Skip to content
exa — ten to the eighteenth powerTHE TAX CUTTERY®

Tax & Wealth Advisors · Compliance. Planning. Resolution.

THE TAX CUTTERY®

Tax & Wealth Advisors·Tax Resolution & IRS Defense

Enrolled Agents · Admitted to Practice Before the IRS

National Toll-Free (888) 525-1040

Start a conversation — right now

IRS CP503: Your Second Balance Reminder

Second Balance Reminder

By Paul D. Diaz, EA, MBA · Updated

Notice Instructions: Follow the payment due date on your actual notice; contact the IRS promptly if you disagree.

The letter came back. Now make sure the account tells the same story as your records.

CP503 is a second reminder of an unpaid balance. The IRS says it has not received payment or a response to earlier notices.

Read The IRS Guidance For CP503 · Source checked October 11, 2026.

What to Check Next

  1. Step 1: Check the tax period, balance and payments against your records.
  2. Step 2: Pay by the notice date if correct, or discuss an available payment arrangement.
  3. Step 3: If you already acted, call the IRS number on the notice to confirm the account reflects it.
  4. Step 4: Follow the notice instructions for a Collection Appeals Program request before collection action.

Common Questions About CP503

Is CP503 A Notice That A Lien Has Already Been Filed?
The code identifies a balance reminder. Unresolved debt may lead to a federal tax lien, but the reminder alone does not establish that one was filed.
Do I Always Have Ten Days?
Use the due date on your own notice. Do not substitute a generic ten-day window or assume a particular letter must come next.
I Already Paid. What Now?
Contact the IRS with your payment records and confirm that the account reflects what you did.
Actual cover of THE TAX CUTTERY Guide to Federal Income Taxation, Professional Edition
This is the cover of the hardcover casebound 564-page Guide.

Understand the Notice.
See the Bigger Picture.

THE TAX CUTTERY® Guide to Federal Income Taxation connects compliance, planning, and resolution. Keep better records, ask better questions, and return to the foundation when your next tax decision arrives.

Registered, verified owners can submit one written tax-topic question to the firm's desk. Individual services are agreed separately.

Get the Guide — $299Start Your Free Tax Consultation →
Already Own A Copy? Register It →

Professional Edition hardcover. Taxes and shipping shown at checkout. The free consultation is open without a purchase.

General education; your notice and circumstances govern. A book purchase or consultation does not submit a response to the IRS. Representation, tax preparation, research, and paid time are separately engaged.