How To Request Audit Reconsideration

You opened a notice and the IRS says you owe thousands. Maybe an examiner closed an audit you didn't show up for. Maybe the IRS filed a return for you for a year you forgot about. Maybe a CP2000 sat in a stack of mail until the response window had passed. The bill is real, and the 90-day window for Tax Court is gone.

Audit reconsideration is the IRS process for asking them to look at it again. It is not a court case, not an appeal, and not a refund claim. It is the IRS reopening a closed assessment and reviewing new information you give them. Done right, it can erase or shrink an assessment that should never have stood. Done wrong, it gets a one-line denial.

This article walks through what audit reconsideration is, when it works, when it doesn't, and exactly what to send.

What Audit Reconsideration Is

The IRS defines audit reconsideration in IRM 4.13.1 as the process the IRS uses to reevaluate the results of a prior audit where additional tax was assessed and remains unpaid—or where a tax credit was reversed. The same IRM extends the process to substitute-for-return cases, where the IRS filed for you and you now want to contest the result by filing your real return, and to cases where the IRS made a computational or processing error.

Two anchors matter. The first is statutory. IRC Section 6404(a) gives the IRS discretionary authority to abate any assessment that is excessive in amount. The second is policy. Policy Statement 3-15 (located at IRM 1.2.1.4.15, formerly P-2-89) is titled "Reconsideration of an Unpaid Assessment" and is the policy basis for the program. Publication 3598 is the taxpayer-facing summary.

What audit reconsideration is not:

• Not a statutory right. The IRS does not have to grant it. The whole program runs on discretion.
• Not a refund process. If you have already paid the assessment in full, audit reconsideration is unavailable. You would file Form 1040-X instead.
• Not Tax Court. Audit reconsideration is administrative. There is no judge.
• Not pre-assessment Appeals. If you have an open audit and got a 30-day letter (Letter 525 or 950), that goes through IRS Appeals, not audit reconsideration. Audit reconsideration is for cases where the assessment has already posted.

When You Can Request It

Per IRM 4.13.1.2.1, the IRS will accept an audit reconsideration request when all of the following are true:

1. You filed a tax return—or the IRS prepared a substitute for return under IRC Section 6020(b) and you are now contesting it.
2. The assessment remains unpaid, or the IRS reversed tax credits you had claimed.
3. You identify which adjustments you are disputing.
4. You provide new information the original examiner did not consider, or you show that the IRS made a computational or processing error.

There is no statutory deadline. Publication 3598 puts it plainly: "An audit reconsideration request can be made anytime after an examination assessment has been made on your account and the tax remains unpaid."

That open-ended timing is real, but it cuts both ways. While you wait, interest and penalties keep accruing, the collection statute keeps running, and the IRS can still levy or lien. There is no bonus for moving fast, but there is real cost in delay.

When You Cannot Request It

Audit reconsideration has hard bars. Per IRM 4.13.1.4.5 and 4.13.1.4.9.1, the IRS will not reopen an assessment if any of the following apply:

• You signed a closing agreement under IRC Section 7121. That is Form 866 (final determination of total tax liability) or Form 906 (closing agreement on specific matters). Closing agreements are designed to be final.
• The IRS accepted an offer in compromise under IRC Section 7122. An accepted OIC settles the liability for the years it covers.
• You signed a Form 870-AD with Appeals. That is the mutual-concession Appeals settlement form. (A plain Form 870—a waiver of restrictions on assessment—is generally not a bar; it is a procedural step in the audit, not a settlement.)
• The case involved a final TEFRA partnership proceeding. TEFRA (the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982) governs partnership audits for tax years before 2018; the BBA centralized partnership audit regime replaced it for 2018 and later. This rarely matters for individual pro se taxpayers. If a partnership-level proceeding determined the items in dispute, the partner-level assessment is typically locked.
• The U.S. Tax Court—or another court—issued a final decision on your liability. This is res judicata—the legal rule that a final court decision on an issue prevents that issue from being relitigated. It is essentially absolute.

Plus an effective fifth bar from Publication 3598: the tax has been paid in full. Once paid, the path is no longer audit reconsideration. It is Form 1040-X as a refund claim, governed by the refund statute under IRC Section 6511 (the later of 3 years from filing or 2 years from payment).

The Tax Court Bar and Its Narrow Exception

A final Tax Court decision bars audit reconsideration. The narrow exception is fraud on the court. Tax Court Rule 162 governs motions to vacate. The standard motion-to-vacate window is 30 days after entry of decision, and the decision becomes final 90 days after entry if no appeal is filed. After finality, the Tax Court generally cannot vacate—except where the decision was obtained by fraud on the court, which has no time limit but is extraordinarily narrow. Ordinary new evidence does not qualify. If you think you are in this territory, this is not an audit reconsideration article. Get professional help.

A Tax Court dismissal for lack of jurisdiction is different. Because there was no decision on the merits, it does not bar audit reconsideration.

The "New Information" Standard

The single most important thing to understand about audit reconsideration is what counts as "new information." Per IRM 4.13.1.2.1, the documentation you submit must not have been considered during the original determination. Publication 3598 reinforces this: "Verify that the supporting documentation is new information that has not been presented before."

What counts as new:

• Documents the examiner literally never saw—because you didn't appear, didn't receive notice (a move, an address-on-file problem), or never responded.
• Records reconstructed after the audit closed—bank statements pulled from the bank, broker records re-requested, employer records, third-party confirmations.
• Substantiation for positions the examiner disallowed for lack of proof.
• A first-ever delinquent return contesting an SFR. The return itself is the new information.

What does not count as new:

• Resubmitting documents the examiner already reviewed.
• A change-of-mind argument with no new facts.
• A different legal theory applied to the same evidence the examiner already weighed. That is a merits dispute, and the place for it was Appeals or Tax Court—not audit reconsideration.

If your only argument is "the examiner got it wrong on the same facts," audit reconsideration is the wrong tool. If you have documents the examiner did not see, it is the right tool.

The Three Scenarios

In practice, almost every audit reconsideration falls into one of three patterns. Knowing which one you are in determines what you send and where you send it.

1. Classic Exam Reconsideration

You went through a regular audit. The IRS issued Form 4549 (Examination Report). Maybe you didn't appear. Maybe you moved and never received the notices. Maybe you sent some documents but the examiner disallowed deductions for lack of substantiation. Either way, the audit closed, the Notice of Deficiency issued, the 90 days window ran, and the assessment posted.

On a transcript, this scenario shows up as TC 420 (exam started), TC 421 (exam closed), and TC 300 (audit assessment). See How To Read IRS Transcript Codes.

What you send: a request letter, the substantiation the examiner did not see, and (recommended) Form 12661 to organize the issues.

2. SFR (Substitute for Return) Contest

You did not file a return for some year. The IRS got third-party reports—W-2s, 1099s, 1099-Ks—showing income in your name. Under IRC Section 6020(b), the IRS prepared a return for you. Then a Notice of Deficiency went out, the 90 days clock ran, and the SFR-based deficiency was assessed.

This is by far the most common pro se audit reconsideration scenario, and it is also the most fixable. SFRs are systematically overstated. Most modern SFRs are processed through the Automated Substitute for Return (ASFR) program; "SFR" and "ASFR" are used interchangeably below. Under IRM 5.18.1, the IRS computes liability using the worst-case defaults:

Concrete picture. You ran a rideshare side gig in 2021 and never filed. The IRS got a 1099-K showing $85,000 in gross processor payments. The SFR computed a single filer with $85,000 of income, the standard deduction, no expenses—producing roughly $15,000-plus in tax. Your real picture: married filing jointly, two kids, $30,000 in vehicle expenses, $10,000 in platform fees on a Schedule C, EITC eligible. Real tax: maybe $1,500. The audit reconsideration here is filing the actual 2021 Form 1040 with Schedule C, the dependents, the real status, and substantiation for the deductions.

A joint return requires both spouses' signatures. If you are now divorced or separated and your former spouse will not sign the delinquent return, do not file MFJ unilaterally—the IRS can invalidate the return and create new problems. File MFS for the SFR contest instead, and consider whether innocent spouse relief is a parallel issue. Filing a Schedule C will also generate self-employment tax (Social Security and Medicare on net earnings of $400 or more); the SFR may not have computed SE tax, so run the numbers both ways before filing.

On a transcript the SFR pattern looks like TC 150 posted against the SFR module (a "module" is the IRS's term for one tax-period record on your account—e.g., your 2021 Form 1040 module) followed by TC 971 AC 141 (Action Code 141 — ASFR posted). The real return you file later will post as TC 976 (duplicate return) or TC 977 (amended return), and the abatement that closes the reconsideration typically posts as TC 291 (which abates a TC 290 additional assessment) or TC 301 (which abates a TC 300 audit assessment), depending on which underlying assessment is being reduced. The transcript decoder walks through every code in this list.

3. AUR Reconsideration (CP2000 Aftermath)

You got a CP2000 notice (or Letter 2030, CP2501, or Letter 2531) saying the IRS's computer matched a 1099 or W-2 against your return and found a discrepancy. You did not respond in time. The follow-up CP3219A (the AUR statutory notice of deficiency) gave you 90 days to petition Tax Court. That window ran. The deficiency was assessed.

Automated Underreporter (AUR) cases are not classic audits. No examiner reviewed your return. The whole thing was a computer match. But once the assessment posts, the way to challenge it is "AUR reconsideration"—a sibling channel to classic audit reconsideration, governed by the same standards (new information, no deadline if unpaid, photocopies only).

The procedural difference is routing. Per IRM 4.13.1.3.2(6), AUR reconsideration goes to the campus that originated the AUR assessment, not to a generic Exam reconsideration unit. You determine the originating campus from the address in the upper-left corner of the original CP2000 (if you have it), or from the first two digits of the TC 922 DLN on your transcript. The DLN (Document Locator Number) is the 14-digit reference printed next to the transaction on your account transcript; its first two digits are the File Location Code identifying the campus. If you cannot identify it, the AUR taxpayer line is 1-800-829-8310. Publication 5181 covers the CP2000 process generally.

On a transcript this pattern is TC 922 (AUR adjustment) followed by TC 290 (assessment).

SFR and the Statutes of Limitations

This is the single most under-explained piece of audit reconsideration, and it matters whenever an SFR is involved.

The Assessment Clock Never Started

IRC Section 6501(b)(3) says the Secretary's execution of a return under Section 6020(b) does not start the period of limitations on assessment. Translation: an SFR is not a "return" for statute-of-limitations purposes.

This is reinforced by the Beard test (Beard v. Commissioner, 82 T.C. 766 (1984), aff'd 793 F.2d 139 (6th Cir. 1986)). To qualify as a "return," a document must purport to be a return, be executed under penalty of perjury, contain enough data to calculate tax, and represent an honest and reasonable attempt to satisfy the tax law. An SFR fails the perjury and honest-attempt prongs. The Secretary does not sign the SFR under penalty of perjury, and an SFR is not an honest attempt at the taxpayer's correct liability—it is a placeholder built on third-party data.

The practical implication: when you file your real delinquent return as the audit reconsideration, the 3 years assessment clock under Section 6501 starts running from that filing—not from the original SFR. For most reconsideration cases this is not a problem, because you are asking for an abatement, not exposing yourself to additional tax. There is also a strategic upside—filing the real return eventually closes the door on additional assessments for that year, because IRC Section 6501(c)(3) keeps the assessment statute open indefinitely on a year for which no return was filed. Filing your real return starts the clock; SFRs do not.

The Collection Clock Started Anyway—And Doesn't Restart

The collection statute is different. IRC Section 6502(a)(1) gives the IRS 10 years to collect "after the assessment of the tax." When the SFR-based deficiency was assessed, the collection clock started—and it keeps running.

Filing your real return as the audit reconsideration does not restart the collection statute. If the SFR deficiency was assessed in 2018 and you file your real 2017 return in 2026, the original 2018 assessment date still controls the CSED. Audit reconsideration can reduce the unpaid balance through a TC 291 abatement, but the collection clock is the clock from the original assessment.

Audit Reconsideration Does Not Toll Collection

This is the trap. Several procedures pause the 10 years collection statute:

• TC 480 — Offer in Compromise pending (suspends CSED while pending plus 30 days post-rejection plus any Appeals time).
• TC 520 cc 76 / cc 77 — CDP hearing requested in response to a lien filing or levy notice.
• TC 520 cc 60-67, 83, 85-89 — Bankruptcy.
• TC 500 cc 51-58 — Combat zone or military deferment.

Audit reconsideration is not on that list. While the IRS reviews your reconsideration request, the collection clock keeps running. That is sometimes a feature (a taxpayer with limited time left on the CSED can effectively run out the clock while reconsideration is pending), but it is also a risk—the IRS does not have to pause collection while reviewing your request.

Publication 3598 says it directly: when you submit documentation, the IRS "may delay" collection activity. The word is "may," not "must." An installment agreement you already have stays in place: "If you currently have an installment agreement, you must continue to make payments." For a deeper look at how all the limitation periods interact, see Understanding IRS Statutes of Limitations.

Audit Reconsideration vs. Other Procedures

Audit reconsideration is one of several tools for disputing an IRS liability. The right tool depends on where you are in the process.

Audit Reconsideration vs. Form 1040-X

This is the dividing line readers most often ask about.

• Tax unpaid → audit reconsideration. You are asking for an abatement.
• Tax paid in full → Form 1040-X. Audit reconsideration is unavailable. The 1040-X is a refund claim governed by the Section 6511 refund statute, and the refund-amount lookback rules are unforgiving—see How To File an Amended Return.
• Tax partially paid → audit reconsideration for the unpaid portion; Form 1040-X-style refund claim for the paid portion. IRM 4.10.11 allows this hybrid treatment.

Audit Reconsideration vs. Pre-Assessment Appeals

Readers often confuse these because both involve "appealing." They are different procedures at different stages.

Pre-assessment Appeals is what you do when you have an open audit, the examiner has issued a 30-day letter (Letter 525, Letter 950), and you disagree with the proposed adjustments. Appeals reviews before the assessment posts. If Appeals does not resolve it, you get a Notice of Deficiency and can petition Tax Court within 90 days. The form is Form 12203 for proposed adjustments of $25,000 or less, or a written protest for amounts above that. See How To Request an IRS Appeals Conference and What To Expect at Your IRS Appeals Conference.

Audit reconsideration is what you do after the audit closed, the Notice of Deficiency issued, the 90 days window passed, and the assessment posted. You are asking the IRS to reopen what is now a closed case.

Importantly: if your audit reconsideration is denied, you can still ask Appeals to review the denial. Publication 3598 lists "Request an Appeals Conference" as one of three options after a denial. The same $25,000 / over-$25,000 threshold determines whether you use Form 12203 or a written protest at that stage.

Audit Reconsideration vs. CDP

CDP hearings under IRC Sections 6320 and 6330 are collection-side procedures triggered by a lien filing or levy notice. CDP can challenge the underlying liability only if the taxpayer "did not otherwise have an opportunity" to dispute it (Section 6330(c)(2)(B)). If you got a Notice of Deficiency and missed the 90 days window, you generally lose underlying-liability arguments in CDP. Audit reconsideration may be your only remaining route to challenge what you owe.

Form 12661: Recommended, Not Required

Form 12661 (Disputed Issue Verification) is a one-page worksheet with three issue blocks. For each disputed issue, the form asks for the issue or adjustment, the reason you disagree, the amount on your original return, and the amount allowed on the audit report.

Publication 3598 calls Form 12661 "recommended"—not required. IRM 4.13.1 does not make it mandatory either. The form has no signature line; it is an organizing worksheet, not a sworn document. The form's own footer says: "Do not send original documents—Send photocopies only."

Use Form 12661. The form forces a clean issue-by-issue presentation that mirrors how the IRS works the case internally. Even practitioners who write a full cover letter typically attach Form 12661 as the first page after the letter. You can write the request as a letter alone and skip the form entirely—the IRS will still process it—but the form is the cleanest way to make sure each disputed issue is teed up correctly.

How To Actually Do It

The mechanics break into six steps.

Step 1: Pull Your Transcripts

Before you write anything, get the Account Transcript and Wage & Income Transcript for each year in dispute. The transcripts tell you which scenario you are in:

• TC 971 AC 141 + TC 150 against the SFR module → SFR contest. Filing the real return is the reconsideration.
• TC 922 + TC 290 → AUR reconsideration. Route to the AUR campus.
• TC 420 → TC 421 → TC 300 → classic exam reconsideration. Route to the Pub 3598 campus shown on the original Examination Report.

If you see TC 922, the first two digits of the DLN identify the originating AUR campus. The transcript decoder walks through every code in this list.

Step 2: Identify the New Information

For an SFR contest, the new information is the real return itself: the actual Form 1040, the correct filing status, the dependents, the Schedule C (if self-employed), the deductions, the credits. Substantiate every meaningful expense or credit you claim—the IRS already has the income side from third parties.

For a classic exam reconsideration, gather what the examiner did not see. Bank statements pulled fresh from the bank. Broker records re-requested. Mileage logs reconstructed from calendar entries. Employer or contractor records confirming the original payments and dates.

For AUR reconsideration, focus on why the matched 1099 or W-2 was wrong, double-counted, already reported elsewhere, or non-taxable. Examples: a 1099-K that included refunds and chargebacks not netted out; a 1099-R for a rollover that was not actually a distribution; a W-2 you reported under a different SSN that the IRS incorrectly linked.

Step 3: Reconstruct Records If You Have To

Lost receipts are common. The Cohan rule, from Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540 (2d Cir. 1930), allows estimates of deductions where the taxpayer can establish a "rational basis" for the estimate. Cornell LII summarizes the Cohan rule as permitting reasonable estimates supported by some factual basis.

Two real limits:

• Section 274(d) overrides Cohan for travel, meals, gifts, and listed property (vehicles, computers). Those require strict contemporaneous substantiation per Treas. Reg. Section 1.274-5T(a). No estimating allowed.
• The court "bears heavily" against a taxpayer whose inexactitude is of his own making (Cohan, 39 F.2d at 544). Estimates with no documentation behind them get nowhere.

Schedule C reconstruction often combines bank-statement summaries, calendar reconstructions, third-party logs (payment processor reports, platform earnings statements), and itemized estimates with stated bases. Keep the math transparent.

Step 4: Write the Request

Build the letter in this order:

• Heading. Your name, SSN, daytime phone, best time to call, the tax year(s), and the notice number(s) from the original Examination Report or CP2000.
• Statement of request. Something like: "I am requesting audit reconsideration under IRM 4.13.1 and Policy Statement 3-15 (IRM 1.2.1.4.15) for tax year [year]. The original assessment was based on [SFR / examination report dated X / CP2000 dated X]. The information enclosed was not considered during the original determination."
• Issues. For each disputed issue, state what was assessed, what you contend the correct amount is, and what supports the correction. If you are using Form 12661, attach it; if not, structure this section like Form 12661 anyway.
• Attachments. List every attached document. Include the real return for SFR cases. Include photocopies (not originals) of supporting documents.
• Signature and date.

Put a clear subject line at the top: AUDIT RECONSIDERATION REQUEST — Tax Year [YYYY] — SSN xxx-xx-xxxx. Campus mail rooms triage by subject line; without it your package can sit in a general inbox and miss the 30-day acknowledgement target. Many practitioners also include a one-line request asking the IRS to acknowledge receipt and provide the assigned examiner's name and direct contact information, so they have a person to follow up with at the 30/45-day mark.

If anyone other than you (or a spouse on a joint return) is communicating with the IRS on the case, file Form 2848 (Power of Attorney) authorizing them—or Form 8821 if you only need them to receive information. Without a 2848, the IRS will not discuss the case with anyone else.

If you are contesting multiple years, send a separate letter and exhibit set for each year. The IRS works audit reconsideration module by module, and bundling multiple years into a single envelope routinely causes one or more years to fall out of the queue.

Send photocopies. Publication 3598 is explicit: "Please do not send original documents—originals will not be returned."

Step 5: Send It To the Right Address

This is where audit reconsideration trips people up. There is no single audit reconsideration address. Routing depends on which scenario you are in.

For a classic exam reconsideration, send to the campus that conducted the original audit—that is the campus shown in the upper-left corner of your Examination Report (Form 4549) or the original 30-day letter. Publication 3598 lists the ten current campus addresses with phone numbers; rather than reproduce them here, download Pub 3598 and use the table directly. If the campus on your report is not listed, call the toll-free number on the report.

For an SFR reconsideration, the SFR letter or notice will identify the originating campus. Use that address.

For an AUR reconsideration, IRM 4.13.1.3.2(6) directs the request to the campus that originated the assessment. The originating campus is identified by:

1. The address in the upper-left corner of the original CP2000 or Letter 2030, or
2. The first two digits of the TC 922 DLN on your transcript.

If neither is available, call the AUR taxpayer line at 1-800-829-8310.

Send everything by certified mail, return receipt requested. Keep a complete copy of the package—letter, attachments, and certified mail receipt—in your records.

Step 6: Follow Up

Publication 3598 sets a 30-day acknowledgement target: "You should expect to hear from us regarding your reconsideration request within 30 days after submission." If you have heard nothing in 45 days, call the number on your acknowledgment letter—or, if no acknowledgment ever came, the AUR or general practitioner line.

The IRS has not committed to a total processing time. Practitioner experience commonly runs 90 to 180 days for straightforward cases, longer for complex ones. While you wait:

• If you have an installment agreement, keep paying. Stopping would default the IA.
• If active collection is happening (levy threats, lien filings), the IRS may—but is not required to—pause collection. Pub 3598 says "may delay," not "will delay." If you are facing immediate collection pressure, document hardship and consider whether a CDP hearing is the right parallel track.

What the Outcome Looks Like

Three outcomes are possible:

• Full abatement. The IRS agrees with your position. You see TC 291 (abatement of assessed tax) post against the year. The balance goes to zero (or to a refund position—but a refund only issues if the amount has actually been paid).
• Partial abatement. TC 291 reduces some of the assessment; some remains. Pay the remainder, or set up an installment agreement, or address it through one of the collection alternatives.
• Denial. The IRS sends a letter saying it has not changed the assessment. Publication 3598 lists three options at this point: request an Appeals Conference, pay the amount due in full and file a formal claim (Form 1040-X), or do nothing and let the IRS continue collection.

If you go to Appeals after a denial, the threshold rule applies: Form 12203 for amounts of $25,000 or less, formal written protest above. See How To Request an IRS Appeals Conference.

Three Pro Se Traps To Watch

A few things consistently surprise unrepresented taxpayers.

Audit reconsideration does not toll the collection statute. Already discussed above, but worth repeating. The 10 years collection clock runs while your reconsideration is pending. If you file an OIC instead, it tolls. If you request a CDP hearing in response to a lien or levy notice, it tolls. Audit reconsideration does not.

The IRS may—not must—pause collection. Publication 3598 uses the word "may." If a levy is imminent, audit reconsideration alone may not stop it. You may need a parallel CDP hearing or a hardship request to actually pause collection while reconsideration is reviewed.

If a levy is active or imminent right now, do not rely on audit reconsideration alone:

1. If you received a Final Notice of Intent to Levy (CP90 or Letter 1058 / LT11) within the last 30 days, request a CDP hearing on Form 12153 immediately—that does pause collection and tolls the CSED.
2. If the 30 days CDP window has passed, request an Equivalent Hearing on the same Form 12153 within one year (mark "Equivalent Hearing"). It does not toll the CSED, but it gets you in front of Appeals.
3. Document hardship and call the Taxpayer Advocate Service at 1-877-777-4778. TAS can issue a Taxpayer Assistance Order halting collection where IRS systems have failed you.

There is no Tax Court right after a reconsideration denial. A denial of reconsideration is not a Notice of Deficiency. You cannot petition Tax Court from it. Your post-denial routes are administrative Appeals (Form 12203 or written protest) and—if you can pay first—a refund suit in District Court or the Court of Federal Claims under IRC Section 7422, the Flora-rule path.

Special Situations

Identity Theft

If the underlying assessment came from a return someone else filed in your name—or from income reported under a stolen SSN—file Form 14039 (Identity Theft Affidavit) with your reconsideration. The case is then routed through the IRS Identity Theft Victim Assistance (IDTVA) organization rather than standard Exam reconsideration. The IRS Identity Theft Central page explains the process.

Penalties

Audit reconsideration challenges the underlying assessment. It does not, by itself, address penalties. If your reconsideration succeeds and the underlying tax is abated, the related penalties typically come off as well. But penalty-only relief—first-time abate, reasonable cause, or statutory exceptions—follows a separate procedure. See How To Request IRS Penalty Abatement.

Doubt as to Liability OIC

Form 656-L (DATL OIC) is an alternative liability dispute path under IRC Section 7122. The grounds are similar—you contend you do not owe the tax—but the path is a compromise, not an abatement, and the same court-decision and closing-agreement bars apply. For most pro se taxpayers, audit reconsideration is the simpler first attempt; DATL is the fallback. See How To Apply for an Offer in Compromise.

When To Get Help

Audit reconsideration is one of the more accessible IRS procedures for unrepresented taxpayers, but some scenarios deserve professional support:

• Multi-year SFR situations. Filing five or six years of delinquent returns at once, especially with self-employment income, requires careful sequencing.
• Large balances or complex Schedule C reconstruction. When the math is messy and the dollars are substantial, the cost of a professional is usually worth it.
• Identity theft or innocent spouse overlay. When the case involves a fraudulent return or a spouse's misconduct, you may need innocent spouse relief running parallel to reconsideration.
• Active collection pressure. When you need to coordinate reconsideration with a CDP hearing or a hardship request, the timing gets tight.

Two free or low-cost options:

• Low Income Taxpayer Clinics provide free representation if your income is below 250% of the poverty line and your dispute is $50,000 or less. Audit reconsideration is squarely within their casework.
• The Taxpayer Advocate Service can help where IRS systems have broken down—missing acknowledgments, misrouted requests, threatened levies during pending reconsideration.

For larger or more complex matters, see When To Get Professional Help With Your Tax Dispute.

Resources

• Publication 3598 — What You Should Know About the Audit Reconsideration Process (Rev. 11-2023)
• Publication 5181 — Tax Return Reviews by Mail (CP2000)
• Form 12661 — Disputed Issue Verification
• Form 12203 — Request for Appeals Review
• Form 14039 — Identity Theft Affidavit
• IRM 4.13.1 — Examination Audit Reconsideration Process
• IRM 5.1.15 — Abatements, Reconsiderations and Adjustments
• IRC Section 6020 — Substitute for return authority
• IRC Section 6404 — Discretionary abatement authority
• IRC Section 6501 — Limitations on assessment
• IRC Section 6502 — Collection after assessment
• IRC Section 7121 — Closing agreements
• IRC Section 7122 — Compromises
• Beard v. Commissioner, 82 T.C. 766 (1984)
• Cohan v. Commissioner, 39 F.2d 540 (2d Cir. 1930)
• Tax Court Rule 162 — Motion to Vacate

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For advice specific to your situation, consult a qualified tax professional or attorney.