Federal · Internal Revenue Service

Refund held for review

CP05 · CP05A

What it is: The return is being reviewed before the refund is released, usually to verify income, withholding or credits against third-party records. A CP05 asks for nothing; a CP05A asks for documents.
The clock it starts: A CP05 says the review takes up to 60 days and asks for no response. A CP05A asks for the documents within 30 days.
What a response has to establish: For a CP05A, the pay statements, W-2s or 1099s that support the figures, with a cover letter that reconciles them to the return.
Authority: IRC §6402
IRS Publication 1
IRM 25.25.6

What CitedTax drafts for this notice

A document-response letter that reconciles the enclosed records to the return lines under review.

One credit. Upload the notice, state the firm's position and the facts, and the draft comes back in about thirty minutes with every claim graded against the cited text.

Notice response Pricing

Other federal notices

CP2000 Proposed changes from information-return matching
CP3219A Statutory notice of deficiency (90-day letter)
CP11 Math-error correction to the return
CP21A Changes made to the return
CP59 No return on file
CP2100 Payee name and TIN mismatch (backup withholding)

For tax professionals. The date printed on the notice controls. CitedTax is a research and drafting tool; the reviewing professional validates every item before reliance.