Translate common words found in IRS letters, transcripts, examination reports, collection documents, and appeals without treating a definition as case-specific advice.
Choose the page that matches the actual notice, form, enforcement step, decision, record problem, or term—not merely the broadest phrase. Each guide states the file to build, the distinction to verify, common mistakes, and primary sources.
How to use this library
- Start with the exact name or number printed on the document.
- Confirm the taxpayer, entity, tax form, and tax period before combining records.
- Open the closest guide and build its issue-specific evidence list.
- Check the official source and the current instructions on the controlling document.
- Use a checklist to record delivery proof, follow-up, and unresolved questions.
Browse IRS Tax Glossary
Abatement
A reduction or removal of an assessed amount, commonly a penalty and in narrower situations tax or interest.
Accrued Interest
Interest that has accumulated on an unpaid balance over time.
Adjusted Gross Income
Income after specific adjustments and before the standard or itemized deduction on an individual return.
Appeals
The IRS Independent Office of Appeals, an administrative forum for many tax disputes.
Assessment
The formal recording of a tax liability on the IRS account.
Audit
An IRS examination of return information and supporting records.
Balance Due
Tax, penalties, and interest the IRS account currently shows as unpaid.
Bank Levy
A levy served on a financial institution to seize funds belonging to the taxpayer.
Collection Due Process
A statutory hearing process available after certain lien or levy notices when requested on time.
Collection Statute
The period during which the IRS may generally collect an assessed tax, subject to events that may suspend or change the calculation.
Currently Not Collectible
An IRS collection status used when paying would create documented financial hardship.
Deficiency
The amount by which the IRS determines the correct tax exceeds the tax reported or previously assessed, subject to statutory procedures.
Disallowance
A decision not to allow a claimed deduction, credit, refund, or other tax treatment.
Economic Hardship
A condition in which collection action would prevent payment of reasonable basic living expenses.
Equivalent Hearing
An Appeals hearing requested after the timely CDP window but within the period allowed by current rules.
Federal Tax Lien
The government's legal claim against property after tax is assessed, demanded, and remains unpaid.
Field Audit
An in-person examination often conducted at a home, business, or representative's office.
Financial Statement
A disclosure of income, expenses, assets, and liabilities used to evaluate collection options.
First Time Abatement
Administrative penalty relief that may apply when specified compliance history and other conditions are met.
Form 433-A
An IRS collection information statement for wage earners and self-employed individuals.
Form 656
The principal form used to submit an Offer in Compromise.
Garnishment
A common term for taking part of wages; federal tax enforcement generally uses a wage levy.
Innocent Spouse
Relief provisions that may separate certain joint-return liability when legal requirements are met.
Installment Agreement
An arrangement to pay an IRS balance over time.
Levy
A legal seizure of property or rights to property to collect tax.
Lien Withdrawal
Removal of the public Notice of Federal Tax Lien from the record when requirements are met.
Mail Audit
A correspondence examination handled through letters and document submissions.
Ninety Day Letter
A common name for a statutory notice of deficiency that states the deadline to petition the U.S. Tax Court.
Notice of Deficiency
A statutory notice that allows a taxpayer to petition the U.S. Tax Court before the proposed deficiency is assessed.
Offer In Compromise
An agreement to settle eligible tax liabilities for less than the full amount under a recognized legal basis.
Partial Pay Agreement
An installment agreement whose scheduled payments may not fully pay the balance before the collection period ends.
Passport Certification
IRS certification of seriously delinquent tax debt to the State Department under applicable law.
Payroll Tax
Federal taxes connected with wages, withholding, Social Security, Medicare, and unemployment obligations.
Penalty
An additional amount assessed for conduct such as late filing, late payment, inaccurate reporting, or missed deposits.
Power of Attorney
Authority granted through Form 2848 for an eligible representative to act on specified federal tax matters.
Reasonable Cause
Facts showing ordinary business care and prudence despite a failure to comply, evaluated under the rule for the specific penalty.
Refund Offset
Application of a refund to another qualifying debt or tax balance.
Revenue Officer
An IRS collection employee assigned to resolve delinquent accounts and returns.
Statutory Notice
A notice issued under a specific legal procedure that can carry formal rights and deadlines.
Substitute for Return
A return the IRS may prepare from available information when a required return is not filed.
Summons
A formal demand for testimony or records authorized by the Internal Revenue Code.
Tax Court
The federal court where taxpayers can litigate many tax disputes, often before paying the disputed deficiency.
Tax Transcript
An IRS account or return record summarizing filed information, transactions, wages, or other data.
Taxpayer Advocate
The Taxpayer Advocate Service, an independent organization within the IRS that may help with qualifying hardship, delay, or system problems.
Thirty Day Letter
A preliminary examination letter that commonly offers time to request an administrative Appeals conference.
Trust Fund Recovery Penalty
A potential assessment against responsible persons who willfully fail to collect, account for, or pay over certain trust-fund taxes.
Underreported Income
Income the IRS records indicate may exceed what was reported on a return.
Unfiled Return
A required tax return the IRS records do not show as filed.
Wage Levy
A continuing levy on wages or similar payments until released or the legal collection condition ends.
Withholding Compliance
An IRS process addressing inadequate wage withholding and possible employer instructions.
Quality boundary
These pages do not estimate personal outcomes, rank private firms, or replace a credentialed review. When a deadline, levy, payroll tax, litigation, fraud concern, business shutdown risk, or sensitive spouse issue is present, preserve the date and consider qualified help promptly.
Official sources to verify
Rules, forms, addresses, thresholds, and deadlines can change. Check the current official page and the instructions printed on your own document before acting.
- IRS forms and instructionsOfficial government, court, or taxpayer-assistance source.
- Taxpayer Bill of RightsOfficial government, court, or taxpayer-assistance source.
- Taxpayer Advocate ServiceOfficial government, court, or taxpayer-assistance source.