CP90 and CP297: The Final Levy Notice That Starts a 30-Day Clock

A CP90 or CP297 lands in your mailbox and gives you exactly 30 days before the IRS can legally seize your paycheck, drain a bank account, or intercept your Social Security and federal contractor payments. That 30-day window is not a suggestion — it is the statutory Collection Due Process (CDP) period under §6330, and it is the single most valuable thing on the notice. Miss it and you forfeit your right to an independent hearing before the levy lands.

I see clients treat these like just another IRS letter in a long series. They are not. The CP90 and CP297 are the last stop.

What is a CP90 or CP297 notice?

A CP90 (issued to individuals) and CP297 (issued to businesses) are both Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing under §6330. They tell you the IRS intends to seize property to satisfy an unpaid balance and that you have the right to a Collection Due Process hearing before it does.

The two notices do the same legal job for different taxpayer types:

Notice	Who receives it	Underlying balance
CP90	Individuals	Personal income tax, trust fund recovery penalty, etc.
CP297	Businesses	Employment tax (941), corporate income, excise
CP91	Individuals — levy specifically on Social Security	Federal benefit payments under FPLP
CP297A	Businesses — levy on federal payments already made	Federal contractor/vendor payments

The core §6330 hearing right is the same across all of them. What differs is the taxpayer and, in the case of the CP91 and CP297A, that the levy is aimed at federal payments through the Federal Payment Levy Program.

Who gets a CP90 or CP297, and why?

You get one of these notices after the IRS has assessed a balance, sent earlier bills, and received no full payment or acceptable resolution. It is the end of the automated collection sequence, not the beginning.

The typical path I see in client files runs like this:

1. CP14 — the first bill, "Amount due immediately," issued after the return posts or an assessment is made.
2. CP501 / CP503 — reminder notices as the balance ages.
3. CP504 — "Notice of Intent to Levy," which sounds final but is not. A CP504 only authorizes a levy on state tax refunds and certain federal payments; it does not give you the full §6330 CDP hearing right.
4. CP90 / CP297 — the true final notice that unlocks levy against wages, bank accounts, and the broad range of assets, and grants the §6330 hearing.

The most common trigger I see is a taxpayer who responded to none of the earlier notices — often because they moved and the mail chased an old address. Under §6212 and §6330, the IRS only has to send the notice to your last known address by certified or registered mail. It does not have to prove you read it. That is why keeping Form 8822 current matters more than people think.

What does the Federal Payment Levy Program actually seize?

The Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) lets the IRS levy certain federal payments continuously, up to 15% of each payment (100% for some vendor payments to contractors). It runs through the Treasury Offset Program at the Bureau of the Fiscal Service.

Payments exposed to the FPLP include:

• Social Security retirement and disability (OASDI) benefits — capped at 15% under §6331(h). Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is exempt.
• Federal employee salaries and retirement (OPM annuities).
• Federal contractor and vendor payments — these can be hit at up to 100%.
• Certain Medicare provider payments.

The 15% cap on Social Security is a common point of confusion. The FPLP continuous levy is limited to 15% under §6331(h), but a manual levy under §6331 on Social Security is not subject to that same 15% ceiling — the two mechanisms are different. In practice most benefit levies I encounter run through FPLP at the 15% rate, but do not assume the cap applies to every levy type.

How much time does the notice actually give you?

Thirty days from the date of the CP90 or CP297 to request a Collection Due Process hearing on Form 12153. File within that window and the levy is generally suspended while your hearing and any appeal are pending, and the collection statute is tolled.

A few mechanics that decide real cases:

• The deadline is the date on the notice plus 30 days, not the date you received it. Certified mail that sat at the post office still counts.
• Form 12153 is the CDP request. In the hearing you can raise collection alternatives (installment agreement, offer in compromise, currently-not-collectible status), spousal defenses, and — if you never had a prior chance — the underlying liability itself.
• A timely CDP request preserves Tax Court review under §6330(d). You have 30 days after the Appeals determination to petition the Tax Court.

What if you miss the 30-day deadline?

You are not out of options, but you lose the strongest one. After day 30 you can still request an Equivalent Hearing within one year of the notice, using the same Form 12153 and checking the equivalent-hearing box.

The tradeoff is real and worth stating plainly:

• An Equivalent Hearing gets you in front of Appeals and lets you propose the same collection alternatives.
• But it does not suspend the levy automatically, and it does not preserve your right to Tax Court review of the determination.

In files where the client missed the CDP window, I have still resolved the balance through an equivalent hearing plus an installment agreement or CNC status — but the leverage is weaker, and the IRS can levy while you negotiate.

How do you stop a levy after a CP90 or CP297?

The fastest way to stop the levy is to remove the reason for it: full payment, an accepted installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or currently-not-collectible status. A timely §6330 hearing request does the rest by suspending collection.

Practical routes, in the order I usually work them:

1. File the CDP request (Form 12153) within 30 days. This alone pauses the levy for most taxpayers.
2. Get compliant. Appeals will not grant a collection alternative if you have unfiled returns or are not making current deposits. For a business with open 941 exposure, current-quarter deposits are non-negotiable.
3. Propose an alternative you can actually fund. An installment agreement under §6159, an offer in compromise under §7122, or CNC status if the financials support it.
4. Request a levy release under §6343 if a levy already hit and it is causing economic hardship — the IRS must release a levy that creates hardship.

If the notice involves a trust fund recovery penalty, a lien, or potential personal liability for business tax, get a representative involved. A tax professional can file Form 2848 and deal with Appeals directly. Where the dispute touches insolvency or bankruptcy, consult your attorney — the automatic stay changes the analysis entirely.

The one thing I tell every client holding one of these notices: put the 30-day date on the calendar the day it arrives, and work backward from there.

Sources

• IRC §6330 — Notice and opportunity for hearing before levy (Collection Due Process)
• IRC §6331 — Levy and distraint; §6331(h) — continuous levy on federal payments, 15% cap
• IRC §6343 — Authority to release levy and return property (including economic hardship)
• IRC §6212 — Notice to last known address
• IRC §6159 — Installment agreements
• IRC §7122 — Offers in compromise
• IRS Notice CP90 — Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (individuals)
• IRS Notice CP297 — Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing (businesses)
• IRS Notice CP91 / CP297A — levy on federal payments under the Federal Payment Levy Program
• IRS Notice CP504 — Notice of Intent to Levy (state refund / federal payments)
• IRS Form 12153 — Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing
• IRS Form 2848 — Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
• IRS Form 8822 — Change of Address
• Federal Payment Levy Program (FPLP) / Treasury Offset Program, Bureau of the Fiscal Service