What is IRS Form 12153?

Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, asks the IRS Independent Office of Appeals to review a lien filing or a proposed or actual levy. It answers a notice that offers a hearing under Internal Revenue Code section 6320 or 6330, such as Letter 3172 for a lien or LT11, Letter 1058, or CP90 for a levy. The current revision is dated July 2022, and the regulations encourage its use so the request can be readily identified and forwarded to Appeals.

Where do I send Form 12153?

To the address for requesting a hearing shown on the CDP notice, which the form distinguishes from the payment address, with a copy of the notice. The regulations say the request must be sent to the IRS office and address as directed on the notice. Under 26 U.S.C. section 7502, a properly addressed request mailed within the period is treated as delivered on the postmark date.

Do I have to attach Form 433-A to Form 12153?

Not to make the request. Item 9 says a taxpayer proposing an installment agreement or offer in compromise, or reporting an inability to pay, should prepare Form 433-A for an individual or Form 433-B for a business unless an exception applies. The form says submitting it with Form 12153 is not required but helps reach the quickest resolution. The Appeals Collection Due Process FAQs say Appeals will need a financial statement to consider collection alternatives.

Does filing Form 12153 stop a levy?

A timely request on a levy notice suspends the levy actions that are the subject of the hearing while the hearing and any appeal are pending, under 26 U.S.C. section 6330(e)(1), subject to the exceptions in the statute. A request on the lien notice does not by itself suspend levy action, because the regulation says levy actions are not the subject of a lien hearing. For an equivalent hearing, the regulation says collection action is not required to be suspended.

Should a lawyer prepare Form 12153?

Mr. Powell prepares the request when it proposes a collection alternative that needs a financial statement, challenges the liability itself, asks for lien withdrawal, subordination, or discharge, or concerns a business balance or a trust fund recovery penalty. The regulations say the written request helps establish the issues for Appeals, and they limit Tax Court review to issues properly raised in the hearing. Any taxpayer can sign and file the form without a representative, and a taxpayer with the notice in hand, a listed reason with records behind it, and no need for a financial statement can complete it from its instructions.

Collection Due Process request

IRS Form 12153: the Collection Due Process hearing request, item by item.

Form 12153 is the IRS form for requesting a Collection Due Process hearing, or an equivalent hearing, with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals after a lien or levy notice under Internal Revenue Code section 6320 or 6330. The current revision is dated July 2022. It names the notice and the tax periods, states the reason for the hearing and any proposed collection alternative, and carries a signature. The date printed on the notice controls the request period.

Mr. Powell prepares and files Form 12153 with the financial statement, lien request, or liability position the hearing needs, and represents individuals and closely held businesses before Appeals nationwide from the office at 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300 in Washington, DC.

Form 12153 (Rev. 7-2022), the IRS Appeals pages, Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.9 and 8.22.5, 26 U.S.C. sections 6320, 6330, 6702, 7502, and 7503, and Treasury Regulations 301.6320-1 and 301.6330-1 were checked on September 23, 2026. The notice, the form, and its instructions control over this summary. This page is not legal advice.

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Which notices it answers, and when it is due.

The form is for a taxpayer who has received a letter offering an appeal under IRC 6320 or 6330, which it calls a CDP notice. The IRS Appeals list of those letters includes these section 6330 levy notices: Letter 11 (LT11), Letter 1058, CP90, and CP297, which come before a levy, and CP92 and CP242, which follow a levy on a state tax refund. The section 6320 lien notice is Letter 3172.

CP504 is not a CDP notice. The Appeals Collection Due Process FAQs say the formal Notice of Intent to Levy and Your Right to a Hearing comes next and carries the hearing right. The Appeals manual says a levy hearing request made before the CDP notice is issued is not timely, even if the IRS receives it afterward.

For a levy notice, section 6330(a)(3)(B) requires the notice to state the right to request a hearing during a 30-day period, and Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(c) sets it as the 30-day period that commences the day after the date of the CDP Notice. For the lien notice, section 6320(a)(3)(B) sets the 30-day period beginning on the day after the five business days the IRS has to send the notice after the lien filing. The Appeals manual says Letter 3172 shows a must-file-by date, on or before which the request must be postmarked or received.

Paragraph (i) of each regulation sets a one-year period for an equivalent hearing, commencing the day after the date of the levy notice or, for a lien, the day after the end of the five-business-day period following the lien filing. The regulations say discussions with the collection office do not extend the 30-day period. The date printed on the notice controls, and this page does not compute a deadline. Collection Due Process vs equivalent hearing compares the two hearings.

Official source: IRS Appeals, letters and notices offering an appeal opportunity
Official source: Collection Due Process FAQs
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6330
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6320
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1
Official source: IRM 8.22.5

Item by item

Form 12153 as it is printed today.

Item 1: basis for the request
Boxes for a filed Notice of Federal Tax Lien and a Notice of Proposed or Actual Levy. Both can be checked when both notices have arrived. Section 6320(b)(4) says a lien hearing is held with a levy hearing to the extent practicable.
Item 2: equivalent hearing
The box asks for an equivalent hearing if the request does not meet the requirements for a timely CDP hearing. The instructions say to check it when asking for a hearing after the timely deadline has passed. The Appeals manual says a late CDP request is not automatically treated as an equivalent hearing request.
Items 3 to 6: the taxpayers
Name, taxpayer identification number, address, and a telephone number with a time to call, for Taxpayer 1 and, on a joint request, Taxpayer 2.
Item 7: tax information
Type of tax, tax form number, and tax periods as shown on the notice. The form says item 7 may be left blank if a copy of the notice is included. The Appeals manual says the request covers every period listed on the CDP notice even if the request does not list them, unless the taxpayer specifically excludes a period.
Item 8: the reason
The form states that a request will not be honored without a reason for the dispute. The listed reasons are: not liable for the tax, innocent spouse relief, taxes discharged in bankruptcy, payments not applied, withdrawal of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien, current inability to pay due to financial hardship, inability to pay in full with a request for a collection alternative, and other issues. Section 6330(c)(2)(B) allows a challenge to the liability itself if the person did not receive a statutory notice of deficiency or did not otherwise have an opportunity to dispute it.
Lien resolutions
The instructions describe four and ask for appropriate documentation with the form. The instructions describe withdrawal as asking the IRS to remove the lien notice from public records because the taxpayer believes it should not have been filed. They describe subordination as making the federal tax lien secondary to a non-IRS lien, and discharge as removing the lien from a specific property. The instructions say a lien can be released when the taxes are paid in full or the terms of an accepted offer in compromise are completed. Section 6323(j)(1) allows a withdrawal on other grounds as well, including an installment agreement to satisfy the liability, unless the agreement provides otherwise. Federal tax lien explains how release, withdrawal, discharge, and subordination work.
Item 9: proposed collection alternative
Boxes for an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, currently unable to pay, and other. The item says to prepare Form 433-A for an individual or Form 433-B for a business with the request unless an exception applies: an installment agreement available through the online payment agreement application, or an offer based only on doubt as to liability. The form says sending the statement with Form 12153 is not required but helps reach the quickest resolution.
Item 10: signatures
Both taxpayers sign a joint request, and an officer signing for a company adds a title. The signature block states that the hearing and any judicial review suspend the period of limitations for collection, and that either the taxpayer or the representative, but not both, must sign and date the request. The Appeals manual says the regulations do not authorize a digital or electronic signature on a CDP hearing request.
The representative
A representative who signs for the taxpayer includes an executed Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, unless one is already on file. The Appeals manual treats a request signed for the taxpayer by a spouse, an unenrolled return preparer, or a representative with no Form 2848 on file as not processable until it is corrected.

Official source: Form 12153 (Rev. 7-2022)
Official source: IRM 5.1.9, Collection Appeal Rights
Official source: IRM 8.22.5

Where it goes, and proof of when it was sent.

The form says to send it to the address for requesting a hearing shown on the CDP notice, not the payment address, with a copy of the notice. Treasury Regulations 301.6320-1 and 301.6330-1 say the request must be sent, or hand delivered if permitted, to the IRS office and address as directed on the CDP Notice, and that a taxpayer whose notice shows no address should call 1-800-829-1040 for it. The form says to call the phone number on the notice, or 1-800-829-1040, when unsure of the correct address or to fax the request.

The Appeals manual accepts a request timely mailed to an IRS address listed in the CDP notice, timely faxed to the fax number listed in the notice, or timely hand delivered to an IRS office listed in the notice.

The regulations apply sections 7502 and 7503 to timeliness. Under section 7502(a), a properly addressed request with postage prepaid, deposited in the United States mail within the period, is treated as delivered on the date of the postmark. Under section 7502(c), the date of registration is the postmark date for registered mail, and the statute lets regulations extend that treatment to certified mail. Section 7502(f) extends the rule to a delivery service the IRS has designated. Under section 7503, when the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the act is timely on the next day that is not one. The instructions say to keep a copy of the hearing request and proof of the date it was sent.

Official source: Form 12153 (Rev. 7-2022)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(c)
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1(c)
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7502
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 7503
Official source: IRM 8.22.5.3.1, determining timeliness

Attachments

What goes with the form.

A copy of the notice
The first page of the form asks for a copy of the CDP notice to ensure proper handling of the request.
A financial statement
Form 433-A or Form 433-B, with the documents it requests, when item 9 proposes an alternative. The Appeals Collection Due Process FAQs say Appeals will need a financial statement to consider collection alternatives.
Form 8857
The instructions say Form 8857, Request for Innocent Spouse Relief, must be completed for an innocent spouse request to be considered.
Lien documentation
For withdrawal, subordination, or discharge, the instructions ask for the appropriate documentation with the form.

What a timely request does, and what follows.

Subject to an exception in section 6330(e)(2), section 6330(e)(1) provides that a timely request suspends the levy actions that are the subject of the hearing, and the running of the collection period under section 6502, while the hearing and any appeal are pending, and that period cannot expire before the 90th day after a final determination. Section 6320(c) applies the same suspension of the collection period to a timely lien hearing, but Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1(g) says levy actions are not the subject of a lien hearing. The form adds that a levy hearing request, timely or equivalent, does not prohibit the IRS from filing a notice of federal tax lien.

Section 6330(g) lets the IRS treat any portion of a request based on a position it has identified as frivolous, or reflecting a desire to delay or impede tax administration, as if it were never submitted, with no further administrative or judicial review of that portion. Section 6702(b) imposes a $5,000 penalty on such a request, and the penalty does not apply if the person withdraws it within 30 days after the IRS gives notice. IRM 5.1.9 points to Notice 2010-33, or later guidance, for the list of frivolous positions.

A timely hearing ends in a Notice of Determination sent by certified or registered mail, which Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1(e) says sets out Appeals' findings and decisions and responds to any collection alternative offered. Section 6330(d)(1) provides that the person may, within 30 days of a determination under this section, petition the Tax Court for review of such determination. The regulation adds that the taxpayer can ask the court to consider only issues properly raised in the hearing. An equivalent hearing ends in a Decision Letter, and the regulations say sections 6320 and 6330 do not authorize an appeal of that decision. They add that Appeals' denial of innocent spouse relief under section 6015 may, in some circumstances, be reviewed by the Tax Court if review is sought within 90 days of the determination. U.S. Tax Court covers the petition.

Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6330(d), (e), and (g)
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6320(c)
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6702
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6320-1(g)
Official source: IRM 5.1.9.3.15, frivolous hearing requests

When I prepare the request.

I prepare Form 12153 when the request proposes an installment agreement, an offer in compromise, or currently not collectible status and Appeals will need a Form 433-A or 433-B to consider it; when the taxpayer wants to challenge the tax itself and the first question is whether an earlier opportunity to dispute it forecloses that; when the request should ask for lien withdrawal, subordination, or discharge; and when the balance belongs to a business or is a trust fund recovery penalty. In those cases the reasons in item 8 and the proposal in item 9 help establish the issues for Appeals and begin the record a court may later review.

Any taxpayer can sign and file the form without a representative. It is most direct when the notice is in hand, the reason is one of the listed boxes, such as payments that were not applied, the records behind it are ready, and no financial statement is needed. Then the essentials are the hearing address from the notice, a copy of the notice, a stated reason, a dated, handwritten signature, and proof of the mailing date.

Questions

Common questions.

What is IRS Form 12153?
Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing, asks the IRS Independent Office of Appeals to review a lien filing or a proposed or actual levy. It answers a notice that offers a hearing under Internal Revenue Code section 6320 or 6330, such as Letter 3172 for a lien or LT11, Letter 1058, or CP90 for a levy. The current revision is dated July 2022, and the regulations encourage its use so the request can be readily identified and forwarded to Appeals.
How long do I have to file Form 12153?
For a levy notice, Treasury Regulation 301.6330-1 sets the 30-day period that commences the day after the date of the CDP Notice. For Letter 3172, the 30-day period begins the day after the end of the five-business-day period following the lien filing. A later request within the one-year period set in each regulation can ask for an equivalent hearing. The date printed on the notice controls, and this page does not compute it.
Where do I send Form 12153?
To the address for requesting a hearing shown on the CDP notice, which the form distinguishes from the payment address, with a copy of the notice. The regulations say the request must be sent to the IRS office and address as directed on the notice. Under 26 U.S.C. section 7502, a properly addressed request mailed within the period is treated as delivered on the postmark date.
Do I have to attach Form 433-A to Form 12153?
Not to make the request. Item 9 says a taxpayer proposing an installment agreement or offer in compromise, or reporting an inability to pay, should prepare Form 433-A for an individual or Form 433-B for a business unless an exception applies. The form says submitting it with Form 12153 is not required but helps reach the quickest resolution. The Appeals Collection Due Process FAQs say Appeals will need a financial statement to consider collection alternatives.
Does filing Form 12153 stop a levy?
A timely request on a levy notice suspends the levy actions that are the subject of the hearing while the hearing and any appeal are pending, under 26 U.S.C. section 6330(e)(1), subject to the exceptions in the statute. A request on the lien notice does not by itself suspend levy action, because the regulation says levy actions are not the subject of a lien hearing. For an equivalent hearing, the regulation says collection action is not required to be suspended.
Should a lawyer prepare Form 12153?
Mr. Powell prepares the request when it proposes a collection alternative that needs a financial statement, challenges the liability itself, asks for lien withdrawal, subordination, or discharge, or concerns a business balance or a trust fund recovery penalty. The regulations say the written request helps establish the issues for Appeals, and they limit Tax Court review to issues properly raised in the hearing. Any taxpayer can sign and file the form without a representative, and a taxpayer with the notice in hand, a listed reason with records behind it, and no need for a financial statement can complete it from its instructions.

Send the letter code and the date printed on it.

Tell me the lien or levy notice code, the date printed on it, and the tax years it lists. Send only a high-level summary.

Schedule an initial consultation

Requesting a consultation does not make Mr. Powell your lawyer, provide legal advice, or protect a deadline.

Law Office of Alexander Powell, PLLC. 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.

Which notices it answers, and when it is due.

Form 12153 as it is printed today.

Item 1: basis for the request

Item 2: equivalent hearing

Items 3 to 6: the taxpayers

Item 7: tax information

Item 8: the reason

Lien resolutions

Item 9: proposed collection alternative

Item 10: signatures

The representative

Where it goes, and proof of when it was sent.

What goes with the form.

A copy of the notice

A financial statement

Form 8857

Lien documentation