LT11 / Letter 1058: Final Notice of Intent to Levy

LT11 and Letter 1058 are the same legal notice issued by different parts of the IRS — LT11 typically by the Automated Collection System, Letter 1058 often by a revenue officer. Both say the IRS intends to seize your property or rights to property and that you must contact it immediately.

This is the notice required by IRC section 6330 before most levies. It gives you the right to a Collection Due Process (CDP) hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals — an independent review where you can propose a payment plan, Offer in Compromise or Currently Not Collectible status, or challenge whether collection is appropriate.

You have 30 days from the date on the letter to request a CDP hearing using Form 12153. A timely request generally stops levy action while the hearing is pending and pauses the collection statute. If you miss the 30 days, you can still request an "equivalent hearing" within one year, but it doesn't stop levies or give you the right to go to Tax Court.

After the hearing window closes, the IRS can levy wages and other income, bank accounts, business assets, personal assets including your car and home, state tax refunds, and Social Security benefits. A wage levy continues every pay period until released. A bank levy captures what's in the account on the day it's served. The IRS may also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien if it hasn't already.

1. Note the letter date and count 30 days — write the deadline down.
2. If you can pay in full, do so and keep proof.
3. If you owe less than $50,000, the IRS says the online payment agreement tool is the fastest way to get an installment agreement approved.
4. Otherwise, file Form 12153 before the deadline and state the relief you want (installment agreement, Offer in Compromise, CNC, penalty abatement).
5. Gather three months of pay stubs, bank statements and a list of monthly expenses for a collection information statement.
6. File every missing return; Appeals expects filing compliance.
7. If a levy is already causing hardship, call the IRS and ask for release, or contact the Taxpayer Advocate Service.

Read the official IRS explanation: Understanding your LT11 / Letter 1058.

At a CDP hearing, an Appeals officer who wasn't involved in your case reviews whether the IRS followed the law and whether the proposed levy is more intrusive than necessary. You can propose any collection alternative — a payment plan, an Offer in Compromise, Currently Not Collectible status, or penalty abatement. In limited cases you can dispute the underlying tax if you never had a prior chance to. If you disagree with the Appeals determination, you generally can petition the U.S. Tax Court.

The IRS collection notice stream follows a predictable order. Knowing where your letter sits tells you how much time you have and what the IRS is legally allowed to do next.

• CP14 — the first bill. It says you have a balance due and asks you to pay within 21 days.
• CP501 — the first reminder that the balance is still unpaid.
• CP503 — the second reminder. The IRS may file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien if it hasn't already.
• CP504 — Notice of Intent to Levy under IRC section 6331(d). The IRS can now take your state tax refund and warns that wages and bank accounts are next.
• LT11 or Letter 1058 — Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing. You get 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing.

The gaps between letters are usually several weeks, but the IRS does not have to send every letter, and some accounts skip straight from CP14 to CP504. See our overview of all IRS notices for the full list.

Every notice in the sequence can be resolved with the same set of IRS programs. Which one fits depends on how much you owe and what you can realistically pay each month.

• Payment plan (installment agreement): individuals who owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest and have filed all returns can usually set up a Simple Payment Plan online, with no financial statement. The online setup fee is $29 with automatic withdrawals or $69 without.
• Short-term plan: if you can pay within 180 days and owe less than $100,000, there's no setup fee — interest and penalties still accrue.
• Offer in Compromise: settles for less than the full balance only when the IRS agrees you can't pay in full through income and asset equity. The application fee is $205 unless you meet the low-income certification.
• Currently Not Collectible status: pauses active collection if paying would leave you unable to cover basic living expenses.
• Penalty abatement: first-time abatement or reasonable cause can remove failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties, which also removes the interest charged on those penalties.

Our tax settlement calculator shows which of these your situation points toward in about a minute.

Doing nothing is the most expensive choice. Interest accrues at the federal underpayment rate — currently 7% a year, compounded daily — and the failure-to-pay penalty adds 0.5% of the unpaid tax per month, up to 25%. Once you're on an approved payment plan (and filed on time), that penalty drops to 0.25% a month. If you ignore a notice of intent to levy, it rises to 1% a month starting 10 days after the notice. Use the penalty and interest calculator to see what waiting costs on your balance.

You can handle most notices yourself by calling the number on the letter or using your IRS Online Account. Consider professional help — an enrolled agent, CPA or tax attorney — if you owe more than $50,000, have several unfiled years, run a business with payroll taxes, or are already facing a levy. If the IRS is causing you financial hardship, the free Taxpayer Advocate Service can step in. Be wary of any company that promises to settle your debt for a fraction of what you owe before reviewing your finances — read how to choose a tax relief company.