LT38

An LT38 is a status update, and the IRS says so plainly on its own page: some collection notices were suspended during the pandemic, normal operations are resuming, and this letter brings you current on an outstanding balance. It is explicitly not an audit.

“We paused reminder letters for a while; we're resuming them. Here is where your balance stands. Pay it, set up a payment plan, or file any returns we're missing — the usual options all apply.”

Because this letter restarts the sequence, the next letters follow the ordinary escalation if nothing changes. Refund years have their own quiet clock: filing within roughly three years of the original due date is what preserves a refund.

• The notice, which states the balance and any missing years
• Your own record of where the balance stood before the pause
• Proof of payments made during the quiet years
• Any returns the notice says are missing

• Reconciling the stated balance against transcripts — pause-era accounts often accumulated interest people haven't seen itemized
• Choosing the resolution path before the reminder ladder escalates
• Filing any missing years, oldest refund years first
• Penalty-relief review, which the IRS itself notes is available in the right circumstances