IRS Letter 2202

What Letter 2202 is and who sends it

The IRS manual lists Letter 2202 by its official title, Initial Contact Letter – Firm Set Appointment Letter. It is one of the letters tax compliance officers in the IRS’s office examination program use to open an audit. IRM 4.10.2 (revised August 28, 2025) says it is “used to schedule a firm initial appointment date and time for individual taxpayers.”

Office audits can start with one of three letters, and the difference matters:

If yours asks you to call instead, read Letter 3572. Don’t confuse Letter 2202 with Letter 2202-B: the Taxpayer Advocate Service describes that one as an initial contact for correspondence (mail) audits, which lists the items questioned and asks you to send documents.

The manual requires every first contact to start an exam to be made by mail on an approved form letter, and the letter must come with Publication 1, Your Rights as a Taxpayer, and Notice 609, the privacy notice. The IRS says it won’t start an audit by telephone. If something about the letter seems off, see how to spot a fake IRS letter.

Why you got it

Your return was selected for an office audit: an interview with an IRS examiner about specific items on your return. Treasury Regulation 301.7605-1 says the IRS decides between an office and a field exam based on how complex the return is, and that an office audit of an individual is generally held at the closest IRS office to your home that has examination staff.

Publication 3498 (Rev. 5-2025) says returns are chosen by computer screening against “norms” for similar returns, because of related examinations of business partners or investors, or because third-party forms such as Forms 1099 and W-2 don’t match. Being selected “does not suggest there’s a problem,” it adds.

What comes with Letter 2202

• Form 4564, Information Document Request. IRM 4.10.2 requires office examiners to include “a focused IDR” tailored to your return and the issues being examined, so you know what to bring to the first appointment. Our Form 4564 guide explains how to answer it.
• Publication 1, which explains your rights, including the right to representation and the right to appeal.
• Notice 609, the Privacy Act notice.

The letter itself gives the tax year, the date, time and office address of the appointment, and the examiner’s name and phone number. The examiner may tell you the audit could expand to other issues; the manual allows that.

Your deadline: the appointment itself

Letter 2202 has no reply-by date in the usual sense. The appointment is the deadline. These are internal IRS practices, not legal rights, but they show how much room you have:

• Rescheduling once for a valid reason is within the examiner’s own authority. Further requests need the group manager’s approval (IRM 4.10.2.9.4).
• Timing. The IRS aims to hold the first appointment within 28 to 35 days of its first action on the case, and a reschedule past 45 days needs manager approval. Filing-season requests from preparers are handled under the same 45-day rule.
• Getting a representative. If you say you want one, the manual tells examiners to allow at least 10 business days before following up.
• Time of day. Under Treasury Regulation 301.7605-1(b), the IRS may schedule audits during its normal business hours all year, but “will work with taxpayers or their representatives to try to minimize any adverse effects.”

Your options at a glance

How to respond to Letter 2202

1. Check the details. Note the tax year, the date, time and address, and the examiner’s name and phone number. Calendar it.
2. Call to confirm or reschedule. If the time doesn’t work, call before the date with a real reason. Write down who you spoke with and the new date, and ask for a confirming letter.
3. Decide about representation early. If you want a professional, sign a Form 2848 now so the examiner schedules with them. See when audit representation is worth it.
4. Gather exactly what Form 4564 lists. The IRS suggests organizing records “by year and type of income or expense” with a summary of transactions. If something is missing, plan how to show it another way; see rebuilding missing records.
5. Prepare a short cover sheet that matches each document to the numbered IDR item. Our audit response cover letter is a starting point.
6. Know your interview rights. Under IRC 7521(b)(2), if you say you want to consult a representative, the interview must stop (unless you are there under a summons). You may audio-record an in-person interview if you ask in writing at least 10 calendar days ahead, per IRM 4.10.3. Recording phone calls is not allowed.
7. Keep notes and copies of everything you hand over and every request the examiner makes.

The first 10 days after an audit letter covers pulling transcripts and checking the year under review.

What happens next

After the first interview the examiner may send more Forms 4564 as questions come up. The audit then ends one of three ways:

• No change. You get a letter saying the return was accepted as filed.
• Agreed. You sign the report, usually Form 4549, and the tax is assessed.
• Not agreed. IRM 4.10.8 says office examiners generally issue Letter 915 with the first report. If the dispute stays open, a 30-day letter gives you the right to go to the IRS Independent Office of Appeals; see the 30-day letter. After that comes a notice of deficiency with a fixed Tax Court deadline.

Mistakes to avoid

• Treating the date as a suggestion. A no-show starts the follow-up process above and can end in a report built only on the IRS’s information.
• Rescheduling again and again. The manual tells examiners to talk to their manager and consider a summons when a taxpayer appears to be delaying.
• Bringing a box of everything. Bring what Form 4564 asks for, organized. The IRS says “no record can stand on its own,” so add a short note explaining each document.
• Volunteering beyond the request. Answer the questions asked, accurately. Never guess at figures or create documents after the fact.
• Handing over your only originals. Keep originals and give copies, and list what you gave.

Doing it yourself, free help, and representation

Many office audits involve a few items and a clear list of records, and people with good records often handle them alone. Help is worth it when records are missing, business income is involved, several years may be pulled in, or the examiner raises fraud.

• Low Income Taxpayer Clinics represent eligible taxpayers in audits for free or a small fee (find a clinic).
• Taxpayer Advocate Service helps for free when an IRS problem causes financial hardship or normal channels fail: 877-777-4778 (IRS.gov, 2026).

Global Gate Tax Relief’s team includes licensed tax attorneys, enrolled agents and CPAs. It offers a free consultation and, if it takes the case, files Form 2848 and quotes a flat fee upfront. No outcome is guaranteed. Request a free review of your Letter 2202 or call 1-877-800-8180.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading in the IRS Audit Guide

• IRS audit letters explainedEvery audit letter and form in one lookup table.
• Letter 3572The call-to-schedule office audit letter.
• Form 4564 (IDR)How to answer the records request that comes with Letter 2202.
• Types of IRS auditsMail, office and field audits compared.
• First steps after an audit letterWhat to do in the first 10 days.