This notice informs the taxpayer that the IRS is taking all or a portion of the overpayment (refund) from one account and applying it to an underpayment (balance due) for another account.

Note. There may be additional information on the notice regarding protection from your spouse's debts (Injured Spouse Relief).

Sections of the Notice:

• Header Section: This area contains the Notice Number, the applicable tax year, the notice date, your Social Security Number, and the IRS contact number.
• Explanation Section: This section lists the original overpayment amount, the interest if any added to the overpayment, and the total amount applied to the account with the balance due. You will also see your revised refund amount after these adjustments have been made.
• Response Section: This part of the notice describes the possible responses if you do or don't agree. If you don't agree with the revised overpayment amount call the phone number on the notice for an explanation. If you don't agree with the offset amount because you paid the balance more than six weeks ago, locate the canceled check and call the number on the notice to clear the issue. If the payment was made less than six weeks prior to receiving the notice call the number to see if the payment has been applied.
  If you agree and the balance is paid in full by the offset do nothing. If you agree and there remains a balance outstanding, pay the balance or call to request an installment agreement.

Sample CP 49: PDF Pages 1-2

Note that any link in the information above is updated each year automatically and will take you to the most recent version of the document at the time it is accessed.