter saying relief was applied. See IRS penalty relief and how IRS interest works.

Your refund is late or smaller than expected. Check Where's My Refund or your IRS Online Account first, then read refund delays and offsets.

You think someone filed in your name. See tax identity theft. Be careful with calls, texts and emails that claim to be from the IRS. Our guide on IRS scams shows how to check whether a letter is real.

You made a mistake on a return you already filed. See amending a return.

You haven't filed for a year or more. See unfiled tax returns. You can pull your wage and income records through IRS transcripts and your Online Account.

Your spouse or ex-spouse caused the tax problem. See innocent spouse relief.

You're stuck. The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent office inside the IRS that helps people facing hardship or long delays, and Low Income Taxpayer Clinics give free or low-cost help. See also how to contact the IRS.

To work out the response date on a notice you just received, use the calculator below.

IRSV.com is an independent guide and is not affiliated with the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change; confirm details on IRS.gov or with a tax professional. Found an error? Tell us.