Letter 1058, also called LT11, gives you 30 days before the IRS can levy. Here's how to use that window to request a hearing and protect your business.
Letter 1058, sometimes labeled LT11, is the final notice of intent to levy. If you own a business and owe the IRS six figures, this letter just started a 30-day clock.
What you do in that window can decide whether you keep your bank accounts and your receivables. Used well, those 30 days are a real opening.
Watch my full video on this topic below, or watch on YouTube.
Read the whole title on the letter: "Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing." The last words matter most.
Federal law requires the IRS to send this notice and then wait 30 days before it can levy. That waiting period, and the hearing right that comes with it, is what sets Letter 1058 apart from the collection notices that came before it.
A levy means the IRS can reach into your bank accounts, garnish payments, or go after your accounts receivable.
A bank levy freezes the money in your account on the day it hits. The bank generally holds those funds for 21 days, then sends them straight to the IRS. For a business, that can mean bounced checks, missed payroll and unpaid vendors. It can keep going until the account is empty or the IRS releases the levy.
The accounts receivable levy can be even harder on a business. The IRS sends notices to your customers telling them to pay the IRS instead of you. Your incoming cash stops at the source, and every one of those customers now knows you're in trouble with the IRS. That kind of damage to your reputation can end a business.
There's a quieter cost too. Once this notice sits unpaid for 10 days, the failure to pay penalty doubles to 1% per month (I walk through the math here), so the balance grows faster while you wait.
Within 30 days of the date on the letter, you can file Form 12153 to request a collection due process hearing, often called a CDP hearing.
Filing on time does two things. In most situations, levy action stops while your case is pending. You also get a formal seat across from the IRS Independent Office of Appeals to negotiate a real resolution.
The appeals officer has real discretion. Here's what you can put on the table (I explain the payment options in more detail here):
Miss the 30 days and your CDP right is gone. You may still get what's called an equivalent hearing, but you may lose the automatic hold on enforcement. You also lose the chance to protest the outcome in Tax Court.
With a six-figure balance, those are big differences. File Form 12153 as soon as you can.
The most common one is treating Letter 1058 like any other notice and letting the 30 days run out.
Calling the IRS without a strategy is another. So is agreeing to a monthly payment that you or your business can't keep up. That leads to a default, and you end up back where you started or worse.
Letter 1058 is the letter you build your defense around. It doesn't have to be the one you panic over, as long as you act within the 30 days.
When a client brings me one of these, I'm often glad, because it means we can request a CDP hearing. That puts us in front of an appeals officer who has the discretion to resolve the case fairly. If your business is on the line, get professional help and file Form 12153 before the clock runs out.
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