Letter 226-J vs. Letter 972CG: which notice did you get?
Two envelopes can land on the same desk from the same Forms 1094-C/1095-C. One proposes a shared-responsibility payment under §4980H; the other proposes penalties for the filing itself under §6721. Different statutes, different triggers, different deadlines — and different responses. Here's how to tell them apart.
Side-by-side comparison
| Letter 226-J | Notice 972CG ("Letter 972CG") | |
|---|---|---|
| Official title | Letter 226-J | Notice 972CG — "Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty" |
| Statute | IRC §4980H | IRC §6721 |
| What it proposes | An Employer Shared Responsibility Payment (ESRP) — a payment for not offering affordable, minimum-value coverage | Civil penalties for failing to file correct information returns |
| Trigger | Your filed 1094-C/1095-C plus your employees' income tax returns — specifically, whether any full-time employee received a premium tax credit (PTC) for Marketplace coverage | Your 1094-C/1095-C themselves — filed late, filed with errors, not filed electronically when required, or filed with missing/incorrect TINs |
| Response window | At least 90 days (P.L. 118-168, signed 12/23/2024; IRS.gov Q&A still shows stale "generally 30 days") | 45 days from the notice date (60 days for filers outside the U.S.), per IRM 4.19.25.7.6; one written extension available — Letter 1948-C, up to 90 days |
| Response vehicle | Form 14764 (ESRP Response) — indicate agreement or disagreement — with a corrected Form 14765 matrix | A written statement addressing the penalty reason codes (PRNs), the penalty computation, and — where applicable — reasonable cause under Reg. §301.6724-1 |
| Key enclosures | ESRP summary table by month; Form 14764; Form 14765 (Employee PTC Listing) | Penalty listing with PRNs, return counts, and proposed dollar amount; response page |
| Amount basis | Per assessable employee-month, on the (a) or (b) track; (b) capped at the (a)-equivalent | Per return, tiered by how quickly the failure was corrected — keyed to the "returns due in" year; annual caps by business size; intentional disregard has no cap |
| If you don't respond | IRS assesses the proposed amount and issues Notice CP 220J (notice and demand) | Penalty assessed in full and billed — typically Notice CP15 or CP215 |
| What comes next | Letter 227 series (J/K/L/M/N/O); 227-L or 227-M opens a pre-assessment conference with the IRS Office of Appeals | Letter 1948-C (extension/info request) or Letter 854-C (waiver disallowed, with appeal rights); a disallowed waiver can go to Appeals |
Sources: IRS — Understanding Your Letter 226-J; IRS — Understanding Your Letter 227; IRM 4.19.25; IRM 20.1.7; IRS — Information Return Penalties.
How to tell them apart on sight
If the envelope is open and you are staring at paper, look at the title line and the enclosures:
- 226-J says "Letter 226-J" and carries Form 14765 — a listing of employee last-4 SSNs and names with twelve monthly indicator boxes (highlighted vs. unhighlighted) — plus Form 14764, the agree/disagree response form. The dollar story is a month-by-month summary table labeled (a) or (b).
- 972CG says "Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty" and lists penalty reason codes (PRNs) — numbers like 500, 501, 502 — next to return counts and proposed dollar amounts, with a response page for your written reply.
The IRS officially calls the second document Notice 972CG; practitioners commonly call it Letter 972CG. Same document either way — the title line on the notice itself reads "Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty."
Can you get both?
Yes. Both enforcement actions are built on Forms 1094-C/1095-C, but they are separate actions under separate statutes with separate deadlines and separate responses. An employer whose filings drew a 226-J for one year and a 972CG for another — or both for the same filing — faces two clocks and two submissions.
Because the response vehicles differ completely (Form 14764 + corrected 14765 matrix vs. a written penalty statement), the two responses can't be combined into one mailing. Each goes to the address on its own notice, by its own deadline.
Which pack fits which notice
Mesfonic's two packs map one-to-one onto the two notices:
- The 226-J Reconciliation Pack ($129) is for Letter 226-J: it checks every month on your 14765 against your 1095-C codes and the three safe harbors, then assembles your Form 14764 response.
- The 972CG Response Pack ($129) is for Notice 972CG: it recomputes your proposed penalty tier-by-tier, tracks your corrections and their timing, walks through the reasonable-cause test, and assembles your written response packet.
Start with the free checks: 226-J deadline calculator and 972CG deadline calculator.
Common questions
Letter 226-J proposes an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment under §4980H — driven by your filings plus employees' premium tax credit data. Notice 972CG proposes §6721 penalties for the filing itself — late, incorrect, non-electronic, or bad-TIN returns. Different statutes, different triggers, same Forms 1094-C/1095-C.
226-J encloses Form 14765 (employee listing with monthly boxes) and Form 14764 (the agree/disagree response). 972CG is titled "Notice of Proposed Civil Penalty" and lists penalty reason codes with return counts and dollar amounts. The title line and enclosures differ.
Yes — they are separate enforcement actions under separate statutes. Receiving one does not immunize you from the other, and each has its own deadline and response vehicle.
The 972CG window is shorter: 45 days from the notice date (60 overseas) per IRM 4.19.25.7.6, versus at least 90 days for 226-J per P.L. 118-168. For both, the printed response date on the notice controls.
No. A 226-J response is Form 14764 plus a corrected 14765 matrix; a 972CG response is a written penalty statement addressing the PRNs, the computation, and — where applicable — reasonable cause under Reg. §301.6724-1. Each goes to the address on its own notice, by its own deadline.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Statutes and IRS pages change — verify against the sources linked above.