All three letters carry the same title: “Reporting Virtual Currency Transactions.” All three open with the same idea, that the IRS has information you have or had one or more accounts containing virtual currency. That is where the similarity ends.

One of them has a deadline and asks for a signed statement under penalties of perjury. Two of them say you do not need to respond. Mixing them up is the most common mistake I see, in both directions: people panic over a 6174, and people shrug off a 6173.

Find the letter number first

The letter number appears at the bottom right of each page, with a revision date. The published templates on irs.gov are Letter 6173 (Rev. 6-2019), Letter 6174 (Rev. 6-2019) and Letter 6174-A (Rev. 6-2019). A 6173 also has a “Respond by” date in the upper right block, along with an eFax number. The two 6174 versions show “Tax form: Form 1040” in that block instead.

If you see a respond-by date, assume you have a 6173 until proven otherwise.

Letter 6173: the soft notice with a deadline

The Internal Revenue Manual calls Letter 6173 the “Virtual Currency Soft Notice.” See IRM 21.3.1.8.5. Soft is relative.

The letter says that for one or more of tax years 2013 through 2017, the IRS has not received either a federal income tax return or an applicable form or schedule reporting your virtual currency transactions. Then it tells you to take one of three actions by the respond-by date:

  • File delinquent returns if you failed to file.
  • File amended returns if you made a mistake, such as not reporting virtual currency transactions or calculating gain or loss incorrectly.
  • If you believe you followed all the rules, send a statement of facts explaining your position, a history of previously reported virtual currency income, copies of documents confirming compliance, your contact information, and a signed declaration under penalties of perjury.

The letter says you can request a 30-day extension by the respond-by date. It says what happens if you do not respond: “We may refer your tax account for examination.” And it warns that statements “will be checked against information received from banks, financial advisors, and other sources for accuracy.”

If you hold a 6173, read the Letter 6173 guide and, if you believe you already reported correctly, how to answer with a statement of facts.

Letter 6174: the education letter

Letter 6174 says the IRS has information about your virtual currency accounts “but may not know the requirements for reporting transactions involving virtual currency.” The IRM calls it the “Virtual Currency Education” letter. See IRM 21.3.1.8.5.1.

It tells you that if you did not accurately report, you should file amended or delinquent returns, and that inaccurate reporting may subject you to “future civil and criminal enforcement activity.” It ends: “You do not need to respond to this letter.” Full breakdown in the Letter 6174 guide.

Letter 6174-A: education-plus

Letter 6174-A says the IRS has information about your accounts “but may not have properly reported your transactions.” The IRM calls it “Virtual Currency Education-Plus.” It ends the same way as 6174, then adds: “Note, however, we may send other correspondence about potential enforcement activity in the future.” Full breakdown in the Letter 6174-A guide.

The comparison in plain terms

Here is the short version, letter by letter.

  • Response required? 6173: yes, by the respond-by date, unless you request a 30-day extension. 6174: no. 6174-A: no.
  • What the IRS says it believes. 6173: it has no record of a return or applicable schedule reporting your virtual currency for one or more of 2013 through 2017. 6174: you may not know the rules. 6174-A: you may not have properly reported.
  • Signed statement under penalties of perjury? 6173: yes, if you choose the “I already complied” route. 6174 and 6174-A: no.
  • What happens if you ignore it. 6173: the letter says the IRS may refer your account for examination. 6174: nothing is stated beyond the warning about future enforcement. 6174-A: the letter says the IRS may send other correspondence about potential enforcement.
  • What to write on an amended return. The letter number, at the top of the first page.
  • Where amended returns go. Each template directs returns to Internal Revenue Service, 2970 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. The IRM lists a separate Austin, Texas address for statements and correspondence, and a hotline, 737-880-7990, that is not toll-free.

Why the IRS used three versions

The IRS announced the letters in News Release IR-2019-132 on July 26, 2019, saying more than 10,000 taxpayers would receive one by the end of August 2019 and that all three versions aim to help taxpayers understand their obligations and correct past errors. The release did not explain how recipients were sorted into the three versions.

Reading the letters themselves, the sorting tracks a sliding scale. A 6174 assumes ignorance. A 6174-A assumes a reporting problem. A 6173 assumes something was missing from your filings entirely and asks you to prove otherwise or fix it. I would not read more into it than that, and neither should you.

What all three have in common

Every version tells you the IRS has information about your accounts. Every version tells you to report virtual currency transactions whether or not you received a payee statement. And every version is now part of the record of what you were told.

That last point is the one with long-term consequences. The IRS fraud handbook lists the 2019 letter campaign among the notices to the public that IRS personnel should consider when evaluating reasonable cause. See IRM 25.1.2.11.2. Whatever your letter number, you cannot later say you never heard that crypto was reportable.

What to do, by letter

Holding a 6173? Calendar the respond-by date today. Decide within days whether you are filing, amending or submitting a statement. If you need time, request the 30-day extension in writing before the deadline. If you want someone to deal with the IRS for you, the letter itself says to send Form 2848 with your response.

Holding a 6174? Review every crypto year. Correct what is wrong. Keep the letter with your records.

Holding a 6174-A? Same as 6174, with more urgency. The IRS has told you it may come back.

In every case, if the numbers are large or the history is messy, get advice before you sign anything under penalties of perjury. That includes amended returns.

And if you got something else entirely

A CP2000 is not one of these letters. It is an automated proposal to change your tax based on information returns, and it has its own response deadline. See the CP2000 crypto guide. An examination letter from a revenue agent is not one of these letters either; it means an audit has started. See crypto audit document requests.

Know which piece of paper you have. Then act on that one.

Three questions to answer before you do anything

Whatever your letter number, the next steps are the same three questions, in this order.

What does the IRS already have? Request your account and wage and income transcripts for every year you held crypto. Starting with sales on or after January 1, 2025, brokers report gross proceeds on Form 1099-DA, so recent years will show more than old ones. See the 1099-DA effective dates.

What actually happened? Rebuild the activity from exchange exports and wallet records, not from memory. Memory is optimistic.

Which years are still open? A year that closed under the three-year rule is a different conversation from a year that never had a return filed. See how far back the IRS can go.

Answer those three and the right response to your letter usually becomes obvious.