What This Notice Means

CP569 is a Penalty and Interest Explanation notice. It explains selected penalties and interest charged on one tax period of your account. An IRS employee requests it, and it is reviewed before it is mailed to you. It is generated in response to requests for an explanation of penalties and interest.

CP569 explains charges already on your account. It is the breakdown, not a new assessment.

What It Can Cover

  • All penalties and interest on the period, or selected items.
  • Interest you owe, and interest the IRS owes you.
  • Failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties.
  • The estimated tax penalty.
  • Fraud, negligence, bad check, and unreported tip income penalties.
  • The late filing penalty on business returns and the penalty for failing to provide information on Forms 1065 and 1120.

For a few penalty types, the notice gives a paragraph of explanation without a computation. Failure-to-deposit penalties are not explained on CP569.

What to Do

  • Check the dates the IRS used: when the return was due, when it was filed, and when each payment was made.
  • Match the payment amounts to your bank records.
  • Keep the notice with your records for that tax year.

If You Think a Penalty Shouldn't Apply

You can ask the IRS to remove a penalty for reasonable cause, or under first-time abatement if you qualify. You can call the number on your notice or file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. Interest is set by law and generally isn't removed for reasonable cause, but interest on a penalty comes off when the penalty does.

An Older Meaning

The IRS once used the number CP569 for an ITIN rejection notice. That notice is now CP574. If your notice is about a Form W-7 application, it is the ITIN notice, not a penalty explanation.

If your CP569 shows penalties you believe should come off, call us at (813) 229-7100.