IRS Launches New Tax Compliance Report: An Easier Way to Prove You’re Current With the IRS

The IRS has introduced a new way for taxpayers to quickly demonstrate their federal tax compliance without handing over an entire tax return or years of detailed tax transcripts.

On August 20, 2026, the IRS announced the launch of a digitally authenticated Tax Compliance Report available through an individual's IRS Online Account. The report can be downloaded on demand and used when an employer, lender, government agency or other organization needs confirmation that a taxpayer is current with their federal tax obligations.

For many taxpayers, this could be a much simpler way to answer the question:

“Are you in good standing with the IRS?”

What Is an IRS Tax Compliance Report?

A Tax Compliance Report provides a summary of whether you have filed required federal tax returns and paid your federal taxes.

There are currently two primary versions:

• Letter 6201 – Tax Compliance Report: Individuals and sole proprietors

• Letter 6574 – Business Tax Compliance Report: Businesses

Unlike providing someone with a copy of your tax return, the report is designed specifically to confirm tax compliance while limiting the amount of personal financial information being disclosed.

The report does not disclose your income, dependents or tax filing status.

What Will Your Report Say?

The IRS Tax Compliance Report generally assigns one of three overall statuses.

Compliant

A Compliant status means the IRS records indicate that you have met your federal tax obligations. There are no overdue required tax returns and no unpaid federal tax debt.

Noncompliant

A Noncompliant status generally means the IRS records show an overdue tax return or unpaid federal tax debt.

Compliance Issue

A Compliance issue does not necessarily mean that you are ignoring your tax obligations.

For example, your report may show a compliance issue if you are currently paying an IRS balance through an installment agreement. It can also appear because of a history of late filing or late payment, certain civil fraud penalties, or a tax balance that is currently undergoing administrative or judicial review.

This distinction can be important. Someone who owes the IRS but is properly addressing that liability through an approved payment arrangement may receive a different status than someone with an unresolved delinquent tax debt.

How Much Tax History Does the Report Show?

The report can provide substantially more compliance information than simply checking whether you owe money today.

Depending on your circumstances, it may identify:

• Late federal income, employment or excise tax payments during the previous four tax years

• Required tax returns that were not filed or were filed late during the previous six years

• Certain fraudulent failure-to-file or civil tax fraud penalties assessed during the previous five years

• Current federal tax balances owed

The report also provides your filing history while avoiding unnecessary information from the underlying tax returns.

Why Would Someone Need a Tax Compliance Report?

There are a number of situations where an organization may want evidence that someone is compliant with their federal tax obligations.

The IRS specifically identifies situations involving employment, loans, government benefits and other services requiring tax-compliance information.

The report could therefore become useful for taxpayers dealing with lenders, government agencies, licensing or contracting requirements, financial institutions, or other organizations that need confirmation of federal tax compliance.

Instead of providing multiple tax transcripts—or disclosing an entire tax return—the taxpayer can provide a standardized IRS report designed specifically for this purpose.

How to Download Your IRS Tax Compliance Report

For an individual taxpayer, sign in to your IRS Individual Online Account, open Records and status, select Tax records, and choose the Tax compliance report.

Businesses can access their Business Tax Compliance Report through the IRS Business Tax Account by opening the Tax records section.

One of the biggest improvements for individuals is that the downloaded Tax Compliance Report now contains an IRS-issued digital certificate.

That certificate allows a lender, government agency, financial institution or other recipient to verify that the report is authentic and has not simply been created or altered by the taxpayer.

Don’t Print the Report to PDF

There is an important technical detail if you need to provide an authenticated report.

Send the original PDF downloaded from the IRS.

According to the IRS, a screenshot, scanned copy or a new PDF created by using “Print to PDF” does not contain the same digitally authenticated document.

The digital certificate is embedded in the original file downloaded from the IRS Individual Online Account.

If you don't see the authentication information when viewing the report in your browser or on a mobile device, that does not necessarily mean there is a problem. The IRS recommends saving the original PDF and opening it with Adobe Reader on a desktop computer, where the authentication information should appear at the top of the report.

At this time, the IRS states that digital authentication is available for Tax Compliance Reports obtained through the Individual Online Account.

Recently Filed a Return or Made a Payment? You May Need to Wait

Your Tax Compliance Report is based on information that has actually posted to the IRS system.

If you just paid a tax balance or recently filed a missing return, don't assume that downloading another report the next morning will immediately show the correction.

The IRS says taxpayers should generally allow approximately two weeks for a payment to post and approximately four to six weeks for a tax return to post to the account.

That timing could be especially important if you're obtaining the report for a loan, government application or another transaction with a deadline.

What About Businesses Applying for Federal Contracts?

Businesses may also have access to a separate Letter 6575, Tax Certificate for Award Use.

This certificate is designed for situations involving certain federal contract awards and indicates whether a business has seriously delinquent federal tax debt under the applicable federal contracting rules.

It is separate from the more general Business Tax Compliance Report.

Why We Like This New IRS Tool

For years, taxpayers have often been asked to prove tax compliance by providing transcripts, copies of returns or other records that contain considerably more information than the requesting organization actually needs.

The Tax Compliance Report gives taxpayers a more focused alternative.

It provides a standardized answer about federal tax compliance, offers broader compliance history than a traditional transcript, limits unnecessary disclosure of personal tax-return information, and—for individuals—includes digital authentication that a recipient can verify.

That is a meaningful improvement in both convenience and privacy.

What If Your Report Shows a Problem?

If your Tax Compliance Report unexpectedly shows Noncompliant or Compliance issue, don't automatically assume the IRS information is correct—or that the problem is necessarily serious.

The issue could involve a recently filed return that hasn't posted, a payment that hasn't been processed, an old balance, a filing requirement the IRS believes was not satisfied, or an existing installment agreement.

Before providing the report to a lender, employer or government agency, it may be worth reviewing exactly what the IRS believes is outstanding.

Tandy Consulting Inc. can assist taxpayers with reviewing IRS account information, obtaining transcripts, identifying missing filings or balances, responding to IRS notices, and determining what steps may be available to resolve federal tax compliance issues.

Need Help With an IRS Compliance Issue?

If you're preparing for a loan, licensing application, government contract or another transaction that requires proof of tax compliance—and your IRS records don't look the way you expected—contact Tandy Consulting Inc. before assuming the issue can't be corrected.

Resolving the underlying IRS account issue first may make the compliance-report process considerably easier.

This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only. It is not legal, financial or tax advice for any particular taxpayer and does not create an engagement with Tandy Consulting Inc. Tax rules and IRS procedures can change, and individual circumstances vary.