CP88· Filing compliance
CP88 — Refund held; prior return missing
- Category
- Filing compliance
- Urgency
- Date on notice
- Response window
- see notice
- Key form
- Form 1040
Respond by the date printed on your individual notice.
Why the IRS sent this
Missing prior-year return combined with a current-year refund pending.
Response window
The IRS detail page for CP88 does not state a fixed day count. The response-by date is printed on your individual notice — read the date at the top-right corner.
What to do
Required action
File the missing original return for the year shown by the date on the notice, or contact the IRS if you have already filed, disagree, or need an extension.
Key form: Form 1040 — verify the current revision on irs.gov/forms-pubs before filing.
Appeal path
Informal — call the IRS
Informal — file the missing return or explain non-filing.
Notes from the primary source
CP88 is for a missing original return — file Form 1040 for the year shown, not Form 1040-X (which is for amending an already-filed return).
Calm-corrective
Only the IRS can resolve your notice
We are not a CPA firm, not a law firm, not an Enrolled Agent firm, and not affiliated with the IRS. We don't accept payments on your behalf, settle your debt, or call the IRS for you. What we do: explain what your notice means, point you to the right IRS form, cite the statute that authorizes the action, and surface the appeal path. Then you call the number on the notice, file the form, or hire a licensed professional.
Related notices
Likely next or sibling codes
- CP59Notification that the IRS has no record of a prior-year personal tax return that you were…
- CP3219NStatutory Notice of Deficiency issued when the IRS has no return on file and has assessed tax…
- CP259Notification to a business that the IRS has no record of a required business return for the…
- CP215Notification that a civil penalty has been assessed against you.
- CP220JNotification to an applicable large employer that the IRS has charged an Employer Shared…
- CP566Request for additional information needed to process a pending ITIN application (Form W-7).
Source
Verified against the official IRS detail page on irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp88-notice. Always re-verify against the IRS page before acting.