Form 14764: how to request a 226-J extension
Letter 226-J proposes an Employer Shared Responsibility Payment and sets a response date. If the reconciliation will not be ready in time, you can request an extension of the response date — but Form 14764 is not the extension request. Here is what the form is, how the extension works, and how the two fit together.
1. What Form 14764 is
Form 14764 (ESRP Response) is the form enclosed with Letter 226-J on which you indicate agreement or disagreement with the proposed payment. Agreeing means signing the form and following the payment instructions; disagreeing means returning the form with a signed statement explaining the disagreement, the corrected Form 14765 matrix, and supporting documentation. The IRS acknowledges the response with the Letter 227 series.
The form is the response vehicle — it is not itself the extension request. If you need more time, the extension is requested separately, through the 4980H Response Unit contact listed on your letter. For the full response sequence, see how to answer Letter 226-J.
Source: IRS — Q&A on payment of the ESRP under §4980H.
2. The response date and the at-least-90-day baseline
Under the Employer Reporting Improvement Act (P.L. 118-168), the response window is at least 90 days from the letter date — but the response date printed on your letter is the date that controls. Confirm it before doing anything else; calendar it with our free 226-J deadline calculator as a planning aid.
The extension request operates on top of that printed date: you are asking the 4980H Response Unit for more time to file Form 14764, not changing the letter itself.
Source: What is Letter 226-J?
3. Requesting an extension
Follow the letter's instructions: contact the 4980H Response Unit using the telephone number or contact details on the first page of your letter. Practitioner sources describe two routes:
- Phone. Call the 4980H Response Unit number on the letter and ask for the extension. If it is granted, record the agent's name, ID number, and the new response date — then confirm it in writing.
- Written / fax. Send a written request to the contact on the letter (practitioners report a fax number listed with the Form 14764 packet). Keep the fax transmission receipt as proof of the request.
A phone grant is only as good as its documentation. If the IRS grants the extension by phone, follow up in writing restating the new date — the written record is what protects you if there is ever a dispute about timeliness.
Practitioner sources: Lexology — answering ESRP letters; Mondaq — key considerations for 226-J.
4. What to include
Whether you call or write, have the same facts ready:
- The letter date and the response date printed on your Letter 226-J.
- Your EIN and the tax year the letter covers.
- A brief reason for the delay — for example, waiting on archived payroll data from a prior vendor, or completing the 14765 reconciliation across multiple EINs.
- Contact information for the person handling the response.
Do not use the extension request to argue the merits of the proposed payment — that is what Form 14764 and the signed disagreement statement are for.
5. After the extension is granted
The response sequence is unchanged — you simply have more time to execute it:
- Reconcile the Form 14765 employee listing month by month against your Forms 1095-C (Line 14/16 codes, safe harbors).
- Complete Form 14764 indicating agreement or disagreement, with the corrected 14765 matrix and supporting documentation.
- Mail the packet to the address on the letter with tracked delivery, keeping copies of everything.
The 226-J Reconciliation Pack ($129) checks every month on your 14765 against your 1095-C codes and the three safe harbors, then assembles your Form 14764 response with the evidence checklist and filing guide. If you received both notices, compare them in 226-J vs. 972CG — the 972CG clock (45 days) is the tighter one.
Common questions
No. Form 14764 (ESRP Response) is the response form — the vehicle for agreeing or disagreeing with the proposed payment. An extension of the response date is requested separately through the 4980H Response Unit contact listed on your letter, before the response date.
Practitioner sources describe the IRS granting 30-day extensions when requested early; extensions are not automatic and the IRS may ask for a reason. Confirm any granted extension — and its new response date — in writing.
The IRS assesses the proposed payment and issues a Notice and Demand (CP220J). The response process carries pre-assessment appeal rights, so the response date is the date that matters.
Follow the letter's instructions — the 4980H Response Unit contact on the letter. Keep proof: a fax transmission receipt or a tracked-mail receipt.
No. The response sequence is unchanged — Form 14764 with the corrected 14765 matrix, acknowledged by the Letter 227 series.
This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice. Statutes and IRS pages change — verify against the sources linked above.