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Code 290: additional tax assessment.

The IRS adjusted the account (often a .00 amount that just releases a hold).

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A 290 for $0.00 usually means the review is done; a refund or notice follows.

Document 6209 says

Debit. Used on individual (IMF) accounts.

Additional Tax Assessment
The full Document 6209 entry, as printed
Debit (NPJ) I/B Additional Tax Assessment 54 Additional tax as a result of an adjustment to a module which contains a TC 150 transaction. TC 290 with zero amount or TC 29X with a Priority Code 1 will post to a -L freeze module. Generates assessment of interest if applicable (TC 196). Releases the following freezes: O-Reactivated Account, -A Duplicate Return, -K Refund Hold, W- 470 hold, -R 570 hold, -F Advanced Payment, -X Manual Refund, P-841/720, -G Math Error, -J Math Error/TDA/BAL DUE, R- RPS, B- Subsequent Payment, -Q WPT, 680 Hold (See Freeze Code Sec - tion for specific conditions). TC 290 with zero amount blocked 96X indicates a taxpayer penalty abatement request was considered and rejected. Reversal is TC 290 blocked 97X. Can be used for Civil Penalty assessments on MFT 30, 55, and 13. IMF: Additionally releases 680 hold and freezes for Invalid SSN or Account Reactivation. Needs reason and source codes. May need priority and/or hold codes. 290 Debit (NPJ) I/B Additional Tax Assessment 54 BMF: Releases freezes for 842. TC 290’s, MFT 10, Blocking Series 500-519, have been designated for FUTA use only. A Reference Code of 998 or 999 is generated by BMF files respectively from Alpha Code “T” or “W” along with a valid state code on FUTA Adjustments. May need priority and/or hold codes. IMF: If a TC 888 is input without a TC 886, and the Taxable Income (TXI) on the tax module is greater than .00, then the TXI is automatically adjusted by the TC 888 amount. The TXI on the module will not be adjusted below zero. TC 290 blocked 180-198, 780-789, 960-969 or 980-989 (MFT 55: Blocking Series 530-539, 960-969, and 980 - 989. Exception: prior control is doc code 54 blocked 59X), will generate a CP55 Notice to Re-file Return. Re: Form 1042, 290-to increase tax liability no reference number is used, 291-to decrease tax liability no reference number is used, 150-reference number “011” to update the gross income paid See section 8 for credit reference adj. codes.

After code 290

Not enough shared timelines with this code yet. The block fills in once 30 people with code 290 share theirs from the result page.

Crowd figures, not IRS data. They describe what happened to others, not a promise.

Questions people ask

What does code 290 mean on my IRS transcript?

Document 6209 calls it "Additional Tax Assessment". The IRS adjusted the account (often a .00 amount that just releases a hold). A 290 for $0.00 usually means the review is done; a refund or notice follows.

Sources

Checked against these sources on October 30, 2026.