IRS Letter 3064C is a request for documents proving that something you claimed on your tax return is legitimate, and your refund is on hold until you send that proof. In most cases the IRS wants to verify a refundable credit tied to a qualifying child, such as the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, or Earned Income Tax Credit. The letter lists what it needs and gives you a deadline, usually 30 days.
Why You Received It
The IRS runs automated checks that compare your return against its own records. A mismatch on any qualifying-child test can generate this letter. Common triggers include a child’s Social Security number appearing on more than one return, an address that doesn’t line up with other government records, or a relationship the IRS can’t confirm from its databases.1Internal Revenue Service. Dependents
The wording of your letter will be tailored to your specific situation rather than identical to anyone else’s.2Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Manual 2.11.1 – IDRS Correspondence Read it closely. It will tell you which credit is being questioned and which qualifying tests the IRS wants you to document.
What Documents to Send
Nearly every 3064C comes down to proving four things about the child: relationship, residency, age, and a valid identification number. The IRS publishes two worksheets that list exactly what it will accept, Form 886-H-DEP for dependents and Form 886-H-EIC for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Download whichever applies to you even if your letter didn’t mention it, because those forms describe precisely what the reviewer looks for.
Relationship
For a biological child whose birth certificate names you as a parent, the birth certificate alone usually suffices. If your name isn’t on the birth certificate, send adoption papers, a court order, or paternity test results.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 886-H-EIC – Documents You Need to Send to Claim the Earned Income Credit For a grandchild, niece, nephew, or sibling, send enough birth and marriage certificates to trace the chain. A stepchild requires both the child’s birth certificate and the marriage certificate linking you to the parent.
Foster children are different. The IRS will only accept a statement on letterhead from the authorized placement agency or a court document showing the child was placed with you during the tax year.4Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules A personal letter from the child’s biological parent won’t do.
Residency
The child must have lived with you for more than half the tax year at the same U.S. address.1Internal Revenue Service. Dependents This is where most 3064C responses go wrong. People send records that cover only part of the year, or records that show the address but not the child’s name. The IRS wants documents that tie the child to your home for the required period. Acceptable records include:
- School records such as enrollment forms, report cards, or attendance records showing the child’s name and your address.
- Medical records including doctor visit summaries, hospital records, or immunization records listing the child and your home address.
- Childcare records showing both the child’s name and your address.
- Dated letters on official letterhead from a school, medical provider, social service agency, childcare provider, landlord, or place of worship confirming the child lived with you and giving specific dates.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 886-H-DEP – Supporting Documents for Dependents
Statements signed by a relative carry no weight. A letter from your mother confirming the child lived with you will be rejected. Use independent third parties, and make sure the records together cover more than six months of the tax year.
Age
A qualifying child for the Child Tax Credit must be under 17 at the end of the tax year. For the Earned Income Tax Credit, the cutoff is under 19, or under 24 if the child was a full-time student for at least five months of the year.4Internal Revenue Service. Qualifying Child Rules A child who is permanently and totally disabled qualifies at any age. The birth certificate you already gathered for the relationship test usually covers age. For a student, add school records showing full-time enrollment. For a disabled child, add a letter from a doctor or government agency confirming the condition.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 886-H-EIC – Documents You Need to Send to Claim the Earned Income Credit
Identification
Include a copy of the child’s Social Security card. If the child has an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead, send the ITIN assignment letter. The number must match what you reported. Simple, but a common reason for delays when skipped.
Putting Your Response Together
Work backward from the deadline printed on the letter, which is typically 30 days from the date on the notice. Missing it can mean automatic denial of the credit. If you need more time, call the number on the letter and ask for an extension before the deadline passes.
Write a short cover letter listing your name, Social Security number, and the tax year. Reference letter number 3064C and any control or case number from the notice. Then list each document enclosed. This keeps the reviewer from guessing which paper proves which test and reduces the chance of pages getting separated during processing.
Include a copy of the 3064C letter itself. It contains routing information the IRS uses to match your documents to your case.2Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Manual 2.11.1 – IDRS Correspondence Send copies only. The IRS tells taxpayers never to send originals.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 651 – Notices – What to Do Keep a complete photocopy of the whole package, cover letter included.
How to Submit It
Your letter includes a specific mailing address, usually near the top. Use that exact address. Routing your response to the wrong processing center causes real delays. Send the package by certified mail with return receipt requested. The receipt gives you a postmarked date proving you met the deadline and a tracking number confirming delivery. Hold onto it. If the IRS later says it never received your documents, that receipt is your proof.
You can also respond through the IRS Document Upload Tool, which is faster and gives immediate confirmation. You’ll need either an access code (if your letter has one) or the letter number, plus the name on the notice and your Social Security or taxpayer identification number. The tool accepts JPG, PNG, and PDF files. Without an access code, you select the letter number from a dropdown; the IRS warns that choosing the wrong letter type can cause delays.7Internal Revenue Service. IRS Document Upload Tool
What Happens Next
Expect a wait after the IRS receives your documents. Similar verification cases can take up to nine weeks to process, and your refund stays on hold during that time. You can check status through the IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool or by calling the number on your letter.
If the reviewer finds your documents sufficient, the credit is approved and your refund is released. If more information is needed, you’ll receive a follow-up letter asking for specific additional documents. Respond promptly, because the clock resets each time the IRS asks for more.
If You Don’t Respond
Ignoring the letter or missing the deadline brings immediate consequences. The IRS denies the credit, so your refund shrinks by the full credit amount. If you already received a refund based on the original return, you could owe money back.
The IRS may also assess an accuracy-related penalty of 20 percent on the portion of the underpayment tied to the disallowed credit.8Internal Revenue Service. Accuracy-Related Penalty Interest accrues on any unpaid balance from the original due date of the return until you pay in full, compounding daily at the federal short-term rate plus three percentage points.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 653 – IRS Notices and Bills, Penalties and Interest Charges A separate penalty under IRC 6676 adds another 20 percent on the excessive portion of a refund or credit claim, though it doesn’t apply where the accuracy-related or fraud penalty already covers the same amount.10Internal Revenue Service. Erroneous Claim for Refund or Credit
If the IRS finds you claimed the credit with reckless or intentional disregard of the rules, it can ban you from claiming that credit for two years. For a fraudulent claim, the ban is ten years.11Internal Revenue Service. What to Do if We Deny Your Claim for a Credit These bans apply to the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, and American Opportunity Tax Credit. Multi-year bans don’t apply to honest mistakes, but that call is made by the IRS employee reviewing your case.
If Your Credit Is Denied
A denial doesn’t permanently bar you from the credit. To claim the same credit on a future return, attach Form 8862. This applies after any disallowance of the Earned Income Tax Credit (for tax years after 1996) or the Child Tax Credit, Additional Child Tax Credit, Credit for Other Dependents, or American Opportunity Tax Credit (for tax years after 2015), unless the denial was for a simple math error. Filing without Form 8862 when required will get your return rejected. If you’re under a two-year or ten-year ban, the IRS will reject an e-filed return that tries to claim the credit during the ban.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8862
You can also appeal. Your denial letter will explain how to request a conference with an IRS Appeals Officer, and you generally don’t need a lawyer.13Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 151 – Your Appeal Rights IRS Publication 5 walks through how to prepare a written protest. If the appeal doesn’t resolve the dispute, you can take the matter to Tax Court; the simplified small-case procedure, available for disputes under $50,000, is designed to work without an attorney.