The IRS Letter CP59 is a form letter that the IRS sends to people when the Service has received an information return, like a Form W-2 or any of the many Forms 1099, but have not received a Form 1040 tax return. The IRS’s form letter is laden with presumptions. The recipient of the letter is encouraged to confirm those presumptions either by default, or by submitting a Form 1040 tax return. Interestingly, however, the CP59 does not assert that the recipient is actually required by law to file a Form 1040. That determination is left up to you to make.
This reply is for the non-filer who is curious as to facts and law that the Service is relying on in implying that filing a 1040 is in fact a legal duty. It is specifically designed to avoid any possible accusations of making frivolous argument. It is an inquiry only. Adding any discussion of the law to this letter is strongly discouraged. Administrative employees of the IRS do not know the law, and are not interested in your opinion of it. Many lower level employees are trained to label any correspondence that makes any mention of the law “frivolous,” and to ignore or reject it without consideration.
The package includes an annotated CP59 and an editable reply in MS Word rtf format. As all CP59s are pretty much the same, not much customization is required. You may or may not receive a reply to the inquiries in this reply, but if you are persistent in making them eventually you could receive some answers.
If you’d like help filling this out, contact Lysander at lysandervenible@pm.me.