What Letter 570 is
The letter that closes a claim for refund the examiner allowed in full; the manual has it signed by the group manager (IRM 4.23.13.3.3.1(4), 4.23.13.3.3.2(2), July 1, 2024). On the income-tax side it is listed with Letter 569 (preliminary disallowance), 987 (agreed) and 905/906 (statutory disallowance) (IRM 4.10.11.2.2.2, Sept. 29, 2022).
The deadline
No response required. Watch for the refund or credit.
What to do
One follow-up the manual flags: when an allowed claim reduces the tax on a return that carried a failure-to-deposit penalty, the examiner is told to have you "submit ... Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability, as appropriate, so the Failure to Deposit (FTD) penalty can be recomputed at the Campus" (IRM 4.23.13.3.3.1(4) note). The penalty is not recomputed on its own; send the 945-A and ask.
A claim allowed in full
Letter 570 is the good outcome: an employment tax examiner reviewed your claim for refund (a Form 945-X for overpaid tax, or a Form 843 for a penalty) and allowed all of it, and the group manager signed off. The refund or credit follows through the campus and typically arrives in four to eight weeks, with interest from the date of the overpayment where the law allows it. There is nothing to respond to. The letter is worth keeping with the return it relates to, both as the record of why the account changed and because a later examiner, or a later notice generated by the account adjustment, may need to be shown it.
The follow-up the letter does not do for you
An allowed claim that reduces the tax on a Form 945 changes the deposit history for that year, and if the year carried a failure-to-deposit penalty, that penalty was computed on the old liability. The penalty is not recomputed automatically. The examiner is instructed to ask you for a Form 945-A reflecting the corrected liability so the campus can refigure it, and if the letter does not mention one, send it anyway: a 945-A with the revised liability by date, a copy of Letter 570, and a one-paragraph letter asking that the deposit penalty for the year be recomputed on the revised schedule. A deposit that was short against the old liability may be timely and complete against the new one, and the penalty difference can exceed the refund itself. Check the account transcript after the refund posts to confirm the adjustment, the interest, and whether the penalty line moved. The Form 945-A page covers preparing the schedule, the Form 945-X page covers the overpayment claim, and the claim versus abatement page explains what the allowed claim has settled and what it has not.
Questions about Letter 570
Who receives Letter 570?
Payer. The letter that closes a claim for refund the examiner allowed in full; the manual has it signed by the group manager (IRM 4.23.13.3.3.1(4), 4.23.13.3.3.2(2), July 1, 2024).
What is the deadline on Letter 570?
No response required. Watch for the refund or credit.
What should I do when Letter 570 arrives?
One follow-up the manual flags: when an allowed claim reduces the tax on a return that carried a failure-to-deposit penalty, the examiner is told to have you "submit ... Form 945-A, Annual Record of Federal Tax Liability, as appropriate, so the Failure to Deposit (FTD) penalty can be recomputed at the Campus" (IRM 4.23.13.3.3.1(4) note). The penalty is not recomputed on its own; send the 945-A and ask.
Is Letter 570 about my own income tax?
No. This decoder covers information reporting and withholding: the notices a payer, filer or payee sees because of Forms 1099, W-2, 945 and the TINs on them. Individual income-tax notices follow a different track.
Have a different notice? The IRS notice decoder lists all 77 in the order they tend to arrive.