IRS Notice CP71A
Annual Balance Reminder
CP71A is the IRS's annual reminder that you still owe back taxes. It doesn't escalate collection but confirms the balance is still active and interest is still accruing.
Tax Attorney · Villanova University School of Law · Admitted in Delaware, New Jersey, United States Tax Court
Notice CP71A in Plain English
CP71A is an annual reminder that you still owe back taxes. It's not a collection escalation, but it is the IRS confirming your balance is still on the books and interest is still running. Ignoring it is safe legally — dangerous financially — because interest and penalties keep growing every month.
Why the IRS sent you a CP71A
You have an unresolved prior-year balance and the IRS is required to send an annual statement.
Your account is currently in Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status and no active collection is happening, but the debt persists.
You are on an installment agreement and the IRS is confirming the year-end balance.
What Happens If You Ignore Notice CP71A
Interest and any applicable penalties continue to accrue. If your financial situation changes, the account may move out of CNC and re-enter active collection.
Every day you wait, penalties compound, interest accrues, and your options shrink. The IRS does not negotiate well with silence — they escalate.
What To Do About Notice CP71A
Verify the balance against your account transcript. Screen for Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED), penalty abatement, or Offer in Compromise eligibility.
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Verify the balance against your latest IRS account transcript — reminders can lag actual payments by 4–8 weeks.
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If you're in CNC, confirm your current income still qualifies; a raise or new job can push you back into active collection.
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If the debt is approaching the 10-year Collection Statute Expiration Date, do NOT volunteer new information or extend the statute — the IRS may lose collection rights.
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If penalties are still being assessed, screen for First-Time Abate or reasonable-cause abatement even years into a balance.
A Senior Tax Attorney's Take on CP71A
CP71A is often our first opportunity to run a Collection Statute analysis. Balances 6+ years old with no recent tolling events are candidates for waiting out the statute rather than paying at all — a strategy that only works if no one accidentally re-triggers the clock.
Call (877) 829-5267Costly Mistakes People Make With Notice CP71A
Filing an unsolicited payment to 'reduce the balance' without checking whether the CSED is about to expire — every payment restarts nothing but can psychologically encourage the IRS to review the account.
Ignoring CP71A during a period of financial recovery when a lump-sum Offer in Compromise would now be feasible.
Assuming the reminder is a bill demanding immediate action — it is not; it is a statutory annual statement.
IRS Notices Related to CP71A
These are the notices the IRS most often sends before, after, or alongside a CP71A. Read the related ones to understand where you are in the collection sequence.
Tax Resolution Services That Resolve a CP71A
Senior tax attorneys at McCauley Law Offices use these strategies to stop, settle, or unwind a CP71A notice.
Set up manageable monthly payment plans to pay off your tax debt over time.
Settle your tax debt for less than what you owe through IRS settlement programs.
Prove financial hardship to temporarily halt IRS collection activity.
Primary Sources & Authority
We cite the underlying IRS publications and statutes so you can verify everything on this page.