A CP504 is a serious balance-due notice — the IRS warns it may levy your state tax refund if the balance stays unpaid. It is a step before the final levy notice (LT11 / Letter 1058) that carries your full appeal rights — not the levy itself, and not anyone at your door.
GlassRead marks the loaded words on the notice itself — tap any for a plain-language card — and opens a calm panel beside it: your date, your options, the question you'd be afraid to ask.
Example notice — the real CP504 layout with fictional details. Yours will look like this.
We have sent you earlier notices about this balance and have not received full payment. This notice is a formal demand for payment of the amount due.
| Unpaid tax for 2024 | $2,309.00 |
| Failure-to-pay penalty | $110.00 |
| Interest charges (compounded daily) | $54.00 |
| Amount due by July 8, 2026 | $2,473.00 |
If you don't pay the amount due or call us by July 8, 2026, we may levy (seize) your state tax refund and apply it to this balance. We may also file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, a public claim against your property, if we have not already done so.
Before we can levy your wages, bank accounts, or other property, we must send you a final notice of intent to levy and notice of your right to a hearing. That later notice explains your right to appeal before any such levy begins.
If you can't pay the full amount by the due date, pay what you can now. You may qualify for an installment agreement or an offer in compromise. Interest and the failure-to-pay penalty continue to accrue on any unpaid balance.
If you paid in the last 21 days, you may disregard this notice. If you believe the amount is wrong, call the number above by July 8, 2026, with your records — you have the right to dispute this amount before any enforcement begins.
Paste yours and read it the same way — every loaded term explained in place, your real date anchored, and the ways to respond laid out side by side.
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