How Do I Pull My Tax Compliance Report from the IRS Website?

An IRS tax compliance report shows whether you have filed your tax returns and paid your taxes on time. Employers, federal agencies, banks, and other authorities sometimes request one to confirm you've met your tax obligations. The IRS issues it as Letter 6201 for individuals and sole proprietors, and Letter 6574 for other businesses.

Step by step: downloading your report

Sign in to your IRS online account

Individuals and sole proprietors: go to irs.gov → Online Account for Individuals. Businesses: use the Business Tax Account. First-time users will create an account and verify their identity (via ID.me) — have a photo ID ready.

Find your tax records

Once signed in, open the records/documents area of your account, where the IRS makes your tax compliance report available for download alongside your other account documents.

Download the report

Download your Letter 6201 (individuals/sole proprietors) or Letter 6574 (businesses) as a PDF. If your business needs proof for federal contracting, a separate Letter 6575 — the tax certificate for award use — is also available; it shows whether the business has a seriously delinquent tax debt under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019.

Check the timing

The report reflects your account as of its date. Recent activity takes time to post — roughly 2 weeks for payments and 4–6 weeks for returns — so if you just filed or paid, wait before pulling the report.

Report or transcript — which should you give?

If someone asks for a tax compliance check, the report is usually the better document to hand over:

	Tax compliance report	Tax transcript
Personal detail shown	Minimal — no income, dependents, or filing status	Full return details, including income and dependents
Period covered	Several years of filing & payment history	One tax year
Best for	Employers, agencies, lenders verifying compliance	Situations that require actual return data

What the report shows

Your compliance status is summarized one of three ways:

Compliant — all returns filed and all taxes paid on time; no overdue returns or unpaid debt
Noncompliant — an overdue return or unpaid tax debt exists
Compliance issue — something in between: an active installment agreement, a history of late filing or payment, a civil fraud penalty (even if paid), or a balance under administrative or judicial review

The report also lists your filing history, any federal taxes owed, and — where applicable — late payments within the past 4 years, late or unfiled returns within the past 6 years, and fraud penalties assessed within 5 years. It does not show your income, dependents, or filing status.

Report says "noncompliant" or "compliance issue"? Don't panic — and don't ignore it. Overdue returns can be filed, balances can be resolved through installment agreements or settlement options, and penalties can sometimes be abated. The sooner it's addressed, the more options you have. That's exactly the work we do.