What This Notice Is
The LT16 is a contact request from an IRS collection function. The LT16 identifies the periods involved and states that the account is unresolved.
The LT16 can reference both a balance and a missing return.
Why You Received It
An LT16 generally issues when a balance is unresolved, a return is missing, or both, on the same account.
An LT16 often follows earlier notices that produced no recorded response.
What Most People Do (And Why It Often Goes Badly)
Most people meet a LT16 with one of three postures: panic, silence, or argument. Panic makes a person act before they understand what they are holding. Silence lets the record stand unanswered, and an unanswered record is the strongest record there is. Argument turns a matter of honor into a fight, and fights are decided by whoever holds the stronger paper trail.
The fourth common posture is the copied template pulled off the internet, sent without understanding. A borrowed document carries no honor behind it. What decides these matters is not volume or cleverness; it is whether a presentment received a lawful, honorable response from someone who understood what was actually presented.
The Equity Perspective
A LT16 is a presentment, and every presentment has a lawful, honorable response. Equity is the side of the law that deals in conscience, honor, and performance rather than combat.
Learning that discipline is what this school teaches. Start with what Equity is and see the curriculum.
Common Questions
What is a LT16?
The LT16 is a collection notice asking the recipient to make contact about an unresolved account. The LT16 is a contact request from an IRS collection function. The LT16 identifies the periods involved and states that the account is unresolved.
Why did the IRS send me a LT16?
An LT16 generally issues when a balance is unresolved, a return is missing, or both, on the same account.
Does a LT16 mean the amount or position stated is final?
A LT16 states what IRS records show at the time it was issued. It is a presentment describing a position, and this page does not tell you what your own notice says. Read your own LT16 carefully.
Is there a deadline printed on a LT16?
Timeframes associated with a LT16 vary and are printed on the notice itself. This page does not state day counts. Always read the dates on your own letter.
Holding a notice right now?
See the letter students receive when a matter resolves: the IRS 96C. Free guide.
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Standing on the Rock provides education in Equity jurisprudence. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and no outcome is promised. This page describes IRS notices in general terms for education. Always read your own notice carefully; deadlines and specifics vary.
