IRS private debt collection: how to tell if a collector is real

Does the IRS use private debt collectors?

Yes. The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, signed on December 4, 2015, requires the IRS to use private collection agencies for certain overdue federal tax accounts. As of September 2026 the IRS lists three agencies under contract: CBE Group, Coast Professional and ConServe.

An IRS private collection agency works on the IRS's behalf. It calls and writes to help you choose a way to pay. It is not the IRS, and it has far fewer powers than an IRS employee.

Publication 4518 says the agencies must follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, with some exceptions in the tax code, and that its rules bar them from threatening or intimidating you. The IRS keeps its own power to use liens and levies, covered in what an IRS levy is and how an IRS tax lien works.

What is Notice CP40?

Notice CP40 is the IRS letter that tells you your unpaid balance has been assigned to a private collection agency. It names the agency, gives its contact details, and includes a unique 10-digit taxpayer authentication number. Save it, because the agency will use that number to confirm your identity.

After CP40 arrives, the agency sends its own first letter. That letter repeats the same taxpayer authentication number. When the agency calls, its employee uses the number in a two-party check so both of you know the other is genuine.

How do you know an IRS collection agency is real?

An IRS collection agency is real only if you got CP40 from the IRS first, the caller works for one of the three contracted agencies, and the taxpayer authentication number they cite matches your letters. If any of those three is missing, treat the contact as a possible scam.

1. Find your CP40. If you never received one, sign in to your IRS Online Account to see which notices the IRS has sent and whether you owe.
2. Compare the agency name on CP40 with the IRS private debt collection page on IRS.gov.
3. Check that the agency letter shows the same 10-digit authentication number as CP40.
4. If a caller pressures you, hang up and call the agency back using the number printed on CP40, not a number the caller gives you.
5. Never pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, prepaid debit card or wire to a person.

Scammers copy the names of real agencies. Our IRS phone scam page lists the scripts fraudsters use and where to report them.

Is ConServe legit for IRS debts?

Yes, ConServe is one of the three agencies the IRS names on its private debt collection page, along with CBE Group and Coast Professional. A call that uses the ConServe name is still legitimate only if it matches a CP40 you received and the authentication number lines up.

Can you pay the collection agency directly?

No. Private collection agencies cannot ask you to pay them, and all payments go to the IRS. The agency can explain how to pay, but the money itself must go through IRS channels.

• IRS Direct Pay, free from a checking or savings account, at IRS.gov/payments. See our IRS Direct Pay guide.
• EFTPS, the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System, free online or by phone.
• Debit or credit card through an IRS-approved payment processor, which charges a fee.
• Check or money order payable to United States Treasury, with your name, Social Security number and tax year written on it, mailed to the IRS address the agency gives you.

Which accounts are not sent to private collection?

The tax code excludes several groups from the private debt collection IRS program. Under IRC 6306(d), accounts are not assigned if the taxpayer is deceased, under 18, serving in a designated combat zone, a victim of tax-related identity theft, or has income made up substantially of Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income. Taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is at or below 200% of the poverty level are also excluded.

Accounts are also excluded if they are under examination, litigation, criminal investigation or levy, have a pending or active Offer in Compromise or installment agreement, are classified as innocent spouse cases, or are in a pending appeal. If one of these applies and you still got CP40, tell the agency and the IRS.

How to stop working with a private collection agency or report a problem

If you do not want to work with the assigned agency, you must say so in writing to the agency, according to Publication 4518. Your account is not forgiven; it simply goes back into IRS inventory, where the IRS can still use liens and levies.

To report misconduct or a suspected impersonator, contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) through its misconduct reporting page at tigta.gov. The Taxpayer Advocate Service can help when the account itself is stuck or causing hardship.

Before agreeing to a plan with an agency, check how long the IRS can legally collect. The IRS CSED date guide shows how to estimate it, and the IRS collection process hub explains every other stage of collection.