01Letter 6173 says the IRS has information that you had virtual-currency accounts and may not have met your reporting obligations.02Unlike its softer siblings 6174 and 6174-A, this letter requires a response — signed under penalties of perjury — by the date it states.03That signature is what makes this letter different from every other in the series. It is the reason to decide your position before you draft a word.
What the signature changes
Most IRS correspondence invites information. This letter demands a sworn statement: either that you have complied, or an explanation of how you are fixing the years in which you did not — typically by filing delinquent or amended returns. A statement signed under penalties of perjury is not a reply; it is evidence you are writing about yourself. Get it right and the matter can close. Get it wrong — sign "I have complied" while a summons-sourced dataset says otherwise — and the letter you sent becomes the centrepiece of what follows.
Every other letter in this series can be answered with documents. This one is answered with an oath.
Why you received it
These letters are sent from data the IRS already holds — exchange records obtained through John Doe summonses and, increasingly, broker reporting. Receiving one means your name is already in a dataset. That single fact reshapes the disclosure decision: the Voluntary Disclosure Practice turns on whether the IRS has your name from another source, and a 6173 is strong evidence that it does. Which door remains open is now a question for a professional, not a blog post — including this one.
What to do this week
- Find the response date and calendar it. The deadline is on the letter. Extensions may be possible on request — a request, not an assumption.
- Do not draft the sworn statement yet. First reconstruct what actually happened: years, platforms, what was reported, what was not.
- Read the disclosure page before anything is signed. The order of what you send matters more than its speed. A 6173 response and a disclosure filing interact; sequencing them wrongly closes doors.
- Bring in representation now, not after. This is the one letter in the series where "handle it myself" carries perjury exposure. A representative can respond on your behalf and structure the first conversation to be privileged.
- Respond by the date, traceably. Silence is not neutral here: non-response to a 6173 invites examination or worse.
If you actually did comply
Then the response is comparatively simple — a signed statement of compliance with the supporting record behind it. "Comparatively": it is still sworn, so verify against transcripts and your filings before signing, and be certain the record supports every word. Certainty is precisely what a representative can obtain from your IRS transcripts before the deadline.
If you have received this letter, a signed response is required by the date it states. This page explains the letter; it does not respond to it, and reading it creates no professional relationship.