Underpayment of Estimated Tax

[KatyOMax]

We have multiple clients that received CP53E letters stating that they could not direct deposit their 2025 refund.  These clients did not have a refund, instead they had tax due.  We are seeing that the refund is from the IRS calculation of the penalty for underpayment of Estimated tax being lower that what was calculated in Lacerte.  We have made no overrides to the penalty calculation.  Why is the Lacerte numbers no longer matching the IRS?  Is any

[BobKamman]

Disaster area

[KatyOMax]

Not this year for us.  That was a problem a couple of years ago.  Lacerte did not adjust for the delayed deadlines

[BobKamman]

What are the client's ZIP Codes?  Are you sure they are not in a declared disaster area?

[scheunemanncpa]

We are in Minnesota and there are no disaster areas here.  Multiple clients with this change.  Maybe payments paid early and the new IRS computers don't have a minimum change to ignore.

[BobKamman]

Major 2025 Minnesota Disaster Declarations

• June 21, 2025 (Severe Storms/High Winds): Affecting areas including the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, with an Administrative SBA declaration issued on Oct. 2, 2025, for areas including Big Stone, Douglas, Grant...
• June 25, 2025 (Flooding): Heavy rains caused damage in Big Stone, Houston, Lac Qui Parle, Renville, and Yellow Medicine Counties.
• August 8, 2025 (Storms/Flooding): Impacted Freeborn, Norman, and Red Lake Counties.
• August 15-18, 2025 (Storms/Flooding): Impacted Lyon, Martin, and Traverse Counties.
• May 12-20, 2025 (Munger Shaw Fire): Fire Management Assistance Declaration (FM-5583-MN) granted.

[Bobby200]

FWIW:

Fake CP53E notices are a major 2026 scam, where criminals send nearly identical copies of the legitimate IRS CP53E letter—which notifies taxpayers their refund can’t be deposited due to missing or incorrect bank details.  The fraudulent versions include QR codes, urgent deadlines, or links to fake websites designed to steal banking information.  While over 1.4 million real CP53E notices were sent in early 2026 due to the federal phaseout of paper checks, scammers exploit this by mailing fake letters or contacting people via phone, email, or text—methods the real IRS does not use for this notice.

[Kathi_at_Intuit]

Hi! For the CP53E notices we would recommending looking at this from the IRS:

Understanding your CP53E notice

[BobKamman]

Frequently asked questions

Why do I need to provide a bank account for a direct deposit? (edited May 6, 2026)

You don't.