Enforced collection stops
While a request is pending and while an agreement is in effect, the IRS generally does not levy. That alone changes the month.
IRS Problems
The boring option is usually the one that works
An instalment agreement will not reduce what you owe, but it stops the collection machine and puts the balance on a schedule you can live with.
There are several kinds, and the difference matters. A guaranteed agreement applies to small individual balances and the IRS must accept it if the conditions are met. A streamlined agreement covers larger balances within published limits and is granted without a full financial statement. Above that, a non-streamlined agreement requires Form 433-F or Form 433-A and is negotiated. A partial-pay agreement is for people who genuinely cannot pay the full balance before the collection period expires.
Whichever one you are in, interest keeps running and so does the failure-to-pay penalty, although that penalty is charged at a reduced rate while an agreement is in effect for an individual who filed on time. Paying by direct debit lowers the setup fee, keeps the agreement from defaulting because someone forgot a payment, and is required for some agreement types. The request itself is Form 9465, or the IRS online application where the balance qualifies.
Scope
What’s included
The right agreement identified
Guaranteed, streamlined, non-streamlined or partial-pay — chosen from your transcripts and your actual budget.
Form 9465 or online setup
Filed with the terms we agreed, not the highest monthly figure the IRS would like to see.
Financial statement preparation
Form 433-F or Form 433-A completed and substantiated where the balance requires a collection information statement.
Direct debit set up correctly
Lower setup cost, no missed payment, and no default letter six months later.
Penalty relief requested alongside
A plan and an abatement request are not alternatives. We ask for both where the account supports it.
Reinstatement after a default
If a plan has already defaulted, we deal with the default before collection restarts.
Outcome
Why it matters
A payment you will actually make
An agreement set too high defaults, and a defaulted agreement is worse than none. We propose a figure the budget supports.
Known cost, not a moving target
You see what interest and the failure-to-pay penalty add over the life of the plan before you agree to it.
Process
How it works
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Pull the account
Transcripts confirm the balance by year, the penalties applied, and how much collection time remains.
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Build the budget
Income and necessary living expenses, measured against the standards the IRS applies to everyone.
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Request and confirm
We submit the agreement, confirm acceptance in writing, and give you the payment dates in one place.
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Keep it alive
Next year’s return filed on time and withholding corrected, because a new balance breaks an existing plan.
Suited to
Who this is for
- Taxpayers who can pay something every month but not all at once
- People who do not qualify for an Offer in Compromise
- Anyone who received a CP14 balance-due notice
- Businesses with a balance and steady monthly revenue
- Taxpayers whose previous payment plan defaulted
FAQ
Questions
A plan is usually the answer when you have equity or income the offer formula will count — which is most working households with a house or a paid-off vehicle. An offer fits when the collection formula genuinely produces less than the balance. We run the offer calculation first so the choice is made on numbers.
No. Interest runs on the unpaid balance until it is paid, and the failure-to-pay penalty continues too, at a reduced rate while the agreement is in effect for an individual who filed the return on time. Paying more than the minimum shortens the plan and lowers the total.
Often needed alongside this
Other services
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Back Taxes & Unfiled Returns
Unfiled returns and unpaid balances feel permanent. They are not. Almost every case has a defined, legal path to resolution — the hard part is starting it.
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Offer in Compromise
An Offer in Compromise is a real programme with a real formula. We run that formula before you pay anyone to file one, and we tell you the answer either way.
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Penalty Abatement & Reasonable Cause
Penalties and the interest they carry can be a third or more of an IRS balance. Some of it is removable, and nobody removes it unless you ask.
Let’s find out what you should actually be paying.
Thirty minutes with an Enrolled Agent, at no charge. Bring last year’s return and we will tell you plainly what we would do differently — and what it would cost.