IRS Form 12153: How to Request a Collection Due Process Hearing

What is IRS Form 12153 and when is it used?

IRS Form 12153 is the written request for a Collection Due Process hearing or an Equivalent Hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. It is used after a collection notice expressly offers that hearing route, most often a final levy notice or a notice that a federal tax lien was filed.

The form is not a general reply sheet for every IRS collection letter. Its first sentence limits its use to a person who received a letter offering an appeal under the Collection Due Process provisions. The IRS forms and publications page for appeal rights describes Form 12153 as the request tied to lien and levy hearings, while Form 9423 belongs to the separate Collection Appeals Program.

A Collection Due Process hearing is an independent administrative review of a specified collection action. Appeals can consider whether required collection procedures were followed, whether a proposed collection alternative is workable, and whether the action balances efficient collection with legitimate concern that it be no more intrusive than necessary. A dispute about the underlying tax is narrower. The Collection Due Process FAQs say that the amount can generally be raised only when there was no prior notice of deficiency and no earlier opportunity to dispute it.

The hearing is not the first opportunity to contact Collection. The office that issued the notice can still discuss payment, account corrections, and other resolution paths. Publication 1660 explains that a hearing request may be withdrawn if the matter is resolved with that office. Contact with Collection, however, does not by itself extend the written filing period.

Which IRS notices can lead to a Form 12153 request?

Notices that expressly offer Collection Due Process rights can support a Form 12153 request. Common examples include LT11, Letter 1058, CP90, and Letter 3172 after a federal tax lien filing. CP504 is different: the IRS says it is not yet the formal final notice that opens the usual pre-levy hearing route.

The IRS maintains a live list of letters and notices offering an appeal opportunity. It identifies Letter 1058 and CP90 as final levy notices that use Form 12153, and Letter 3172 as the notice sent after filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Publication 1660 also lists jeopardy levy notices, state refund levy notices, and post-levy Collection Due Process notices among the events that can create hearing rights.

Tax Panic has separate guides for LT11, Letter 1058, CP90, and CP504. Those pages explain what each code means. This article stays with the form and hearing request so it does not replace the code-specific explanation.

The words printed on the notice matter more than a familiar looking headline. Some collection letters offer a manager conference, a Collection Appeals Program review, or a different appeal procedure instead of Collection Due Process. The preparing a request for Appeals page directs collection cases to the procedure that corresponds to the action being appealed.

How is the Form 12153 filing period determined?

The collection notice supplies the operative due date. Levy notices generally allow 30 days beginning after the notice date, while Letter 3172 states the file-by date for a lien hearing. IRS guidance applies timely mailing rules in defined circumstances, but using the exact address and date printed on the notice avoids preventable uncertainty.

The front of Form 12153 says to send the request to the address for requesting a hearing shown on the Collection Due Process notice. It specifically distinguishes that address from the payment address. The form also says that the telephone number on the notice, or 800-829-1040, can be used to ask about the correct address or a fax number.

The lien calculation follows a different sequence from the levy calculation. Publication 1660 says the IRS must notify a person within five business days after the first federal tax lien filing for a tax and period. A 30 day request period follows that five-business-day period. Letter 3172 performs the practical work by printing the date by which the hearing request must be submitted.

For a levy notice, the current IRM 5.1.9 collection appeal rights section says the 30 day period begins the day after the date of the Collection Due Process levy notice. The manual also applies the weekend and legal holiday rule, and it recognizes a timely postmark, meter date, fax transmission, or authorized electronic transmission when the request is directed to the office listed on the notice.

Addressing is not a clerical afterthought. The internal manual distinguishes mail sent to an address listed on the notice from mail sent to an unrelated IRS office. When a request goes to the wrong office, timeliness can turn on the date it reaches the correct office. Keeping the envelope, transmission record, and a complete copy gives Appeals a record of what was sent and when.

How are items 1 through 7 on Form 12153 completed?

Items 1 through 7 identify the collection action, hearing type, taxpayers, contact details, and tax periods. The entries should track the notice exactly. Attaching a copy of the notice can supply the tax information requested in item 7, but it does not replace the names, identifying numbers, or hearing selection.

Item 1 allows both boxes when lien and levy notices were received. That does not make every collection action part of the hearing. It identifies the specific actions tied to the attached notices. Publication 1660 says there is generally one lien hearing and one levy hearing for each tax assessment within a tax period, so clarity about the action and periods is more useful than broad language about the entire account.

Item 2 is easy to misread. Checking it asks for an Equivalent Hearing if the request does not meet the requirements for a timely Collection Due Process hearing. It is not a second layer of protection added to a timely request. The consequences differ, which is why the form places the election near the top rather than burying it in the instructions.

Joint liabilities require attention to both names. The form provides a second taxpayer block, and its signature instructions say that both taxpayers sign a joint request. IRM 5.1.9 confirms that both spouses' signatures are required when both spouses request a hearing for joint tax periods. One spouse can request a hearing alone, but the request then pertains to that requesting spouse.

Item 7 can be left blank when the relevant notices are attached because the form says the tax information can be taken from those copies. The internal manual also says the request includes all applicable periods listed on the attached Collection Due Process notice unless a specific period is excluded. Attaching the notice reduces transcription mistakes and gives the receiving office the source document for the periods at issue.

What belongs in item 8, the reason for the hearing?

Item 8 needs a real reason for disputing the collection action or requesting a different collection path. The form offers liability, innocent spouse, bankruptcy, payment application, lien withdrawal, hardship, and collection alternative choices. A short factual explanation and supporting documents give Appeals more than a checked box to evaluate.

The form states that a request will not be honored without a reason for the dispute. The internal manual treats the absence of a reason as one of the defects that makes a request unprocessable. A slogan, a protest against taxes in general, or a statement meant only to delay collection does not substitute for an issue Appeals is permitted to consider.

A useful explanation identifies the action being disputed, the tax period, the relevant facts, and the requested form of review. For example, a payment application issue can identify the payment date and the period to which the payment was intended to apply. A lien issue can identify whether withdrawal, subordination, discharge, or release is being raised. The supporting record will differ for each issue.

Underlying liability has a gate of its own. Publication 1660 says that the existence or amount of the tax can be considered only where the person did not receive a notice of deficiency and did not otherwise have an earlier opportunity to dispute the liability. This is why Form 12153 cannot be described honestly as a universal route to reopen any assessed amount.

The form permits extra pages when the space is too small. A continuation page can carry the taxpayer name, identifying number ending digits, notice type, tax periods, and a heading that ties the text to item 8. The form itself asks for as much space as needed. Organization helps the explanation remain connected to the correct notice and period.

Prior proceedings matter as well. Publication 1660 states that an issue already raised and considered at an earlier administrative or judicial hearing generally cannot be raised again when the person participated meaningfully. It also warns that issues and evidence omitted from Appeals may be unavailable or limited in a later Tax Court proceeding. The hearing request is therefore the beginning of the record, not a placeholder with no lasting effect.

How does item 9 handle collection alternatives and hardship?

Item 9 identifies a proposed collection alternative, including an installment agreement, offer in compromise, or currently unable to pay status. Form 12153 says financial statements are not required just to submit the request, but early submission of Form 433-A or Form 433-B can help Appeals evaluate a financial proposal.

A hearing request and a complete financial proposal are related but separate documents. Form 12153 preserves space for naming the requested alternative. Form 433-A collects household and self-employment financial information, while Form 433-B covers a business. Bank statements, pay records, expense support, asset information, and filed tax returns may become part of the review depending on the alternative.

The form publishes two financial statement exceptions. It points people who may qualify for an automatic installment agreement to the online payment agreement process, and it says an offer based only on doubt as to liability does not require a financial statement. Those narrow statements do not erase the documentation needed for other offers or hardship-based alternatives.

Currently unable to pay is the form's label for a hardship collection alternative. Its instructions give job loss, illness, and reasonable expenses exceeding income as examples of circumstances Appeals can evaluate. The same instructions state that interest and applicable penalties continue to accrue while collection is paused. A pause in enforced collection is not cancellation of the underlying balance.

An installment agreement proposes periodic payment. An offer in compromise proposes settlement for less than the full assessed amount under a recognized basis. A lien remedy changes the public lien record or its relationship to particular property. These are not interchangeable boxes, and the requested alternative needs facts and documents that match its own criteria.

How is Form 12153 signed, sent, and documented?

Form 12153 needs an authorized handwritten signature and must go to the hearing request address on the notice. A copy of the notice should travel with it. The filer should retain a complete copy and proof of mailing or transmission because the request date determines whether the proceeding is timely.

Item 10 contains signature lines for each taxpayer and for a representative. The form says either the taxpayer or an authorized representative signs, not both. A representative signing for a taxpayer attaches Form 2848 unless a valid power of attorney is already on file. An officer signing for a company adds the officer title.

The current internal manual says the Collection Due Process regulations do not authorize a digital or electronic signature on the hearing request. It also says a missing signature date does not require correction when the request otherwise carries a valid signature. A completely unsigned request is different because the manual classifies it as unprocessable until the signature defect is corrected.

Incomplete does not always mean lost. IRM 5.1.9 tells Collection to look for missing names, addresses, and tax periods in IRS systems or on the attached notice. When required information is unavailable, the manual generally gives 15 calendar days to perfect the request. A signature and a reason remain central because the agency cannot supply those from its own records.

1. 1.Match the collection action and tax periods to the notice.
2. 2.Include the notice copy and any continuation pages or supporting documents referenced in the explanation.
3. 3.Use the hearing request address printed on the notice rather than the payment address or a general Appeals address.
4. 4.Keep a copy of the signed request, attachments, envelope, and proof showing the mailing or transmission date.

The form permits a call to the number on the notice to obtain a fax number. That does not mean every IRS fax number is interchangeable. The manual measures a faxed request by the transmission date when it goes to the office listed on the notice. A successful transmission report belongs with the retained copy for the same reason a postal receipt does.

What happens after the IRS receives Form 12153?

Collection first checks whether the request is complete and timely, then forwards a processable matter to Appeals. Appeals may conduct the conference by telephone, correspondence, or an approved face-to-face meeting. The officer reviews procedure, the issues raised, supporting evidence, and any collection alternative before issuing a determination or decision letter.

The Collection office that issued the notice receives the request first. The IRS Appeals preparation page expressly says not to send it directly to an Appeals office because Collection must process and forward the case file. Collection can still try to resolve the matter before the transfer, but the written request remains important while those discussions continue.

For a timely levy hearing, the general rule is that levy action is suspended for the tax periods under review. Publication 1660 lists exceptions for jeopardy collection, state income tax levies, certain federal contractor levies, and disqualified employment tax levies. The same timely request suspends the ten year collection period until the Appeals determination becomes final or the request is withdrawn in writing.

An Equivalent Hearing follows substantially similar administrative procedures, but its legal effects are weaker. The form states that it does not prohibit levy, suspend the collection period, or create a route to court review of the Appeals decision. For a levy notice, the form describes a one year request period. For a lien notice, it describes one year plus five business days from the lien filing date.

Appeals can ask Collection to review new financial information and comment on it. Form 12153 says Appeals will share those comments and allow a response. The conference can end with a determination sustaining the action, modifying it, or accepting an alternative supported by the record. No outcome is automatic merely because a complete form was submitted.

A timely Collection Due Process determination comes with instructions for seeking judicial review. Publication 1660 says the petition goes to the United States Tax Court within the period in the determination letter. It also emphasizes that the issues and evidence presented to Appeals shape what may later be considered, which makes the administrative record more than a procedural formality.