Letter 4141 was an acknowledgment letter from the IRS Independent Office of Appeals. The Internal Revenue Manual calls it the "Case Received in Appeals - Acknowledgement Letter" and also the "Uniform Acknowledgement Letter." It told you one thing: your case had arrived in Appeals.

What This Letter Means

It is not a decision. It does not say you won or lost. It does not resolve a Collection Appeals Program request, an audit dispute, or anything else. It is a receipt.

The IRS has since retired it. The current Appeals procedures state that the acknowledgment letter is no longer required and that Letter 4141 is obsolete. If you have one, it is most likely an older letter from a case that went to Appeals years ago.

What to Do

  • Keep it with the rest of your file. The date shows when Appeals had your case.
  • Look for the next letter. In an active case, the Appeals officer contacts you to schedule a conference or ask for information.
  • If a recent letter carries this number, read its title and first paragraph closely. Since the IRS stopped using Letter 4141, confirm exactly what the document is before you act on it.

Deadlines Still Come From Other Letters

An Appeals acknowledgment does not extend any deadline in an earlier notice. If you received a notice of deficiency, the last day to petition the Tax Court printed on that notice still controls. If you received a collection notice with appeal rights, the date on that notice controls. Protect those dates no matter what Appeals sends you.

Keep copies of everything you send to Appeals and everything you get back. If you want a representative to deal with Appeals for you, you can authorize one with Form 2848.

If your case is in IRS Appeals and you want help, call us at (813) 229-7100.