Tax resolution guide

IRS tax debt: a plain-English guide, stage by stage

Educational information only, not tax, legal, or financial advice. We are not a CPA, enrolled agent, attorney, or the IRS. Talk to your own tax professional about your situation.

Short answer: If you have IRS debt (a tax balance you owe the IRS), start with the notice: confirm the amount and tax years, and respond by the due date it gives, even if you can't pay in full. Then work through the stage you're in: catching up on unfiled years, choosing how to pay (in full, a payment plan, or sometimes an offer in compromise), asking about penalty relief, and understanding liens and levies if collection moves forward. Each section below gives the short version from IRS.gov and links to our longer guide.

This page doesn't promise any IRS result. Outcomes depend on your own facts, and the IRS decides them.

1. You just got an IRS notice

The IRS says to review the notice carefully, keep it, and act by the due date if it asks you to respond. If you agree, take the action it asks for; you don't need to reply unless it asks. If you disagree, follow the dispute instructions in the notice, include information and copies of documents for the IRS to review, and reply by the due date to protect your appeal rights. If the IRS changed or corrected your return, compare the notice with your return; if you agree, note the corrections on your own copy of the return and keep it. The CP or LTR number in the corner of the letter tells you which notice it is, and IRS.gov lets you look it up by that number. If a letter doesn't turn up in that search or looks suspicious, the IRS says to check with it directly before acting. If you need notices in Braille, large print or audio, the IRS says to complete Form 9000, Alternative Media Preference (IRS: understanding your notice or letter).

Your IRS online account shows your balance by tax year, digital copies of notices, payment history and transcripts, which helps you confirm a notice before you respond (IRS: your online account).

Our guides: Got an IRS balance-due notice? What to do first · How to ask for more time on an IRS notice, and which deadlines won't move · What IRS collection notices mean, by common notice type · What an IRS account transcript can tell you, and which transcript to get

2. You owe for past years or haven't filed

The IRS says to file every return that is due, whether or not you can pay in full. If you don't file, it may file a substitute return for you, and that return might not give you credit for deductions you're entitled to. If you're owed a refund for a year, you generally have to file within 3 years of that return's due date to claim it (IRS: filing past due tax returns). Start by listing each year, which ones are filed, and which ones have a notice.

Am I responsible for my spouse’s tax debt?

For a year you filed a joint return, usually yes. The IRS says both spouses are responsible for the tax and any interest or penalty due on a joint return, even if you later divorce, a divorce decree says your spouse is responsible for the taxes, or your spouse earned all of the income (IRS: innocent spouse relief).

The IRS has three kinds of relief, and you ask for all of them on one form, Form 8857; the IRS decides which, if any, fits. Innocent spouse relief covers tax your spouse understated on your joint return, such as unreported income or incorrect deductions, when you didn’t know about the errors and a reasonable person in your position wouldn’t have known. Separation of liability relief can limit you to your share of the understated tax if you are divorced, separated or no longer living with your spouse. Equitable relief is for cases where it would be unfair to hold you responsible, and it can cover tax your spouse underpaid, not just understated (IRS: innocent spouse relief; IRS: equitable relief).

Timing and limits matter. You must request innocent spouse relief within 2 years of receiving an IRS notice of an audit or taxes due because of an error on your return. Equitable relief from a balance due can be requested for as long as the IRS has to collect the tax, generally 10 years (see how long the IRS can collect). None of these cover business taxes or trust fund recovery penalties for employment taxes, and you can’t get relief for a year in which you signed an offer in compromise or a closing agreement covering the same taxes. The IRS says victims of spousal abuse or domestic violence may still qualify even if they knew about the errors, when fear kept them from challenging the return. After you apply, the IRS contacts your spouse or former spouse, the IRS says its review may take up to 6 months or longer, and you should keep filing and paying your taxes as usual meanwhile. If you disagree with the decision, the IRS says both spouses generally have the right to appeal, and you must appeal within 30 days from the date on your determination letter (IRS: innocent spouse relief; IRS: equitable relief).

If the problem is a refund taken for your spouse’s debt rather than a balance you owe, that is a different request, injured spouse relief (see the refund question). Whether you qualify depends on facts this page can’t check, so a tax professional can help you decide whether to file Form 8857.

Can I go to jail for owing taxes?

It is possible, but criminal tax charges require willful conduct. The IRS's criminal enforcement manual says a willful failure to file a return, supply information, or pay tax is generally a misdemeanor under 26 USC 7203, with a possible fine, up to one year in prison, or both. It defines willful as a voluntary, intentional violation of a known legal duty, as distinguished from accidental, inadvertent, or negligent (IRS: Internal Revenue Manual 9.1.3).

The same manual says repeated failure to pay, coupled with large spending on luxuries while taxes were owed, may be evidence of willfulness. Our suggestion is to do the opposite of that picture: file every return that is due, answer each notice, and use a payment option you can keep up with (sections 3 to 5 below). This page can't judge your own risk. If you're worried about criminal exposure, talk to a tax attorney before you contact the IRS.

How long can the IRS collect back taxes?

Generally 10 years from the date the tax was assessed. The IRS calls the end of that window the Collection Statute Expiration Date, or CSED, and one account can carry several assessments, each with its own date: for example the original tax on your return, extra tax from an amended return or an audit, a substitute return the IRS filed for you, and civil penalties (IRS: Time IRS can collect tax).

The clock can pause or run longer. The IRS says the CSED is generally suspended while it is barred by law from collecting, and its examples include the time it spends reviewing an installment agreement request or an offer in compromise, a bankruptcy, and a collection due process hearing. Some events also add time, such as 30 days after the IRS rejects an installment agreement or an offer, or six months after a bankruptcy ends. The IRS says you can find the date on your account transcript; see how to read an account transcript.

Please don't plan around waiting it out. An unpaid balance keeps building interest and penalties, and asking for a payment plan or offer in compromise pauses the clock while the IRS reviews it. If a date looks close, ask a tax professional before you choose an option.

What happens to IRS debt when someone dies?

It doesn’t go away. The estate administrator collects the person’s assets, pays creditors, including the IRS, and distributes what is left to heirs, and still has to file the person’s final return and any unfiled earlier years (IRS: responsibilities of an estate administrator). If you filed joint returns with the person, or you’re handling the estate, see when someone dies owing the IRS for who pays, when a living person can owe, and the forms involved.

Our guides: First steps when you owe back taxes for multiple years · Unfiled tax returns: how to catch up, one year at a time · Your spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) IRS tax debt: when you’re responsible and how to ask for relief · When someone dies owing the IRS: who pays, and what the family has to do

3. You can't pay the full balance right now

The IRS says to pay as much as you can by the due date, because that can reduce interest and penalty charges (IRS: understanding your notice or letter). An unpaid balance keeps building interest and a monthly late-payment penalty. A payment plan is an agreement to pay within a longer timeframe, and it fits when you expect to pay the balance in full within that time. If you qualify for a short-term plan, there is no user fee (IRS: payment plans). On that page the IRS describes a short-term plan as paying in 180 days or less and a long-term plan, also called an installment agreement, as paying monthly. It says an individual may qualify to apply online for a short-term plan when they owe less than $100,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest, and for a long-term plan when they owe $50,000 or less and have filed all required returns. If you don’t qualify online, the IRS says you may still be able to pay in installments: an individual can mail Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, with Form 433-F if the form’s instructions require it, or apply by phone using the number on the bill or notice. The IRS also says you can ask for an extra 60 to 120 days to pay in full (IRS: filing past due tax returns).

When the IRS weighs what you can afford, it uses its Collection Financial Standards for allowable living expenses (IRS: Collection Financial Standards). We link to those standards instead of repeating figures that change.

How much interest does the IRS charge on unpaid taxes?

For individuals, the IRS rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points. The IRS sets it each quarter and compounds it daily, which means each day’s interest is charged on the previous day’s balance plus interest. For October through December 2026 the IRS lists 7% a year for underpayments. A later rate change doesn’t change the rate already charged for past quarters (IRS: quarterly interest rates).

Interest on unpaid tax starts on the return’s due date, and an extension to file doesn’t extend the date to pay. It keeps adding up daily on unpaid tax, penalties and earlier interest until the balance is paid in full, including while you’re on a payment plan. If you pay the full amount on a notice by its “pay by” date, the IRS won’t charge more interest on the amount shown. The IRS doesn’t remove interest for reasonable cause or as first-time relief. It reduces interest when the related tax or penalty is reduced, or when the interest built up because of an unreasonable error or delay by an IRS employee (IRS: interest). See penalties on top of the tax for how penalty relief works.

Can you pay the IRS with a credit card?

Yes. The IRS says you can make most tax payments with a debit or credit card, or with a digital wallet such as PayPal or Venmo, through IRS-approved third-party payment processors. The processor charges a fee, and no part of it goes to the IRS. In October 2026 the IRS page listed credit card fees of 1.75% and 1.85% of the payment ($2.50 minimum) at its two processors, and flat debit card fees of $2.15 and $2.10. Limits apply to how often you can pay by card, and if you pay off a balance that had a lien, the IRS says the lien release can take up to 30 days after it receives full payment (IRS: pay taxes by card or digital wallet).

Before you move a large balance to a credit card, compare the card’s interest rate with the IRS rate above and with the cost of an IRS payment plan, which the IRS lists as a $29 setup fee for an online direct debit plan, waived for low-income taxpayers, plus penalties and interest until the balance is paid (IRS: payment plans). Once the card pays the IRS, the tax debt is gone, and so are the IRS options for it, such as a payment plan, hardship status or an offer in compromise. What is left is ordinary card debt on the card’s terms. This page can’t tell you which costs less for you; if the balance is large, run the numbers or ask a tax professional first.

Will the IRS keep my tax refund if I owe?

Usually, yes. If you owe federal tax for a prior year, the IRS can reduce your refund to cover it, and it mails you a notice showing how the refund was applied (IRS: reduced refund). A payment plan doesn't stop this: the IRS says your future refunds will be applied to your tax debt until it is paid in full, and to make all scheduled payments even if it applies your refund to your balance (IRS: payment plans).

A refund can also be reduced for other past-due debts, such as child support, federal non-tax debts, state income tax or certain state unemployment compensation debts. Treasury's Bureau of the Fiscal Service does that through the Treasury Offset Program and mails its own notice showing the original refund, the amount taken and the agency that received it; the IRS doesn't get those details (IRS: reduced refund, Treasury Offset Program). If you filed jointly and your refund went to your spouse's debt, you may be able to get your share back; see injured spouse relief.

Our guides: How to build a tax-debt budget the IRS can follow · What happens after a missed IRS payment, and how to get back on track

4. Payment plan or offer in compromise?

An offer in compromise lets you settle for less than the full amount you owe. The IRS considers your income, expenses and asset equity, and it generally won't accept an offer if you can pay in full through a payment plan or the equity in your assets. Eligibility includes having filed all required returns, having made required estimated payments, and not being in an open bankruptcy. The IRS says to explore other payment options before you apply (IRS: offer in compromise). If you hire someone to help with an offer, check their qualifications first.

Our guide: IRS payment plan or offer in compromise: how to choose and apply

Is the IRS Fresh Start program real?

Yes, but it is not a separate kind of relief. Fresh Start is the name the IRS gave to a series of changes to its own collection rules, announced in 2011 and 2012: fewer tax liens and easier lien withdrawals, streamlined payment plans for more people, and more flexible offer in compromise terms (IRS: Fresh Start, 2011; IRS: expanded Fresh Start, 2012). Those changes were made to the regular options in this guide: payment plans, offers in compromise, penalty relief and the lien rules. The dollar limits in those old announcements were the rules at the time, so check the current IRS page linked in each section, not an old press release or an ad.

Be careful with ads that promise to settle your debt for a small fraction of what you owe. The IRS warns about offer in compromise “mills” that make outlandish claims about settling tax debt cheaply, push offers to people who clearly don’t qualify, and charge excessive fees, often for the same deal you could get by working directly with the IRS (IRS: beware of offer in compromise mills). You can check for free whether you may qualify with the IRS Offer in Compromise Pre-Qualifier.

Can bankruptcy wipe out IRS tax debt?

Sometimes, for part of it. The IRS lists bankruptcy as one option if you owe past-due federal taxes you can’t pay, alongside a payment plan or an offer in compromise. It says a Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 discharge eliminates personal liability for tax debts older than three years unless the returns were filed late, and a Chapter 13 discharge also covers tax debts paid through the plan (IRS: declaring bankruptcy).

Plenty of tax debt survives. The IRS says many tax debts are excepted from the bankruptcy discharge, certain taxes such as trust fund taxes are not discharged, and sometimes the penalties are discharged but not the tax for a late-filed return. A case that is dismissed instead of discharged relieves no debt, and the time spent in bankruptcy extends how long the IRS has to collect what remains (see how long the IRS can collect). If only one spouse files, the IRS can still collect from the other spouse outside community property states. While a case is open you can’t get an offer in compromise (IRS: bankruptcy FAQs).

Bankruptcy has its own filing rules. For a Chapter 13, the IRS says you must have filed all required returns for tax periods ending within four years of your bankruptcy filing, keep filing and paying current taxes during the case, and that falling behind on either can get the case dismissed (IRS: declaring bankruptcy). Whether your own tax years qualify depends on dates and facts this page can’t check, so talk with a bankruptcy attorney before you file.

5. You truly can't pay anything right now

If you can't pay because of financial hardship, the IRS may place your account in Currently Not Collectible status, which temporarily suspends most collection. You still owe the full balance, and penalties and interest keep adding up. The IRS may ask for a collection information statement (such as Form 433-F) and proof of income, living expenses, bank accounts and assets. The IRS says this status has no fixed time period: it may review your finances later and resume collection if your ability to pay improves. While you are in that status it can still file a tax lien and apply any federal refund to the debt (IRS: temporarily delay the collection process).

Our guide: Currently not collectible: what IRS hardship status does, and how to ask for it

Does the IRS forgive tax debt for seniors?

Not because of age alone. We didn't find any IRS program that forgives tax debt just because someone is 65 or older or retired. Older taxpayers use the same options as everyone else in this guide: a payment plan, an offer in compromise, or the hardship status above. Age can still matter inside those options. When the IRS reviews your monthly budget, it allows a set amount per person for out-of-pocket health care, and that amount is $163 a month for people 65 and older, compared with $90 for people under 65 (IRS: out-of-pocket health care standards, effective June 29, 2026). And when the IRS weighs whether paying in full would cause an economic hardship for an offer in compromise, the Internal Revenue Manual tells its staff to consider factors that include the taxpayer's age and employment status (IRM 5.8.11.3.1).

One of the manual's own examples is a retired taxpayer whose only income is a pension that doesn't cover necessary living expenses, and whose only asset is a retirement account big enough to pay the tax. Cashing out that account would leave the person unable to pay basic living expenses, and their compliance history doesn't weigh against them, so the manual lists it as a case that may be compromised on economic hardship grounds (IRM 5.8.11.3.1). That's a "may," not a promise, and the IRS asks for proof of the hardship. If an ad promises a special forgiveness program for seniors, treat it with the same caution as the offer in compromise mills in section 4, and see how to build a realistic tax-debt budget for how the IRS expense standards work.

Can military members get relief on IRS tax debt?

Yes, in two specific ways under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, but neither one erases the debt. The first is a deferment: if your military service has materially affected your ability to pay income tax that comes due before or during your service, you can ask the IRS to defer collection. You then have up to 180 days after you're released from military service to pay, and if you pay in full by the end of that period you won't be charged interest or penalties for it. The deferment doesn't cover the employee's share of social security and Medicare taxes (IRS Publication 3 (2025), Armed Forces' Tax Guide). The IRS manual treats your ability to pay as materially affected when your current monthly military income is less than your monthly income just before active duty, and if your income went up it first subtracts the monthly expenses your service caused. It also says the deferment is only for an initial period of service, such as a first enlistment, that a granted deferment pauses the IRS's collection period for your service plus 270 days, and that the IRS may still file a tax lien and still apply refunds to the balance while it lasts (IRM 5.1.7.13, revised July 20, 2026).

To ask, Publication 3 says to write to the IRS office where you have a payment agreement, or, if you don't have one, wait for a notice asking for payment and write to the office that sent it. The request needs your name, SSN, monthly income and its source before your service, your current monthly income, the expenses your service caused if your income is higher now, your military rank, the date you entered service and the date you're eligible for discharge; a copy of your orders helps. The IRS first sends Letter 1175, which asks for more information within 60 days, then Letter 289 if it approves the deferment or Letter 3079 if it denies it. If it's denied, the IRS says to pay or set up a payment plan (IRS: understanding your Letter 1175, 3079 or 289).

The second is an interest cap. Publication 3 and the IRS manual say that if a deferment is denied, the IRS charges no more than 6% interest a year (less if its normal rate is below 6%) while you're in active military service, and that the lower rate applies whether or not your service affected your ability to pay. The manual adds that the tax must have been owed before you entered active duty. The IRS's normal rate for October through December 2026 is 7% (see how IRS interest works in section 3). To get the lower rate you have to give the IRS a copy of your orders or reporting instructions no later than 180 days after you're released from service (IRS Publication 3; IRM 5.1.7.13.2). Separately, if you serve in a combat zone or a contingency operation, Publication 3 lists paying tax and IRS collection of tax among the deadlines that are extended, generally for 180 days after your last day there plus the days you had left when you went in. Our suggestion: keep a copy of your orders and your last pay statements from before active duty together, because those are what prove the income drop and the service dates. If the IRS is slow to answer a deferment request, the Taxpayer Advocate Service in section 10 may help; if you'd like someone to look at your notices with you, see how we help.

6. Penalties on top of the tax

The IRS offers three kinds of penalty relief: first-time penalty abatement (an administrative waiver), reasonable cause, and statutory exceptions. You may qualify if you tried to comply but couldn't because of circumstances beyond your control. Start with the instructions on your notice. Some requests can be handled by phone, and otherwise you can ask in writing with Form 843. If a penalty is reduced or removed, the related interest is reduced automatically (IRS: penalty relief). If the IRS sends a notice or letter denying your request, the same IRS page points you to its penalty appeal eligibility guidance for next steps.

Our guide: IRS penalty abatement: which relief fits and how to ask for it

7. Liens, levies and wage garnishment

A federal tax lien is the government's legal claim against your property after the IRS bills you and the debt goes unpaid. The IRS may file a public Notice of Federal Tax Lien, and it releases the lien within 30 days after the debt is paid in full (IRS: understanding a federal tax lien). A levy is different: it actually takes property, such as wages or a bank account, to pay the debt. The IRS usually levies only after it has sent a bill and a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing at least 30 days before the levy, and after it has sent advance notice that it may contact third parties about your tax. One timing exception: if the IRS levies a state tax refund, the hearing notice can come after that levy (IRS: what is a levy). Publication 594 walks through the whole collection process (IRS Publication 594, PDF).

Our guides: IRS tax lien vs levy: what each means and how to respond · What IRS collection notices mean, by common notice type

Can the IRS take my passport for unpaid taxes?

Only for a large, seriously delinquent debt, and the State Department makes the passport decision. By law the IRS certifies seriously delinquent tax debts to the State Department, which generally won’t issue a passport after it gets that certification and may also deny an application or revoke a current passport. For 2026 the IRS defines a seriously delinquent tax debt as legally enforceable, unpaid federal tax debt, including assessed penalties and interest, totaling more than $66,000 (the threshold is adjusted each year for inflation). The IRS must also have filed a Notice of Federal Tax Lien with your administrative remedies lapsed or used up, or have issued a levy (IRS: revocation or denial of passport).

Many debts aren’t certified. The IRS lists debts you are paying on time under an approved payment plan or an accepted offer in compromise, debts with a timely requested collection due process hearing on a levy, and debts suspended by a request for innocent spouse relief. It also won’t certify you while your account is currently not collectible because of hardship, while a payment plan or offer request is pending, while you are in bankruptcy, if you have been identified as a victim of tax-related identity theft, or if you are in a federally declared disaster area. When the IRS does certify a debt, it mails notice CP508C to your last known address, and it doesn’t send a copy to your power of attorney (same IRS page).

If you apply for or renew a passport with a certified debt, the IRS says the State Department sends you a letter and holds the application open for 90 days so you can pay in full, set up a payment arrangement with the IRS, or fix a certification made in error. The IRS reverses a certification, sends notice CP508R and tells the State Department within 30 days when the debt is paid or no longer legally enforceable, when it is no longer seriously delinquent (for example, because you entered a payment plan or an offer in compromise), or when the certification was a mistake. Partial payments that bring the balance under the threshold don’t reverse it on their own. If you have an open passport application and international travel within 45 days, the IRS describes a way to ask for faster reversal, with proof of travel and the State Department letter. If you got a CP508C, use the contact details printed on it, look at a payment plan or offer in compromise, and ask a tax professional whether the certification is correct for your account.

8. Self-employed or small business

Keep business and personal records apart before you talk to anyone. Filing matters here too: the IRS notes that if you're self-employed and don't file, your self-employment income isn't reported to the Social Security Administration and you don't earn credits toward Social Security benefits (IRS: filing past due tax returns). Employers applying for an offer in compromise also need their tax deposits current for this quarter and the past two (IRS: offer in compromise).

Our guide: Self-employed and owe the IRS: sort your records, then your options

9. You also owe your state

State tax debt is handled by your state's tax agency, which has its own notices, rules and payment options. Sort the mail by agency and keep a separate year list for each one.

Our guide: How to separate state tax letters from IRS letters before you respond

10. Getting organized and getting help

Before any call, put each year's notices, returns and payment records in one folder. The IRS lets you authorize someone, such as a tax professional, to contact it on your behalf, and your online account lets you approve a power of attorney from your tax professional (IRS: your online account). If you have a low income and can't afford representation in a dispute with the IRS, a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic may help for free or at low cost (IRS: Low Income Taxpayer Clinics), and if you can't resolve a problem on your own, the Taxpayer Advocate Service is an independent organization within the IRS that can help (Taxpayer Advocate Service).

When can the Taxpayer Advocate Service help with IRS tax debt?

When the normal IRS channels have already failed you, not as a first stop. The Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS) is an independent organization within the IRS, and its services are free (TAS: About us). Its eligibility page sorts the cases it may take into three kinds. The first is financial hardship, such as an IRS action or delay that could cost you your home, leave you unable to pay for food or utilities, or take away your transportation to work. The second is an IRS system problem, such as a delay of more than 30 days past normal processing time, no answer by the date the IRS promised, or an IRS process that failed to resolve your problem. The third is fair and equitable treatment, where the way the tax law is being applied has harmed or will harm your rights as a taxpayer (TAS: Can TAS help me with my tax issue?). The same page says an advocate makes the final decision after you ask, and that TAS has temporarily changed the types of cases it accepts because of IRS backlogs, so read its current FAQs before you apply.

To ask for help, TAS says the easiest way is to complete Form 911, Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance and email, mail or fax it, and that you should hear back from an assigned case advocate within 30 days. TAS also warns that Form 911 and attachments sent by email aren't encrypted (TAS: Contact us). TAS isn't a separate payment option: if the problem is simply a balance you can't pay, start with the payment options in section 3, the plan-or-offer choice in section 4 or hardship status in section 5. Our suggestion: before you send a Form 911, write down each date you contacted the IRS, what you were told, and what has happened since, because that timeline is what shows a delay or a missed promise. If you'd like someone to go through your notices with you first, see how we help.

Our guides: Tax debt documents: what to gather, and how to replace what's missing · What to have ready before an IRS phone call (and how to spot a scam)

How this page is made

Every IRS rule above comes from the IRS.gov page linked beside it, and those pages were checked on October 6, 2026. The organizing tips (sorting mail, keeping year folders) are our own suggestions. If an IRS page changes, we update this guide. On October 18, 2026 we updated the guide links in each section to match each guide's current title; no IRS rule on this page changed. On October 19, 2026 we re-checked the IRS offer in compromise page, which the IRS had rewritten (it shows a last-reviewed date of October 14, 2026), and updated section 4 to match it. On October 22, 2026 we added the refund question in section 3 from the IRS reduced refund and payment plan pages and the Treasury Offset Program page, all checked that day. On October 23, 2026 we added the jail question in section 2 from Internal Revenue Manual 9.1.3 (criminal statutory provisions), checked that day. Later on October 23, 2026 we added the collection-period question in section 2 from the IRS Time IRS can collect tax page, checked that day. On October 24, 2026 we added the question about a death in the family in section 2 from the IRS responsibilities of an estate administrator page, checked that day. Also on October 24, 2026 we added the Fresh Start question in section 4 from the IRS Fresh Start announcements of February 2011 (IR-2011-20) and March 2012 (IR-2012-31) and IRS Tax Tip 2025-35 on offer in compromise mills, checked that day. Also on October 24, 2026 we added the bankruptcy question in section 4 from the IRS declaring bankruptcy and bankruptcy frequently asked questions pages, checked that day. Also on October 24, 2026 we added the interest question in section 3 from the IRS interest and quarterly interest rates pages, checked that day; the IRS changes the rate quarterly, so check its page for the current rate. On October 25, 2026 we added the credit card question in section 3 from the IRS pay taxes by card or digital wallet page (last reviewed October 22, 2026) and the IRS payment plans page, checked that day; processor fees change, so check the IRS page for current fees. Also on October 25, 2026 we expanded the joint-return note in section 2 into the spouse question from the IRS innocent spouse relief page (last reviewed November 8, 2025) and equitable relief page (last reviewed October 11, 2026), checked that day. Also on October 25, 2026 we added the passport question in section 7 from the IRS revocation or denial of passport page (last reviewed July 28, 2026), checked that day; the IRS adjusts the dollar threshold each year, so check its page for the current amount. On October 28, 2026 we added the seniors question in section 5 from the IRS out-of-pocket health care standards page (effective June 29, 2026) and Internal Revenue Manual 5.8.11.3.1 (revised April 11, 2024), checked that day; the caution about senior forgiveness ads is our own. On October 29, 2026 we added the Taxpayer Advocate Service question in section 10 from the TAS pages Can TAS help me with my tax issue, About us and Contact us, and Form 911 (June 2026), all checked that day; the timeline suggestion is our own. Also on October 29, 2026 we added the military question in section 5 from IRS Publication 3 (2025), Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.7.13 (revised July 20, 2026) and the IRS page on Letters 1175, 3079 and 289 (last reviewed September 19, 2026), all checked that day; the suggestion to keep orders and pre-service pay statements together is our own. On October 30, 2026 we added the short-term and long-term plan descriptions, the online application amounts and the Form 9465 route in section 3 from the IRS payment plans page (last reviewed August 13, 2026), checked that day. On October 31, 2026 we added the no-fixed-period and resumed-collection points in section 5 from the IRS page on temporarily delaying collection (last reviewed July 13, 2026), the penalty-relief appeal pointer in section 6 from the IRS penalty relief page (last reviewed September 9, 2026), and the innocent spouse review time and 30-day appeal window from the IRS innocent spouse relief page (last reviewed November 8, 2025), checked that day. Also on October 31, 2026 we added the document, corrected-return and Form 9000 points in section 1 from the IRS page on understanding your notice or letter (last reviewed May 26, 2026), and the third-party-contact notice and state refund levy timing in section 7 from the IRS page on what a levy is (last reviewed March 13, 2026), checked that day. If anything here looks out of date, use the IRS page, not this one.

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