The IRS received your tax return and is verifying your income, income tax withholding, tax credits or business income based on the information reported to the IRS under your name and Social Security Number (SSN) by employers, banks, or other payers. After the IRS finishes its review, you may be required to verify tax credits claimed, income tax withholding or business expenses before your refund will be released or applied as an overpayment to next year’s estimated tax.

You filed your tax return and the IRS received it. The IRS is holding your refund while it is verifying the accuracy of your return, including one or more of the following you may have reported: credits, income (e.g., wages) and withholding that were reported on your return.

The first thing to do is to check the return address to be sure it’s from the IRS and not another agency.

Call the IRS immediately as you may be a victim of tax-related identity theft. Someone else may have used your personal information to file this return. Please complete and sign Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, attach it to the notice and mail it to the IRS using the return address on the top of the CP05 notice, along with any requested documents.

You can also refer to the IRS Identity Theft Central resource page for more information

No action is required at this time. The review process could take anywhere from 60 to 180 days, as the IRS could be reviewing various issues such as wages and withholding, or credits or expenses shown on your tax return.

Once the IRS finishes its review, it may send your refund, ask for additional information, or deny all or part of your refund. If you don’t agree with the denial, you’ll have an opportunity to appeal.

If, after 60 days from the date of this notice, you have not received your refund or heard from the IRS, contact the IRS at the toll-free number listed at the top right corner of your notice.

If the entries reported on your return cannot be verified, you may be asked to submit documents verifying your wages and withholding that were reported.

If you made an error on your return or need to change the information reported, you should file a

Form 1040-X, Amended U.S Individual Income Tax Return.