Simplify payroll tax notices.
Federal, state and local. Send us the notice and we work out what happened, respond with evidence, and stay on it until the account is clear.
- IRSDeposit frequency change19d
- California EDDUnderpayment, prior quarter22d
- Colorado CDLEEstimation notice4d
- PennsylvaniaLocal EIT mismatch36d
- SSAW-2 name and SSN mismatch8d
- IowaNexus questionnaire26d
One letter, seven jobs. You do the first one.
From the letter landing to the cause being fixed. Open any step to see what is involved.
1
Send us the notice
One notice or two hundred.You- Forward it to our dedicated email address.
- Or upload it to the portal. A photo of the letter works.
- Each one is tracked with a named owner. Log in any time to see where it stands.
2
Read it and start the clock
The real ask is usually buried.Tax Pilot- Work out what the agency is actually claiming.
- Track its response window, commonly 30 to 60 days.
3
Rebuild what actually happened
Where most of the hours go.Tax Pilot- What was filed, what was paid, and when.
- Rebuilt from your payroll and filing history, not the agency’s assumptions.
4
Respond with evidence
Records, not explanations.Tax Pilot- Send the agency documentation it can check.
- Reach someone who can see the account, and follow up until the answer holds.
5
Pursue abatement where it applies
Three routes, different evidence.Tax Pilot- Pick the route that fits: first-time, reasonable cause or agency error.
- Build the evidence that route needs.
6
Close it out in writing
Confirmed clear, not assumed.Tax Pilot- Done when the account is confirmed clear in writing.
7
Fix what caused it
Or it comes back next quarter.Tax Pilot- Find the setup problem behind it, such as a timing mismatch, a misapplied deposit or an outdated rate.
- Tell you what to change so it does not happen again.
Common questions.
What should I do when I get a payroll tax notice?
Find the response date first. It is printed on the notice and is often sooner than people expect. Then compare what the agency says happened with your own filing and payment records. A notice can come from a timing mismatch, a misapplied deposit or an outdated rate as easily as from tax that was never paid.
How long do we have to respond?
The deadline is printed on each notice and depends on the agency and the notice type, often somewhere between 21 and 60 days. Missing it is what turns a fixable notice into an assessment.
How do we send you notices?
Forward them to a dedicated address or upload them. Each notice becomes its own tracked item with a named owner, from the first read to written confirmation that the account is clear.
Can penalties be removed?
Often. Federal relief comes through correcting an IRS error, first-time abatement or reasonable cause, and for 2026 quarters onward the IRS applies first-time relief to payroll returns automatically. What decides the rest is documentation. Our penalty abatement page covers each route.
We have a backlog. Can you work through it?
Yes. Backlogs are normal for us. We triage by deadline and exposure, work the ones at risk first, and give you a running picture of what is open.
What if the notice is for a period before we worked with you?
That is normal. Much of what we resolve predates us. We rebuild the history for the period the notice covers from your payroll and filing records.
What happens if a notice is ignored?
It escalates. An unanswered notice becomes an assessment, and an unpaid assessment can lead to a lien or a levy on a bank account. Unpaid withheld taxes can also become the personal liability of the people responsible for paying them over.
What is a CP136 notice?
A CP136 tells an employer whether its Form 941 deposits should be made monthly or semiweekly in the coming year. The IRS bases it on the tax reported on your Forms 941 during the lookback period, so check its figures against your own records.
What is a CP220 notice?
A CP220 tells a business that the IRS has changed one of its returns, such as a Form 941, and shows what you now owe or are owed. If you disagree, contact the IRS, because if it does not hear from you it assumes you agree. Check the change against your filing and deposit records first: if an unpaid deposit is still open more than 10 days after the first notice, the failure-to-deposit penalty rises to 15%.
Send us the notice.
One notice or two hundred. We will tell you what it actually says and what it will take to close.