Hacienda Notices: What to Do If You Get a Letter

Getting a letter from the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda") makes anyone nervous. The good news is that almost every letter follows a procedure written into the Código de Rentas Internas de Puerto Rico de 2011 (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico, the "Code"), and that procedure gives you chances to explain, correct or contest. The bad news is that those chances come with short deadlines.

This guide explains the most common types of notice, the deadline each one carries and what to do in each case. The rules come mainly from Section 6010.02 of the Code, according to the current text published by the Oficina de Gerencia y Presupuesto (Office of Management and Budget), revised May 28, 2026.

First: identify which letter you received

The name of the letter and what it says about your rights tell you which path to take. This table summarizes the main cases.

A deficiency (deficiencia) is the difference between the tax that, according to Hacienda, you should have paid and the tax you reported on your return. If you do not know a term, the glossary can help.

How the deadlines are counted

The most important detail: the 30-day deadlines for a deficiency are counted from the date Hacienda mailed the notice, not from the day you received it or picked it up. That is why you should check the date on the letter and the postmark as soon as it arrives.

Hacienda sends deficiency notices by certified mail. When the return was filed electronically, the Code allows the notice to arrive electronically, without certified mail, and in that case Hacienda must let you request reconsideration electronically as well. In practice, that means checking the messages in your SURI (Hacienda's online system) account often.

The preliminary deficiency notice

This is the first formal letter telling you that Hacienda believes you owe more. It details the additional tax and, usually, the interest, surcharges and penalties. Hacienda also often sends a Hoja de Caso Convenido (agreed case form). If you sign it, you accept the deficiency. According to Hacienda, the Oficina de Apelaciones Administrativas (Administrative Appeals Office) is the right place if you received a letter explaining your right to object, you disagree and you have not signed that form.

To request reconsideration and an administrative hearing:

1. Read the whole letter and write down the mailing date. Work out day 30.
2. Gather the return, the supporting documents and any evidence that backs your position.
3. Prepare a written statement explaining why you disagree, with a copy of the notice and the evidence.
4. If the deficiency is more than $10,000, Hacienda requires the request to include a written brief with the information described in Regulation 6924.
5. If someone else represents you, include Form SC 2745, Poder y Declaración de Representación (power of attorney and declaration of representation).
6. File the request with the Oficina de Apelaciones Administrativas within the 30 days, or within any extension Hacienda granted you, and keep proof of the date.

You can appear on your own or with an authorized representative: an attorney, a certified public accountant (CPA), an accountant, a tax specialist or another person you designate. After the hearing, an examining officer recommends a decision and Hacienda issues the final notice, which may cancel the deficiency, confirm it in part or confirm all of it. The Code requires the final determination to be supported by findings of fact and conclusions of law.

If the final deficiency notice arrives

The final notice states the amount of the deficiency, the interest, the penalties and the bond you would have to post to go to court. You have three paths:

• You agree: you pay at a Colecturía (collections office) or in SURI, or you request a payment plan.
• You disagree: you file a lawsuit in the Tribunal de Primera Instancia (Court of First Instance) within 30 days from the date the final notice was mailed, and you post the bond within that same deadline.
• You do nothing: the deficiency is assessed and Hacienda collects it through notice and demand, and it can then turn to a levy.

On the bond, the Code provides that it cannot exceed the tax in the notice plus one additional year of interest at 10% a year. You can also pay the part you agree with and post a bond only for what you are litigating. Hacienda accepts pledge bonds, public securities bonds, escrow deposits, surety bonds and mortgage bonds, using Form SC 6019, which is filed with the Oficina de Apelaciones Administrativas within the same 30 days.

If you cannot post the full bond, you can file the lawsuit on time together with a request for the court to reduce the bond or exempt you from it. Filing the lawsuit and posting the bond within the deadline are jurisdictional requirements. If you miss them, the court cannot hear your case. If the taxpayer dies during those 30 days, their heirs have 60 days.

While that deadline is running, and while the case is in court until the judgment is final, Hacienda cannot assess the deficiency or start enforced collection.

Math errors and return adjustments: a different process

A math or transcription error notice is not considered a deficiency notice. You cannot take it to the Tribunal de Primera Instancia, but you can ask Hacienda, within 60 days from the date it sent the notice, to reduce the assessment. While that deadline is running, Hacienda cannot impose a lien or start judicial collection of that assessment. These matters are handled at the Centros de Servicio 360 (360 Service Centers; page in Spanish), by appointment.

A return adjustment happens, for example, when an informative return reports income that does not appear on your return, or when someone else claimed the same dependent. Section 6010.08 sets out an expedited process. You have 30 days to request reconsideration before the Negociado de Auditoría Fiscal (Tax Audit Bureau) with your arguments and evidence. Hacienda must answer within 120 days. If it does not, the facts you presented are taken as proven. If the decision goes against you, you can request review before the Secretaría de Procedimientos Adjudicativos (adjudicative procedures office) within 30 days, and that request stops collection while the process lasts.

Information requests and audits

Sometimes the letter does not demand money but documents. Hacienda has the power to examine books and summon witnesses. Answer within the time the letter states and hand over only what is relevant. You have the right to know why the information is being requested, to be represented and to receive written notice of any adjustment. The taxpayer rights guide explains these protections.

787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.