E-4. Cover letter for returns filed to replace substitute-for-return assessments
Use a model cover letter for tax returns submitted to address substitute-for-return assessments, with identifying information and supporting records.
Use this model letter
Copy or download the blank model letter, then replace every [bracketed field] and remove alternatives that do not apply. Read the guidance below before using it. These are templates, not official IRS forms; nothing is filed or sent for you.
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When to use this
Use this model when the IRS has assessed tax based on a substitute return and you are submitting your own completed returns for review. Its purpose is to identify the affected periods, explain what you are enclosing and make your request clear.
Gather the assessment notices, the completed returns and supporting records, and identify the return for each listed year. Check the applicable IRS instructions and correspondence for the correct submission method and destination. Do not claim that a return or document is enclosed unless it actually is.
The cover letter does not itself file the missing returns, establish that an assessment has changed or replace another required response. Keep copies and delivery records, verify follow-up, and use your tax debt inventory to track the periods under review.
Model letter and instructions
Use when you are filing real returns for years the IRS already assessed. Send to the address the IRS designates for reconsideration or the campus that issued the assessment.
Enclosed are original Forms 1040 for tax years [years], signed and dated. These returns are submitted to replace the substitute-for-return assessments made under section 6020(b) for those years, and I request audit reconsideration of each assessment based on the enclosed returns.
The substitute returns did not reflect [my actual filing status of [status] / my [number] dependents / my ordinary and necessary business expenses as a [occupation] / itemized deductions / withholding and estimated payments of $[amount]]. The enclosed returns reflect my actual income, deductions, and tax for each year, and are supported by [bank statements, Forms 1099, contracts, mileage logs, receipts] which I can provide on request.
I request that collection activity on these periods be suspended while the reconsideration is pending. [If applicable: A levy is currently in place on [account]; I request its release pending reconsideration.]
Enclosed: Form 1040 for [year]; Form 1040 for [year]; Form 1040 for [year]; copies of Forms 1099 and W-2 for each year; [schedule of business expenses with supporting summary].
[Signature]