IRS Letter 6331C: what it means and how to answer it

What does IRS Letter 6331C mean?

IRS Letter 6331C is a request to prove that you, and not an identity thief, filed the Form 1040-series return the IRS received under your Social Security number or ITIN. Until you answer, the return sits unprocessed and no refund is issued. It is not a bill, and answering it does not open an audit.

The IRS's Taxpayer Protection Program manual (IRM 25.25.6) describes 6331C as a pilot letter that carries an online option. IRS employees are told to handle it with the same procedures as Letter 5071C, the standard letter it was tested against. So if you have seen advice written for 5071C, nearly all of it applies to you.

Is there an IRS Form 6331C?

People often search for "IRS form 6331C", but 6331C is a letter, not a form. There is nothing to fill in and mail back. You answer it by verifying your identity online or by phone, using the details the letter gives you.

Letter from Atlanta 6331C

The "IRS letter from Atlanta 6331C" search comes from readers checking an envelope with an IRS campus return address. The return city by itself tells you nothing about whether the letter is genuine. The safer test is how the letter asks you to respond; our identity letter scam guide lists the warning signs.

How Letter 6331C compares to 5071C

The two letters ask for the same thing and accept the same answers. The differences are administrative, and only one of them matters to you in practice: what happens if the letter goes missing.

The IRS is also moving identity verification toward its CP5071 notice series, which uses the same online service. If you later receive a CP5071 notice for the same tax year, it is a follow-up on the same hold, not a second problem.

How to respond to IRS Letter 6331C

Before you start, pull together the items the IRS asks for: the 6331C letter, the return for the tax year printed on it, a prior-year return if you have one, and the W-2s, 1099s or Schedule C or F behind the return. The questions come from these documents, so answering from memory is where most failed attempts start.

Option 1: verify online

Type the address of the IRS's Identity and Tax Return Verification Service (irs.gov/verifyreturn) into your browser yourself. You will need to sign in or create an IRS account, which uses ID.me; our ID.me setup guide covers the steps. The IRS's service page now names the CP5071 series and Letter 5447C, so if the service will not accept your 6331C details, switch to the phone option rather than trying repeatedly.

Option 2: verify by phone

Call the Taxpayer Protection Program number printed on your letter. If the assistor cannot confirm your identity by phone, the IRS arranges an in-person appointment instead, which works like the Letter 5747C visit.

After you respond to 6331C

A successful verification releases the return to normal processing. The IRS's online service says to wait 2 to 3 weeks before checking your refund, and to allow up to 9 weeks for the refund itself.

Worked example: you verify online on April 1. Checking status before about April 15 to April 22 will likely show no change. Up to 9 weeks (63 days) runs to about June 3. If nothing has moved by then, the refund after identity verification page explains the next steps.

• You do not need to file Form 14039, the identity theft affidavit, after verifying unless the IRS tells you to.
• The refund can still be reduced by an offset or a math error correction; those arrive with their own notices.
• The hotline handles verification only, so it cannot tell you when the refund will be paid.