Tax Letter Response Checklist: IRS, CRA, India and Illinois (Printable)

This tax letter response checklist works for any letter from a tax authority, whether it came from the IRS, the Canada Revenue Agency, India's Income Tax Department or the Illinois Department of Revenue. It is built for people with accounts, income or family in more than one country, who can receive three letters in a month and must decide which to answer first. Print it, fill in the log, and keep it in the same folder as the notice. Detailed guides for each authority are linked where the checklist points to them.

Tax letter response checklist: the first 72 hours

1. Do not respond to a call, text or email in the letter's name. Confirm genuineness first with the scam alert guide.
2. Write the date received on the first page and keep the envelope.
3. Identify the agency, notice number, tax year or period, and amount. The IRS prints the CP or LTR number in the right-hand corner.
4. Find the response date and the method. Mail address, fax, upload tool, CRA account or India e-Filing portal.
5. Photograph or scan every page and store the file with the original.
6. Compare it with your return or account, using your filed return, income forms, bank records and the agency's online account.
7. Decide agree, disagree or partly agree. If you agree, take only the action requested. If you disagree, answer in writing with documents.
8. Tell the right people. Notify your spouse or co-filer, your U.S. preparer, your Canadian CPA and your Indian Chartered Accountant, as applicable.
9. Authorize a representative if needed. See authorized representatives by country.
10. Pay or arrange payment for any amount you accept, even if you cannot pay everything.
11. Calendar the deadlines two weeks before the date, and the appeal date the day the letter arrives.

Notice log (fill in and print)

Which deadlines apply?

The date on the letter always controls. The published periods below are outer benchmarks, and each rests on a specific notice type.

Deeper guides: IRS first steps, CRA assessments and India notices overview.

What to gather for any response

• The complete letter and envelope
• The filed return, amended returns and proof of filing
• Income statements: W-2, 1099, T4, T5, Form 16 or other payer statements
• Bank, brokerage and card statements covering the period
• Receipts, contracts, invoices, leases or closing statements for items in dispute
• Prior notices, payment confirmations and any earlier correspondence
• Foreign statements with translations where needed
• A signed authorization if someone else will speak for you

Mini-checklists by authority

IRS

• Search the number on irs.gov, check your online account and reply by the date shown.
• If you disagree, follow the instructions and send copies of supporting documents.
• Reply by the due date to guarantee your appeal rights.
• Do not miss the Tax Court date on a notice of deficiency; the IRS cannot extend it.

CRA

• Sign in to your CRA account and read the Mail section.
• For a review, quote the reference number printed on the letter and send what applies.
• For an assessment you dispute, count from the date on the notice.
• Do not sign an audit waiver until you understand that it ends objection rights.

Indian Income Tax Department

• Log in to the e-Filing portal, open Pending Actions, then e-Proceedings, and open the notice.
• Check authenticity using the Document Identification Number if the notice came by email.
• Submit the response with attachments; the manual sets a 5 MB limit per attachment.
• An authorized representative is added for the notice through an OTP sent to your primary mobile number and registered email, valid for 15 minutes.

Illinois Department of Revenue

• Respond directly to the notice if it does not give protest rights.
• If it does, a protest must be filed within 60 days; income tax protests use Form EAR-14 and most other taxes use Form AH-4.
• Separate routes exist for waiver of penalties and interest or an offer in compromise through the Board of Appeals.

When to bring in a professional

• Any letter that mentions FBAR, Form 8938, Form 5471, Form 3520 or a foreign account
• A notice of deficiency, levy or lien
• An audit, a request for foreign statements or a summons
• A voluntary disclosure or a waiver
• Letters in two countries about the same income

See the glossary of penalty and compliance terms for plain-language definitions.

A worked example

The Rao family in Naperville receives three letters within a week. An IRS CP2000 dated October 2 asks for a reply by a date 30 days out. A CRA review letter arrives in their Canadian account on October 6 asking for receipts, and a portal notice for the Indian parents' filing appears on October 9. They log each item and sort by the date on the letter: the CP2000 first, then the CRA review, then the Indian notice. They share scans with the U.S. preparer, the Canadian CPA and the Indian CA, and each professional handles the notice for their own country. The dates are hypothetical.

What not to do

• Do not ignore a letter because it looks like a scam without checking.
• Do not send originals.
• Do not pay through a link or number in the letter.
• Do not give one country's explanation to another country's tax office without checking consistency.
• Do not wait for a second notice.

How we can help

We handle IRS and Illinois notices directly, from reading and calendaring to filing the response and representing you. For CRA or Indian matters, we do not represent clients before those authorities; we coordinate with your Canadian CPA or Indian Chartered Accountant so the U.S. filing and the foreign filings agree. We are based in the Aurora, Illinois area and cannot promise a result. See IRS and state tax representation and the audit timelines by country. Browse the notices hub for every guide in this series.

Frequently asked questions

General information only. It is not tax, legal, accounting or immigration advice for your situation, and rules change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a licensed professional in the relevant country.