After a levy notice, a Collection Due Process hearing must be requested within 30 days of the notice date. A lien filing's 30 days start later, and 2026 Texas storm relief can extend both. A timely levy request prohibits levy in most cases and keeps your Tax Court right. After that deadline, an equivalent hearing stays open until one year from the notice date, without those protections. Tax Solution Pro Advisor in Sugar Land helps Houston taxpayers with IRS tax problems.
- A levy notice gives 30 days to request a Collection Due Process hearing.
- An equivalent hearing can be requested within one year of a levy notice.
- An equivalent hearing does not prohibit levy.
- Both hearings use IRS Form 12153.
What is the difference between a Collection Due Process hearing and an equivalent hearing?
The difference is the deadline you met and the protections that come with it. Both are hearings with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals, and both are requested on IRS Form 12153. Send the request by the timely deadline, which for a levy notice is 30 days from the notice date, and you get a Collection Due Process hearing, usually shortened to CDP. Send it after that deadline, but inside the one-year window, and you get an equivalent hearing. The form describes that second hearing as the same as a CDP hearing except for three protections it doesn't carry.
| CDP hearing (timely request) | Equivalent hearing | |
|---|---|---|
| Levy notice: request deadline (days from the notice date) | 30 | One year |
| Lien filing: request deadline (days, counted after the 5 business days that follow the filing) | 30 | One year |
| Levy while a levy hearing is pending | Prohibited in most cases | Not prohibited |
| Levy while a lien-only hearing is pending | Not prohibited by law | Not prohibited |
| 10-year collection period | Suspended until the decision is final | Not suspended |
| Tax Court appeal of the decision | Available | Not available, with narrow exceptions |
| How you ask | Form 12153 | Form 12153 with the item 2 box checked |
When does the 30-day window for a Collection Due Process hearing start?
It starts with the notice that offers the hearing, not with the first bill. For a levy, that's the final notice of intent to levy, which the IRS sends as an LT11 or Letter 1058. The IRS's CDP questions page says you have 30 days from receipt of that letter to request the hearing, while the Taxpayer Advocate Service counts the 30 days from the date on the notice. Count from the printed date, because it is the earlier of the two. An earlier reminder such as a CP504 doesn't open the window. The IRS's CP504 page says the IRS can seize a state tax refund at that stage, and that the notice giving you a right to a hearing may follow. If you aren't sure which letter is in front of you, our guide to IRS notices explains the common ones.
A lien works on a different clock. The Taxpayer Advocate Service puts that deadline at 30 days after the five business days that follow the filing of the Notice of Federal Tax Lien. Form 12153 adds a practical instruction: keep a copy of the request and proof of the date you sent it.
What do you give up if you miss the 30 days?
Three things, and Form 12153 names each one. An equivalent hearing doesn't prohibit levy, it doesn't suspend the 10-year period the IRS has to collect, and you can't go to court to contest the decision Appeals makes. The Taxpayer Advocate Service's CDP page says collection is usually stopped while either kind of hearing is pending. Usually isn't the same as prohibited, so a late request shouldn't be treated as protection for a paycheck or a bank account.
The levy protection also belongs to a levy hearing, not a lien hearing. The Treasury regulation on lien hearings says levy actions aren't the subject of a hearing requested on a lien filing. So a timely request made only on a Notice of Federal Tax Lien doesn't by law block a levy for the same tax once the separate levy notice rules have been met, even if collection is usually paused in practice.
After a timely CDP hearing, the Taxpayer Advocate Service says you can petition the Tax Court within 30 days of the date on the Appeals determination letter. After an equivalent hearing you can't, unless the appeal involved a spousal defense in an innocent spouse case or a denial of interest abatement.
Does a timely hearing give the IRS more time to collect?
Yes, and it's a cost of filing on time. A timely CDP request suspends the 10-year collection period until the Appeals decision is final, and Form 12153 says the suspended time is added back. Its own example: if the period is suspended for six months, the IRS gets six more months to collect. It's a cost worth weighing if your collection period is close to running out.
What can a Houston taxpayer raise at either hearing?
Mostly how the debt gets handled, and only sometimes whether it's owed. Form 12153 lists the collection alternatives you can propose: full payment, an installment agreement or short-term payment plan, an offer in compromise, or a showing that you're currently unable to pay. Disputing the amount is narrower. The IRS says Appeals can consider what you owe only under very limited circumstances. Under the IRS's own manual for Appeals, you can dispute it only if you neither received a deficiency notice in time to petition the Tax Court nor had another earlier opportunity to contest the amount.
A levy hearing request, timely or equivalent, doesn't stop the IRS from filing a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. So a Houston homeowner who asks for a levy hearing can still see a lien filed while the request is pending. Our page on IRS tax relief in Houston has the Harris County housing standard the IRS publishes.
Which hearing should you ask for?
| What you can request | Levy while it is pending | 10-year collection period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inside 30 days of the notice date | A Collection Due Process hearing | Prohibited in most cases | Suspended, then added back |
| Past 30 days, inside one year | An equivalent hearing | Not prohibited | Not suspended |
Past one year, under the general rule, neither hearing is open on that notice. The Taxpayer Advocate Service describes a separate route, the Collection Appeals Program, which has its own rules and ends with a decision you can't take to Tax Court. Item 2 on Form 12153 is a box that asks for an equivalent hearing if your request turns out to be late.
Did the 2026 Texas storm relief move these deadlines for Houston taxpayers?
It may have, if your deadline fell inside the relief window. In its October 27, 2026 release on the July 2026 Texas storms, the IRS gave affected taxpayers in a disaster area that includes Harris and Fort Bend counties until February 1, 2027 to perform time-sensitive acts due on or after July 14, 2026 and before February 1, 2027. The acts covered include those listed in Revenue Procedure 2018-58, and its section 14 lists both the 30-day request for a CDP hearing and the one-year request for an equivalent hearing. So treat the deadlines above as the general rule. If your notice put the deadline inside that window, check whether you count as an affected taxpayer before deciding the right has expired.
Who can file the hearing request for you?
You can, or an authorized representative can sign and send it. Thuy Nguyen, who leads our firm, is a Texas CPA and Certified Tax Coach, and we help individuals and businesses resolve IRS tax problems through our tax resolution and settlement service. If cost is the obstacle, IRS Publication 4134 lists three Low Income Taxpayer Clinics in Houston, and Form 12153 says clinics like these can represent low-income taxpayers before the IRS for free or a small fee. The IRS decides every hearing on its own facts, so no one can promise you a result.
Sources
- IRS: Form 12153, Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing (Rev. July 2022)
- IRS: Collection Due Process (CDP) FAQs
- Taxpayer Advocate Service: Collection Due Process (CDP)
- Taxpayer Advocate Service: Equivalent Hearing (Within 1 Year)
- IRS: Understanding your LT11 notice or Letter 1058
- IRS: Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List
- IRS: tax relief for Texans impacted by July 2026 storms (deadlines postponed to Feb. 1, 2027)
- IRS: Revenue Procedure 2018-58, section 14
- IRS: Understanding your CP504 notice
- eCFR: 26 CFR 301.6320-1, hearing on a Notice of Federal Tax Lien, Q&A G3
- IRS: Internal Revenue Manual 8.22.8.3, When Liability is Raised
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Written by Tax Solution Pro Advisor (about the firm). General information, not advice for your situation. IRS rules change; each rule above links the IRS page it comes from.