A CP05 is a refund-hold review that asks you to do nothing — the IRS is verifying your income and withholding and needs up to 60 days. A CP05A is the escalation: the IRS now wants documents (like pay stubs) to finish that verification before releasing your refund. CP05 = wait; CP05A = respond by the deadline.
CP05 and CP05A are two stages of the same review, and the difference decides whether you act. A CP05 tells you the IRS is holding your refund while it verifies the income, withholding, and credits on your return against what employers and payers reported. Crucially, a plain CP05 asks for nothing — the IRS itself says you don’t need to take any action, and not to call until 60 days after the notice date. A CP05A is what arrives when that behind-the-scenes matching doesn’t resolve on its own: now the IRS is asking you to send documentation — typically pay stubs (often at least three, including the year-end statement), employer letters, or benefit statements — to prove the income and withholding you claimed before it will release the refund. So the mental model is simple: CP05 means wait and keep your records handy; CP05A means the request came, and you have a real deadline. Miss a CP05A response date and the refund stays frozen and the review drags. Respond on time — through the Document Upload Tool, fax, or mail — and expect roughly 60 more days from when you provide the documents.
No. Both are refund-verification reviews, not examinations. A CP05 verifies your income and withholding against third-party records; a CP05A asks you to supply documents to complete that same verification.
Not for a plain CP05 — it requests nothing. Only if the IRS follows up with a CP05A do you send documents. Keep your income records ready in case that happens.
A CP05 review can take up to 60 days from the notice date. For a CP05A, allow about 60 days from the date you provide the requested documentation before the refund is released or you hear back.
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