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IRS Letter LT11 or 1058: What It Means and What to Do
Updated: 10 hours ago
Short answer: An LT11 or Letter 1058 is the IRS telling you it intends to seize your property or rights to property, such as wages or bank funds, to collect unpaid tax. It also gives you the right to a Collection Due Process hearing, and that right has a deadline. All State Tax Resolution, led by Sabih Shafi, an Enrolled Agent, helps clients answer these letters in time to use that right.
Key takeaways
The IRS says this letter means it has not received your payment and intends to seize property. It tells you to contact it immediately.
You can ask for a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, using Form 12153.
The request must be postmarked on or before the 30th day after the date of the letter. Count from the date printed on the letter, not the day it arrived.
A timely hearing request prohibits levy in most cases while the hearing runs. Calling the IRS does not extend the 30 days.
Paying, a payment plan, hardship relief, or an Offer in Compromise can each change the outcome. The right one depends on your numbers.
What an LT11 or Letter 1058 is
The IRS treats LT11 and Letter 1058 on one page of its site, with the same instructions. Its summary is blunt: it has not received your payment for overdue taxes, it intends to seize your property or rights to property, and you must contact it immediately.
In its collection due process FAQs, the IRS describes Letter 1058 as a Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing, and LT11 as the Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. Both give you the right to ask Appeals to review the levy before it happens.
The 30-day clock
This is the part to read twice. IRS Publication 1660 says your request for a CDP hearing must be sent to the address on the notice and postmarked on or before the 30th day after the date of the levy notice. Publication 594 says the same: for a proposed levy, the date is 30 days from the date of the letter.
Two points the IRS makes clear:
Calling the IRS to work out a solution does not extend the 30-day period for a written hearing request.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service cannot extend the time to request a hearing either.
One IRS FAQ page words the deadline as 30 days from receipt. Publication 594 and Publication 1660 count from the date of the letter. Use the earlier date, and send your request early.
What the IRS can take if you do nothing
The IRS says it can attach a levy to your wages or bank accounts, up to the amount owed. It may also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. The property it lists includes:
Wages and other income
Bank accounts
Business assets
Personal assets, including your car and home
Alaska Permanent Fund Dividends and state tax refunds
Social Security benefits
Some details from the IRS:
A wage levy is continuous, and a portion of your wages is exempt.
On a bank levy, the funds are held, and after 21 days they are sent to the IRS.
Publication 594 says the IRS usually seizes only after it sends the Final Notice at least 30 days before the seizure.
To see how notices, liens and levies can build when a balance goes unanswered, read the step-by-step timeline of ignoring the IRS.
Your choices
1. Pay or arrange to pay. If you pay in full, the IRS stops adding interest and applicable penalties. If you cannot, pay what you can now. If you are current on your filings, you can ask for an installment agreement. The IRS says you can apply online if you owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest and have filed all required returns. Publication 594 says the IRS cannot issue a new levy while you have a current or pending payment plan or Offer in Compromise, or if the IRS agrees you cannot pay because of economic hardship.
2. Request a CDP hearing. This is the appeal route. It does not replace paying or arranging to pay. It gives Appeals a chance to review the proposed levy and your alternatives.
3. Fix an error. If you already paid in full, or think the IRS has not credited a payment, the IRS says to send proof of the payment to the address at the top of the letter.
How to request the hearing
Complete Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, or write a request with the same information. Send it to the hearing address shown on your notice, not the payment address. Include a copy of the notice. List every tax and period on it.
You must give a reason. The IRS says your request will not be honored without one. If you want a collection alternative, such as an installment agreement or an Offer in Compromise, the IRS says to prepare a financial statement, Form 433-A for individuals or Form 433-B for businesses, with your request. It is not required, but early submission helps get the quickest resolution.
Keep a copy of the request and proof of the date you sent it.
What you can raise at the hearing
Publication 1660 lists the issues:
Collection alternatives, such as an installment agreement or an Offer in Compromise.
Appropriate spousal defenses.
Economic hardship caused by collection.
The existence or amount of the tax, but only if you did not receive a notice of deficiency or did not otherwise have a chance to dispute it.
If Appeals cannot consider the amount you owe, the IRS gives three ways to reopen that question: pay in full and file a claim for refund, request an audit reconsideration with new information, or file an Offer in Compromise based on doubt as to liability.
What a timely request does, and what it does not
Form 12153 says a timely request prohibits levy action in most cases and suspends the 10-year period the IRS has to collect, until the Appeals determination is final. It does not prohibit the IRS from filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien.
If you miss the deadline, you can still ask for an equivalent hearing. It must be requested within one year from the date of the levy notice. An equivalent hearing does not prohibit levy and does not suspend the collection period, and you cannot go to court over the result.
After a timely CDP hearing, Appeals issues a determination. Publication 594 says you have 30 days after it to challenge it in U.S. Tax Court.
How we help
I am Sabih Shafi, an IRS Enrolled Agent. We work with clients nationwide and abroad, by phone and video, in English or Spanish.
Deadline check: we read the date on your letter and calendar the last day to request a hearing.
Form 12153: we prepare and send the request, with the financial statement when you want a collection alternative.
Alternatives: we put together the payment plan, hardship request, or Offer in Compromise that fits.
Representation: with a signed Form 2848, the IRS can talk to me instead of you.
A flat fee quoted in writing before work starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an LT11 the same as Letter 1058?
The IRS covers them together and gives the same steps for both. In its hearing FAQs it names both as notices of intent to levy that carry the right to a hearing. Check which one you have, then act on the date printed on it.
How long do I have to respond to an LT11?
To keep your CDP hearing right, your request must be postmarked on or before the 30th day after the date of the letter. Do not wait for the letter to arrive and then start counting.
Will the IRS take my wages or bank account right away?
Not before the notice period ends, apart from narrow exceptions such as jeopardy. Publication 1660 says levy is generally not permitted during the 30 days after the levy notice or during a timely requested hearing. Publication 594 says the IRS usually seizes only after sending this notice at least 30 days before the seizure.
Can I stop the levy by calling the IRS?
Calling can lead to a payment plan or other solution. But the IRS says a call does not extend the 30-day period for a written hearing request. If you want to keep the right, send the request on time. If a caller threatens a levy and demands payment right away, learn how to tell if the IRS is really calling before you pay anything.
Can I still get a payment plan after getting an LT11?
Yes, in many cases. The IRS says that if you are current on your filings you can request an installment agreement. If you owe $50,000 or less and filed all required returns, you can apply online.
Do I need a representative for a CDP hearing?
No. Publication 1660 says you may represent yourself, or you may be represented by a person enrolled to practice before the IRS. A representative must file Form 2848 to speak for you.
General information, not tax advice for your situation.
Related Reading
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This article is general information, not individual tax advice. If you want to talk through your own IRS or state balance, book a free 20-minute review or call or text us directly.
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