Today the IRS announced that it was temporarily suspending collection notices. The announcement indicates that some notices are already in the stream and taxpayers may receive them over the next few weeks. The notice clearly responds to the concern raised by Congressman Neal. It does not say that the IRS will withhold collection from individuals who have passed through the collection notice stream and upon whom the IRS can now levy. Such individuals may have paid their liability during the period of IRS closure, may have filed a return with an overpayment that would pay the liability, may have sought relief through an offer in compromise or innocent spouse request or other statutory relief mechanism as yet unknown to the IRS until it processes its mail. So, it remains unclear what will happen to these individuals and entities.