Letter 2626-C: Underreporter correspondence to the payee: more information, extension, or the payer's answer

What Letter 2626-C is

The individual underreporter unit's all-purpose letter to the payee. Paragraph L tells a payee who never received a 1099 that "they will need to contact the payer"; paragraph M encloses Form 2624 so the IRS can write to the payer; paragraph O returns the payer's verification "as an enclosure" (IRM 4.19.3.23.9.1(5), (7); 4.19.3.23.9.6(6), Oct. 10, 2025). It also grants the one 30-day extension after a CP 2000 and answers penalty waiver requests (IRM 4.19.3.23.2.5(12); 4.19.3.23.1.4).

The deadline

30 days in the ordinary case; "Do not issue multiple Letter 2626-Cs to request the same information" (IRM 4.19.3.23.9(2) Note).

What to do

For a payer: the payee will ask you for a duplicate or corrected statement, and if you do not answer they can sign Form 2624 so the IRS writes to you. Answer the payee in writing; a corrected form faxed during the payee's call can close the case (IRM 4.19.3.23.2.5(4)).

The underreporter program from the payee's chair

The Automated Underreporter program matches the information returns filed under an individual's SSN against the income on that individual's return and writes to the taxpayer about the difference. The first letter is usually a CP2000 proposing additional tax, or a CP 2501 asking a question before proposing anything. Letter 2626-C is the follow-up correspondence the unit sends during the case, and it carries different paragraphs for different purposes: granting the single 30-day extension the payee can have, asking for more information, telling a payee who says they never received a 1099 to get it from the payer, enclosing Form 2624 so the IRS can contact the payer itself, returning the payer's verification to the payee, or answering a penalty waiver request. The letter number is the same whatever the paragraph, which is why the payee has to read it rather than recognize it.

What reaches the payer, and how to answer

A payer learns about a 2626-C when a payee calls asking for a copy of a 1099 they say they never received, or for a correction to one they dispute. Answer in writing and quickly; the payee's 30 days are running. If the return was right, send a copy of the 1099 as filed with a short letter saying it was issued and when, and, if the payee's confusion is about why a correct return produced a notice (a gross-proceeds 1099-K, a 1099-C, a 1099-R rollover), explain the reporting rule; the payee letter of explanation is written for this. If the return was wrong, file the correction and give the payee a copy for the response; a corrected form faxed to the unit while the payee is on the phone can close the case the same day. If you do not answer, the payee can sign Form 2624 authorizing the IRS to contact you directly, and the request then arrives as a Letter 2625-C with a deadline of its own. The payee CP2000 guide covers the whole exchange.

Questions about Letter 2626-C

Have a different notice? The IRS notice decoder lists all 77 in the order they tend to arrive.