I receive a letter called a 2800C. Since I have received fake IRS forms (and corporate compliance scams), my immediate assumption was “its a scam. trash it.” But after I read through it, I could see that it was REAL. And I was terrified.
I thought of Wesley Snipes, Nicholas Cage, Lauryn Hill and all the other celebrities that have had very public and very serious tax issues that land them in court or jail. Then I thought about the small business’ that end up owing an insane about of money in fees and back taxes to the IRS.
What I found is that all I need to do is call them and talk to them to straighten it out.
I immediately researched this letter on the Internet because I did not fully understand it. I paid my taxes, attached all necessary W-2s/1099s/1040s. So what could be wrong. The form was saying “Withholding Rate (Marital Status) : single” and I KNOW that was wrong. After researching online the best advice I found came from Vista Professional Services:
Their first bit of advice is the best “Don’t Panic”.
You don’t really know what is going on until you call them. For me, it turns out that they simply had not received my taxes yet. I called, they double checked and found that they were there.
Withholding Compliance Unit is the section of the IRS that handles this:
P.O. Box 9047, Stop 837
Andover, MA 01810-0947
1-866-791-0289
How did you know its not a Scam?
ok, I won’t discuss the Constitutional argument about whether or not the IRS itself is real or whether it has the right to impose and enforce taxes.  I don’t agree with a lot of how its done but refusing to pay is the wrong way for me to voice that grievance. As far as I know flat out refusing to pay taxes is how jail happens. Jail is real enough for me.
So When I say “how do you know its not a scam” I am saying how do you know if the NOTICE 2800C is really from the IRS.
1) Its is sent from your employer. The form will be sent to your employer and include instructions for your employer.
2) Contains legit IRS contact information. A legit form will have a 866/800 number that you can check against contact information you can verify on irs.gov. Once you call the IRS, you can then verify. They will have the your issue in their database.
3) Has your personal information on it. “For Internal Use Only xxx-xx-xxxx” is printed on the bottom of the forms with YOUR social on it. The forms will have your first, last names and middle initial. It will include the employers information (name and address) .
LTR 2800C IRS Tax Notice:
MM DD YYYY LTR 2800C W2
SNXXXXXXXX
***Employer: Provide this letter to your employee within 10 days of receipt.***
Employee:Â FirstName M.I. LastName
Social Security Number: XXX-XX-XXXX
Employer: Corp. Inc
Dear FirstName M.I. LastName
WHY ARE WE WRITING TO YOU?
Blah, Blah, Blah .. We have determined that you are not entitled to a claim exempt status or more than a specified number of withholding allowances.
WHAT INSTRUCTIONS DID WE GIVE YOUR EMPLOYERS?
Withholding Rate (Marital Status) : single
Withholding Allowance: 0000
IF YOU DON’T AGREE
You can request a change of this determination. Please call us at the number shown below within 30 days from the date of this letter. We’ll consider your explanation of why you are entitled to a different withholding rate and/or number of withholding allowances (or exempt status).
When you call, have the following information available. If you file jointly, you must have the same information available for your spouse.
