IRS letter scam: how to tell a real IRS letter from a fake

How can you tell if an IRS letter is real?

An IRS letter is real if its notice number matches a notice described on IRS.gov, the details match what your IRS Online Account shows, and every payment instruction points to the IRS or the United States Treasury. If any of those checks fails, treat the letter as a possible IRS letter scam until the IRS confirms otherwise.

An IRS letter scam is a piece of mail, or a mailed-style document, designed to look like it came from the IRS so you will pay money or hand over personal and bank details. Unlike email scams, fake letters exploit the fact that the IRS really does use mail.

1. Find the notice number, a code starting with CP or LTR, in the right corner of the page.
2. Search that number on the IRS page "Understanding your IRS notice or letter". The description should match what your letter says.
3. Sign in to your IRS Online Account by typing IRS.gov into your browser, not by using a link or QR code on the letter. Check your balance and the notices listed there.
4. If the letter is not found or still looks wrong, call the IRS using a number you find on IRS.gov yourself, never the number printed on the suspicious letter.

Does the IRS send letters by regular mail?

Yes. The IRS normally contacts people for the first time by letter delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. It uses email, text or phone only in limited cases, such as when you have opted in or after it has already written to you.

That is why a letter arriving in a cardboard envelope from a private delivery service deserves a closer look. The IRS warned about exactly this in IR-2023-123 on July 3, 2023: a fake letter with an IRS masthead, about an "unclaimed refund", sent in a delivery-service envelope.

Some real letters come from outside the IRS. If your debt was assigned to one of the three private collection agencies the IRS uses, you first get IRS Notice CP40 and then a letter from the agency, both carrying the same taxpayer authentication number.

What are the signs of a fake IRS letter?

The clearest signs of a fake IRS letter are a request to send photos of your ID or bank details by email or phone, contact information that is not an IRS address, and pressure to act immediately. Sloppy formatting and wrong dates are common too.

The 2023 delivery-service letter shows how these combine. It asked recipients to send detailed photos of their driver's license, a cell phone number, bank routing and account details and their Social Security number, all to contacts that did not belong to the IRS. The IRS pointed to odd punctuation, mixed fonts, a wrong extension deadline and the phrase "unclaimed property" in place of tax refund language as giveaways.

Real IRS letter or fake: what is different?

A real IRS letter gives you options and time, while a fake one removes both. Real balance-due notices list the amount, the tax year, a due date, and ways to pay or dispute; scam letters demand a single fast action through a channel the IRS does not use.

Real letters can still be alarming. A CP14 balance bill, a CP2000 income mismatch or a Final Notice of Intent to Levy all look serious because they are. If a letter checks out, our guide to why you got an IRS letter explains the common notices, and how to respond to an IRS notice covers deadlines and replies.

What should you do with a fake IRS letter?

Do not reply, call, pay or scan anything on a fake IRS letter. Keep the letter and envelope, confirm with the IRS that the notice is not real, and report it.

• Mail scams: the IRS says to verify the letter through its notice search and report fake mail to the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Trade Commission or your state attorney general.
• Anyone claiming to be the IRS: report to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) through tigta.gov.
• Emails or texts that follow up on the letter: forward them to [email protected]. Forward scam texts to 7726 (SPAM) as well.
• Social media messages: the IRS says a social media direct message is never from it. Send the full profile URL to [email protected].

If you already sent information or money

Act the same day. Call your bank to block the account or payment, change passwords for any account you entered, and if you gave out your Social Security number, file Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, through the IRS identity theft pages. Watch your IRS Online Account and credit reports for activity you do not recognize.

What IRS letter scams are common in 2026?

IRS impersonation by email and text is first on the IRS's 2026 Dirty Dozen list, and AI-enabled phone impersonation with spoofed caller ID is second. The IRS also reported finding more than 600 social media accounts impersonating it in fiscal year 2025.

These schemes often work together: a letter prompts a call, or a call claims a letter is on its way. The IRS phone scam page covers the phone side, and our summary of the Dirty Dozen tax scams lists all twelve. For trustworthy help with a real notice, start with help with IRS problems.