If Coast Professional Inc. (CPI) has contacted you about an IRS debt, the collection is legitimate in principle: CPI is one of three private agencies the IRS uses under its Private Debt Collection program to work older, inactive tax accounts. The company can discuss what you owe and help you set up a payment plan, but it has no authority to seize anything, and every dollar you pay goes to the U.S. Treasury, not to CPI. Before you send money or share information, though, confirm the contact is real, because scammers impersonate this exact scenario constantly.
Verify the Contact Before You Do Anything Else
The IRS always sends a written notice before a private collector reaches out. Individual taxpayers get Notice CP40; businesses get Notice CP140. That notice names the assigned agency and includes a unique Taxpayer Authentication Number.1Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP40 Notice CPI then mails its own introductory letter carrying the same number. A phone call comes only after both letters have been sent.2Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayers Can Find Answers to Questions About Private Collection Agencies on IRS.gov
On a legitimate call, the CPI representative will verify your name and address, then exchange portions of the authentication number with you. If the caller can’t produce that number, or you never received either letter, hang up.
Some behavior always indicates a scam, no matter how official the caller sounds:
- Demands for gift cards, prepaid debit cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers. Legitimate payments go only to the U.S. Treasury.3Internal Revenue Service. Here’s How to Know That Private Collection Agency Calling You Is Legit
- Threats of immediate arrest or deportation. Neither the IRS nor its contractors work that way.
- Instructions to make a check payable to Coast Professional Inc. or an individual. Payments are always payable to the United States Treasury.4Internal Revenue Service. Ways to Tell if the IRS Is Reaching Out or if It’s a Scammer
If anything feels wrong, hang up and sign in to your IRS online account or call the IRS directly using the number listed on IRS.gov. You can confirm there whether your balance has actually been referred to a private collector.
What CPI Can and Can’t Do
CPI’s role is narrow. It can contact you, discuss the balance, and offer an installment agreement that pays the debt in full within seven years or before the collection statute expires, whichever is shorter.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6306 – Qualified Tax Collection Contracts
What CPI cannot do is more important. Private collectors are barred from every enforcement action. They cannot file a federal tax lien, levy your bank account, garnish wages, or seize property. Only the IRS itself has that power.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection FAQs CPI also cannot accept or reject an Offer in Compromise, place your account in Currently Not Collectible status, or change the amount you owe. Any of those outcomes requires the case to go back to the IRS.
Should Your Account Even Be with CPI?
The IRS refers accounts to private collectors when it couldn’t locate you, lacked resources to work the case, went more than a year without contact, or let more than two years pass after assessment without assigning the account for collection.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection FAQs These are older debts the IRS set aside as lower priority.
Certain taxpayers are excluded from the program entirely. Your account should not be with CPI if you are:
- Receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- Earning below 200 percent of the federal poverty level
- Under 18, deceased, or in a designated combat zone
- A victim of tax-related identity theft
- Under audit, litigation, criminal investigation, or an active levy
- Covered by a pending Offer in Compromise, installment agreement, or appeal
- Classified as an innocent spouse case
- In a presidentially declared disaster area requesting collection relief
If any of these apply to you but CPI contacted you anyway, call the IRS. Your account should be pulled back for direct handling.7Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection – Accounts Assigned to Private Collection Agencies
Your Rights While CPI Handles the Account
Two sets of protections apply. Federal law requires private tax collection contractors to follow the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6306 – Qualified Tax Collection Contracts The contract itself also requires CPI staff to follow the same conduct standards as IRS employees, including the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.8Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection
That means CPI cannot call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in your local time, cannot use abusive language or threats, and cannot misrepresent what you owe or claim to be a government employee.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. When and How Often Can a Debt Collector Call Me on the Phone
Telling CPI to Stop Contacting You
Send a written request stating that you want all communication to cease. Once CPI receives it, the FDCPA prohibits further contact except to confirm that collection efforts are ending or to notify you of a specific action.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1692c – Communication in Connection With Debt Collection A written cease-communication request also requires CPI to return your account to the IRS.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection FAQs
Disputing the Amount
If you believe the balance is wrong or the tax isn’t yours, tell CPI you dispute it. CPI has no authority to resolve disputes; it must forward the matter to the IRS for review.
How to Resolve the Debt
Once you’ve confirmed the debt is real, you have a few paths.
Pay in Full
Payments go to the U.S. Treasury by electronic funds transfer, check, or money order. CPI can walk you through accepted methods, but the money never goes to CPI itself.
Set Up an Installment Plan
CPI can arrange installments that pay the balance within seven years or before the collection statute on your debt expires, whichever comes first.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6306 – Qualified Tax Collection Contracts The IRS generally has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect a tax debt. That deadline is called the Collection Statute Expiration Date, and after it passes the IRS can no longer pursue the balance through levies or lawsuits.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6502 – Collection After Assessment If your debt is already several years old, CPI’s remaining window may be shorter than seven years, which will shape the payment terms it can offer.
Ask for the Case to Go Back to the IRS
Some situations require direct IRS handling. CPI cannot process an Offer in Compromise, place you in Currently Not Collectible status, or negotiate terms outside the program’s limits. For any of those, submit a written request to CPI asking that your account be returned to the IRS.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection FAQs This is the right move when you can’t afford a seven-year plan, when you believe the amount is wrong, or when you qualify for relief only the IRS can grant.
What Ignoring CPI Actually Costs You
The debt does not disappear if you stop answering calls. CPI has no enforcement power, but the IRS keeps its full authority to file liens, levy accounts, and garnish wages.6Internal Revenue Service. Private Debt Collection FAQs If CPI can’t make progress, your case can be returned to the IRS, which may then move to enforcement.
Penalties and interest also keep compounding for as long as the balance is unpaid. A $10,000 debt today becomes substantially larger in a few years as failure-to-pay penalties and interest stack on. The 10-year collection statute does eventually run, but waiting it out is usually a losing bet, and the deadline can be extended in certain circumstances, such as filing an Offer in Compromise or entering a formal installment agreement.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6502 – Collection After Assessment
Where to Get Help
You don’t have to handle this alone, and free help exists.
The Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization inside the IRS that steps in when the normal process is failing you. If CPI’s involvement is causing financial hardship or your case isn’t being handled correctly, TAS can intervene. Reach them at 877-777-4778 or through TaxpayerAdvocate.irs.gov.12Taxpayer Advocate Service. Private Debt Collection (PDC)
Low Income Taxpayer Clinics provide free or low-cost representation to taxpayers below a certain income threshold who owe less than $50,000. They can represent you before the IRS or in court on collection matters, appeals, and disputes. The IRS maintains a directory on its LITC page.13Internal Revenue Service. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics
For larger debts, an enrolled agent, CPA, or tax attorney can negotiate directly with the IRS on your behalf, particularly for Offers in Compromise or complex installment agreements where getting the terms right saves real money.