CP63: your refund is held for a missing return

What a CP63 means

A CP63 says the IRS is holding your refund. Its records show one or more returns you haven't filed, and it believes you'll owe tax on them. [1]source 1

The refund stays held until the IRS hears from you. It can be released once all the past-due returns arrive, or once you show you weren't required to file for those years. [1]source 1

We read a CP63 as the IRS saying: settle the open year first, then the refund.

Why people get one

• You filed one year and claimed a refund, but another year has no return on record.
• The IRS has income reported for a year you didn't file.

First steps

1. Check your IRS online account (typed in yourself at irs.gov) to see the notice and confirm it's real.
2. Find the year or years the notice lists, and check your records to see whether those returns were filed. [1]source 1
3. File any missing return, or explain to the IRS why you filed late, why you aren't required to file, or that you already filed. [1]source 1
4. If you disagree, or filed more than eight weeks ago, call the number printed on the notice with your paperwork ready, or write to the address on it. [1]source 1
5. If the return shows tax you can't pay, look at an online payment plan. [1]source 1

What not to do

• Don't expect the refund to arrive while the missing return is still open. [1]source 1
• Don't be surprised if part of the refund goes to the other year. The IRS says it may apply some or all of it to tax you're found to owe. [1]source 1
• Don't act on a link or phone number from an unexpected email or text that claims to be about this notice. Use irs.gov, typed in yourself.

Related notices

• Related CP515 The reminder that the IRS has no record of a prior-year return.
• Related CP518 The final reminder about an unfiled return.

Questions