Copies of forms, publications and other helpful information are also available around-the-clock at the IRS Web site at www.irs.gov. You can call 1-800-829-1040 to get answers to your federal tax questions 24 hours a day.
Answer: Contact an IRS customer service representative to correct any agency errors by calling 800-829-1040 (see telephone assistance for hours of operation).
Visit www.irs.gov/paymentplan for more information on installment agreements and online payment agreements. You can also call us at 1- 800-829-0922 to discuss your options. For information on how to obtain your current account balance or payment history, go to www.irs.gov/balancedue.
Ways we contact you
We typically contact you the first time by mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Service. To verify it's us, search IRS notices and letters. Some letters are sent from private collection agencies.
To check if a phone call is genuine, watch for red flags like urgency, threats, or requests for immediate payment (especially gift cards/crypto); legitimate callers won't demand sensitive info or pressure you. Hang up and call the organization back using an official number from their website to verify, not one the caller gives you, and be wary of spoofed numbers or strange background noise.
For many taxpayers the most frustrating part about doing their taxes is getting ahold of a real person at the IRS. The IRS is understaffed and unprepared to take on the daily volume of phone calls they receive.
You know you're being scammed on the phone if the caller uses high pressure, threatens arrest/fines, offers unbelievable deals, demands unusual payments (gift cards, wire transfers), or asks for sensitive personal/financial info (SSN, PIN). Legitimate organizations won't demand immediate payment in these ways or threaten legal action; they'll provide official contact details to verify, so hang up and call them directly.
You may also contact the IRS for specialized assistance at 800-908-4490. These IRS employees are available to answer questions about identity theft and resolve any tax account issues that resulted from identity theft.
To talk to a real person at the IRS, call 1-800-829-1040, use specific key presses (like 2 for personal tax, then 3 or other options for more detail) to bypass automated menus, and be prepared with your details; if calls fail, schedule an appointment at a Taxpayer Assistance Center (TAC) or contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) for complex issues, as these options provide in-person or specialized help.
update your address by doing one of the following: Go to www.irs.gov, and click on “where's my refund?” You'll need your Social > Security number, filing status, and the amount of your refund to complete your change of address online. Call us at 1-800-829-8374. >
Call us at 1-800-829-0922 to review your account with a representative. Be sure to have your account information available when you call. We'll assume you agree with the information in this notice if we don't hear from you. failure to maintain minimum essential health coverage.
What you need to do. Call us at 800-829-0115 to request a replacement check. If you have the expired check, please destroy it.
If your PDF file exceeds the 15MB limit, remove any items over the limit and contact IRS Customer Accounts Services at 877-829-5500 for assistance on how to submit the removed items.
To check if a phone number is real, you can perform a quick Google/social media search, use a dedicated phone validation tool, or rely on caller ID apps like Truecaller to see if it's associated with a person/business or flagged as spam; a direct call or text can also confirm activity, but validation tools offer deeper insights into carrier, line type (mobile/landline/VoIP), and active status.
To tell if an IRS call is real, hang up and call the IRS directly using a number from their official website, as scammers use threats, demand immediate payment via gift/debit cards or wire transfers, and leave pre-recorded messages; the real IRS first mails a bill, doesn't threaten arrest, and allows you to question the amount owed. Legitimate calls are rare and usually follow mail notices, especially if an authorized private agency is collecting a debt.
IRS Notices
If you received Letter 4883C, it is not fraud. It is a legitimate request, from the IRS, asking you to verify your identity. The letter will contain instructions to call the toll-free IRS Identity Verification telephone number at 800-830-5084.
The IRS will never initiate contact demanding immediate payment via gift cards, prepaid debit, or wire transfers; threaten immediate arrest or deportation; or contact you first by email, text, or social media; these tactics, especially involving urgent demands for specific payment types or threats, are key signs of a tax scam, as the IRS always mails a bill first and allows time to appeal.
The IRS 7-year rule primarily applies to keeping records for claiming a deduction for bad debts or losses from worthless securities, allowing a longer period to file for a credit or refund, but it's not a universal audit limit; it's often a recommended safe buffer for general record-keeping, with the standard IRS audit period usually being 3 years, extending to 6 years for substantial income omission (over 25%) or foreign income issues, and indefinitely for fraud.
You can call the main IRS phone number Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The agency's average telephone service wait time is three minutes during filing season (January through April) and 14 minutes during the off-season (May through December).