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🧾 How to Fax IRS Letter 12C and Form 8962 From Anywhere

📅 Updated October 2026 · 🌍 Send from any country
✦ Quick Answer

Letter 12C prints its own fax number, and that is the number to use. The IRS does not publish one general fax number for 12C replies. Send a completed Form 8962, a copy of the letter, and a copy of Form 1095-A if the letter asks for it, within 20 days. Do not file Form 1040-X. Select United States, type the 10 digits with no leading 1, and pay $2.99 for up to 3 pages, then $0.99 per extra page.

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📋 In This Guide

  1. What Letter 12C Is Asking For
  2. Which Fax Number to Use
  3. What to Include in the Fax
  4. The 20-Day Window
  5. Entering the Number From Abroad
  6. Cost, Delivery and Your Record
  7. Frequently Asked Questions

What Letter 12C Is Asking For

Letter 12C, which can also appear as Letter 0012C or LTR 12C in the corner, means the IRS needs more information before it can finish processing the return you filed. This guide covers the version about the premium tax credit. If advance payments of the premium tax credit were made toward your Marketplace health insurance, you must file Form 8962, Premium Tax Credit, to reconcile them. When the return arrives without it, Letter 12C is how the IRS asks for it.

Just as important is what the letter is not asking for. It is not asking for an amended return. Do not file Form 1040-X in response to Letter 12C. The IRS is still working on the return you already sent and only needs the missing form and anything else the letter lists.

The rule: answer Letter 12C with Form 8962 and the items the letter lists, not with a 1040-X, and fax it only to the number printed on your own letter.

Which Fax Number to Use

Use the fax number printed on your letter. The IRS page that explains Letter 12C says the letter itself provides a fax number, and irs.gov does not publish a single number for 12C replies. Because numbers can differ from one letter to another, we do not list one here. Do not copy a number from a forum, a video or someone else's letter: a reply sent to the wrong IRS unit may never reach the person handling your file.

If you have lost the letter or the number is unreadable, ask the IRS for it rather than guess. From outside the United States, the IRS international line is 267-941-1000 (not toll-free), open Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Our guide to IRS international accounts explains that line and its fax. For other IRS forms that do have published fax numbers, our hub on how to fax the IRS lists them.

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What to Include in the Fax

A cover page. Your name and the tax year as shown on the letter, the identifying number the letter asks you to include, the words "Reply to Letter 12C", the date, a daytime phone number with country code, and one line listing what is attached. Repeat your name and the identifying number at the top of every page, because faxed sheets can get separated.

A copy of Letter 12C. It lets the person handling your fax match it to your file straight away.

Form 8962, completed for the tax year on the letter. Use the version of the form for that year, and check the figures carry through from start to finish.

A copy of Form 1095-A, if the letter asks for it. Form 1095-A is the statement from the Health Insurance Marketplace with the figures Form 8962 uses. Include it only when it is on your letter's list, along with anything else the letter names.

Scan everything to PDF rather than photographing the pages. Fax arrives in black and white, and small numbers in a phone photo can come out unreadable on the other end.

The 20-Day Window

The IRS asks you to send the requested information within 20 days. If you live abroad, the letter may have used up much of that time just getting to you, which is exactly where fax helps: the pages reach the IRS usually within a few minutes, wherever you are sending from.

If the 20 days have already passed, send it anyway, as soon as you can, to the same number on the letter. Note on the cover page the date the letter actually reached you if it arrived late, and keep your fax confirmation with a copy of what you sent.

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Entering the Number From Abroad

The fax number on your letter is a US number. Select United States from the list, then type the 10 digits: the three-digit area code and seven more, with no leading 1, no spaces and no dashes. A number printed as 1-855-XXX-XXXX is entered as 855XXXXXXX. Our guide to faxing to the USA covers the format, and our guide to sending a fax from outside the United States covers paying and uploading from another country.

From the US or anywhere else in the world, OverseasFax is built for this.

Cost, Delivery and Your Record

US numbers are $2.99 for up to 3 pages, then $0.99 per extra page. A typical Letter 12C reply, for example a cover page, a two-page copy of the letter, Form 8962 and a one-page copy of Form 1095-A, comes to 6 pages: $5.96. You see the price before you pay.

There is no account to create and nothing is printed on your document. Delivery usually takes a few minutes. The confirmation email shows the destination number, the page count and the time the fax went through, in US Eastern Time. That is your record of exactly when it was sent, so keep it with a copy of the pages. If the fax cannot be delivered, you are refunded automatically.

If an IRS employee offers to fax something back to you, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, and anything sent to it arrives in your email.

Why send it here

One price for the whole fax, shown before you pay, and nothing added at checkout.

Nothing is printed on your document. It arrives exactly as you uploaded it.

If it cannot be delivered, the money goes back to your card without you asking.

It works from anywhere. Send from any country, in any browser, with no account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cost and what you get
How much does it cost to fax Form 8962 for a Letter 12C reply?
$2.99 for up to 3 pages, then $0.99 per extra page. A 6-page reply with a cover page, the letter, Form 8962 and a Form 1095-A copy costs $5.96. There is no account or subscription.
Is there a cheaper way to fax my Letter 12C reply?
OverseasFax charges $2.99 for up to 3 pages and $0.99 for each extra page, from the US or any other country, with no account, no subscription and nothing added at checkout. Free fax services do exist, but they usually cap the number of pages and print their own advertising on the cover page, which you do not want on a reply to the IRS.
Can I fax Form 8962 to the IRS for free?
Free fax services usually limit the number of pages and add their own advertising to the cover page. For a tax reply with a 20-day window, a clean fax with a dated record that it went through is worth $2.99.
Sending a fax
I got IRS Letter 12C, what do I send back?
Form 8962, a copy of the letter, and a copy of Form 1095-A if the letter asks for it, plus anything else the letter lists. Fax it to the number printed on your Letter 12C within 20 days.
Should I file a 1040-X in response to Letter 12C?
No. Do not file Form 1040-X in response to Letter 12C. The IRS is still processing your original return and only needs Form 8962 and the other items the letter asks for.
Do I have to include Form 1095-A with my Letter 12C reply?
Only if the letter asks for it. Check the list on your Letter 12C and include a copy of Form 1095-A when it is on that list.
I'm in Germany and only just opened a Letter 12C that's two weeks old, can I still fax Form 8962 in time?
Yes, if you send it now. The IRS asks for the information within 20 days, and a fax usually reaches the number on the letter within a few minutes from any country. Select United States and type the 10 digits from the letter.
What if my 20 days to answer Letter 12C have already passed?
Send it as soon as you can anyway, to the same fax number on the letter. Note on the cover page when the letter reached you, and keep the fax confirmation as your record of exactly when it was sent.
Can I fax my whole tax return along with my Letter 12C reply?
No. The IRS gives no fax route for filing a return; you e-file or mail it. For Letter 12C you send only the forms and documents the letter asks for, starting with Form 8962.
Fax numbers and format
What is the fax number for IRS Letter 12C?
It is printed on your letter. The IRS says Letter 0012C provides a fax number, and it does not publish one general 12C fax number on irs.gov. Use only the number on your own letter.
Is there one IRS fax number for Form 8962?
No. There is no general IRS fax number for Form 8962 or anything else. Fax Form 8962 to the number printed on the Letter 12C that asked for it.
How do I enter the Letter 12C fax number from outside the US?
Select United States, then type the 10 digits with no leading 1, no spaces and no dashes. A number shown as 1-855-XXX-XXXX is entered as 855XXXXXXX.
I lost my Letter 12C, how do I find the fax number?
Ask the IRS rather than guess. From abroad, the IRS international line is 267-941-1000, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Do not use a number from a forum or from someone else's letter.
Receiving a reply
Will the IRS fax me back after I send Form 8962?
Only if an IRS employee arranges it. If you need a number to receive a fax, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, and faxes arrive in your email.
Delivery, proof and safety
What record do I get when I fax my Letter 12C reply?
A confirmation email with the destination number, the page count and the time the fax went through, in US Eastern Time. It is your record of exactly when it was sent, so keep it with a copy of the pages you faxed.
How long does it take to fax Form 8962 to the IRS?
Usually a few minutes. If the IRS line is busy and the fax cannot be delivered, you are refunded automatically and can send it again.
Is it safe to fax my Form 1095-A and health insurance details to the IRS?
The fax goes directly to the number you enter, nothing is printed on your document and there is no account. The file is not kept after sending. The real risk is a wrong number, so use only the number printed on your letter.
More questions
What should the cover page say for a Letter 12C reply?
Your name and tax year as shown on the letter, the identifying number the letter asks for, the words Reply to Letter 12C, the date, a phone number and a list of the attached pages. Put your name and that number on every page.
Is Form 12C something I fill out?
No. 12C is the letter, not a form. The form you fill out and send back is Form 8962, together with anything else the letter lists.
Can I fax a Letter 12C reply from my phone?
Yes. OverseasFax runs in a phone browser, so you can upload a PDF scan of Form 8962 and the letter and send it with no app and no account. Scan to PDF rather than taking photos so the figures stay readable.

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