What Notice 972F is
The informational counterpart of Notice 972CG for federal agencies and quasi-governmental entities, which are not penalized under IRC 6721. Lists the returns with missing or incorrect TINs so the agency can correct them.
The deadline
None stated; correct the TINs and solicit as usual.
What to do
If your agency receives a 972CG instead, the IRM directs abatement (IRM 4.19.25.4). State and local governments are penalized normally.
Why agencies get a 972F instead of a 972CG
Federal agencies file the same information returns as any other payer and are subject to backup withholding on payments to payees who fail to furnish a TIN. What they do not face is the IRC 6721 penalty: the IRS does not assess information-return penalties against federal agencies and the quasi-governmental entities it treats the same way, so the proposed-penalty notice would have nothing to propose. Notice 972F carries the same payload as a 972CG, the list of returns filed with missing or incorrect TINs by return type and the count in each category, without the dollar column and without a response deadline.
That does not make it optional reading. The mismatches on a 972F are the same mismatches that drove a CP2100 to the agency months earlier, and the agency has the same solicitation duties as a private payer: a B-Notice to each payee on the list, backup withholding when the payee does not respond, and a record of both. The IRS TIN Matching program is open to federal agencies, and running the vendor file through it before payment is how most agencies stop the list from reappearing the following year.
State and local governments are not covered
The exemption is federal. A state agency, county, city, school district or public university that files 1099s receives a Notice 972CG like any other payer and is penalized under IRC 6721 unless it shows reasonable cause. If a federal agency does receive a 972CG, the manual tells the campus to abate it; the agency should still answer the notice, cite its status, and ask for the abatement in writing rather than assume the notice will be withdrawn on its own.
Questions about Notice 972F
Who receives Notice 972F?
Federal agency payer. The informational counterpart of Notice 972CG for federal agencies and quasi-governmental entities, which are not penalized under IRC 6721.
What is the deadline on Notice 972F?
None stated; correct the TINs and solicit as usual.
What should I do when Notice 972F arrives?
If your agency receives a 972CG instead, the IRM directs abatement (IRM 4.19.25.4). State and local governments are penalized normally.
Is Notice 972F 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.