Based on typical client situations we see regularly
Sarah thought it was junk mail.
The envelope looked official, but she’d been getting so much spam lately. Credit card offers. Insurance pitches. Political fundraising.
She almost threw it away.
But something about the return address made her pause: “Internal Revenue Service.”
Inside was a CP14 notice for $12,847 in unpaid taxes from 2021. A year she thought was “handled” by her former accountant.
The letter was polite. Almost friendly.
“We need to hear from you about the amount you owe…”
But Sarah knew better. She’d seen enough horror movies to recognize the calm before the storm.
That “friendly” CP14 was just the monster introducing itself.
Three weeks later came the CP503. More urgent. More threatening.
Six weeks after that: Form 668-A. Wage garnishment. The monster had stopped being polite.
By the time Sarah called me, The Collector had already taken $3,200 from her paychecks. Her kids’ Christmas fund. Gone. Her mortgage payment. Seized.
The real horror? This could have been stopped with one phone call after that first letter.
This scenario plays out dozens of times each month across America. The names change, but the pattern stays the same.
👉 See how we turn these nightmares into victory stories – [Read rescue strategies]
This section illustrates the typical escalation pattern that families experience when they ignore the first IRS notice, showing how a “polite” CP14 notice quickly escalates to wage garnishment if left unaddressed.