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Houston IRS Installment Agreement

A 1040 tax form on a table with a calculator in use resting on top of it.

One of the most common methods of paying back taxes, and the one that the IRS tends to prefer above all others, is an IRS installment plan. These payment methods let you chip away at your debt bit by bit with affordable payments and show that you are making efforts to pay the agency what you owe. The reason the IRS prefers this method is because it allows them to continue charging you interest and penalties while you pay, which means that they get more money in the end.

Still, this method can sometimes benefit you as well, but always do your homework to see if you are eligible for other forms of relief as well. In some cases, you may actually be able to get penalties and fees removed, for example, while still making payments on your tax due. You may be able to dispute the IRS assessment or possibly file an amended tax return that takes advantage of deductions and credits you did not realize you were eligible to use.

All of this together is an excellent reason to seek advice and help from the professional tax relief services at Instant Tax Solutions. Our experienced, expert tax professionals will review your finances in detail and present all the available options for you. If an installment plan is in the cards, we can represent your interests and ensure that you get a plan that fits your financial needs.

If you are ready to talk about your tax relief options, we are ready to listen. Call us at (888) 921-3781 or reach out to us online for a free, confidential, no-obligation consultation today.

An Overview of Houston IRS Payment Plans

An IRS payment plan is quite simply an agreement with the agency that you will pay your taxes on a schedule of affordable monthly payments. In some cases, depending on the specifics of your agreement, you may have to pay additional user fees. The good news is that when you request a payment plan, the IRS is normally prohibited from applying levies or taking other collection efforts against you while the agreement is pending or accepted.

Some interest and penalties will continue to accrue on your account while you are paying. You may also have to pay user fees to cover the IRS’ costs of processing the agreement. Certain taxpayers who meet specific qualifications may see these user fees waived or be eligible for reimbursement, again under specific circumstances such as occupying a low-income bracket.

The IRS offers many options to set up payment plans, including the ability to make payments online through their online self-service portal. The options available to you will depend on whether you are an individual taxpayer or a business taxpayer, how much you owe in back taxes, and your current total income and assets. The online portal will allow you to keep track of where you are, your current balance, and other important information.

The online payment portal also allows you to administer your account. Through it, you can:

  • Change your payment due date
  • Change your monthly payment
  • Change to a direct debit payment method
  • Change your bank account information
  • Reinstate your payment plan if you accidentally default

Some of these options will depend upon your current status at the time. Reinstating your defaulted payment plan, for example, may require additional steps to negotiate with the IRS before they permit the action to occur. In this case, you may also have to pay a reinstatement fee.

It is, of course, always best to avoid defaulting on your payment plan. Always pay your monthly amount by the due date, continue to file your required tax returns on time, and do not fall behind on current or future taxes. If you pay by check, always be sure to include the full information on your check, including name, address, phone number, tax year, return type, and Social Security number. Contact the IRS immediately if there is any change in your situation whether moving, income, or another issue that arises.

Options for IRS Installment Agreements

Your options to enter an IRS installment plan depend on your tax status, amount owed, and total assets. Your tax debt must not exceed a certain threshold. For individuals, this threshold is $50,000 for long-term payment plans or $100,000 for short-term plans.

For businesses, the threshold is $25,000 for a long-term plan. The IRS does not list a threshold for short-term payment plans for business owners. If you owe taxes equal to or less than this threshold, you may be eligible for a payment plan.

Long-Term Payment Plans

Long-term payment plans allow you to pay off your taxes over the next 72 months, or six years. You will continue to accrue penalties and interest while you pay down the amount, much like paying a loan or credit card debt. This means you will have a proposed payment amount that is high enough to cover these fees and interest as well as reduce the principal accordingly. The IRS refers to long-term payment plans as “installment agreements.”

These types of payment plan require that you pay a setup fee. The specific amount depends on your circumstances, as follows:

  • Non-direct-debit, applying over the phone, in person, or by mail: $225
  • Non-direct debit, applying online: $130
  • Non-direct debit, low income: $43
  • Direct debit, applying over the phone, in person, or by mail: $107
  • Direct debit, applying online: $31
  • Direct debit, low income: $0

Long-term payment plans are often the most affordable way that someone can manage their tax debt.

Short-Term Payment Plans

Short-term payment plans are essentially just a brief extension for paying off what you owe. These give you either 90 or 180 days to pay your past tax debt in full. It is for filers who will be able to pay their back tax burden but just need some time to get their finances together.

Taxes paid in this way are still considered past due, but you will pay fewer penalties and interest by paying the amount owed faster. The IRS may also be more lenient when it comes to releasing liens, account freezes, levies, or other collection efforts when you agree to a short-term payment plan.

Short-term payment plans carry no application fee, and are more likely to be accepted than long-term payment plans. In the end, the IRS just wants their money, and are generally willing to abstain from collections if they are confident you will pay them what is due. Suspension of these collection efforts is by no means guaranteed, but you may have a better shot with a short-term plan than with a long-term one.

Still, before applying for a short-term payment plan, be sure that you can actually make the payments. If you are not sure which plan is best for you, Instant Tax Solutions can help you make the right choice and create a financial plan to help you stay on solid footing for the future.

Changing Payment Plans

After the IRS approves your payment plan, you can propose alterations at any time. As mentioned above, the online payment portal lets you adjust your payment amount, due date, elect to shift from check to direct debit, change bank accounts, and other administrative changes. The IRS tries to be as flexible as possible to ensure you can make your payments.

How to Set up a Houston IRS Settlement Agreement

Applying for a payment plan through the IRS requires simply that you complete the agency’s online payment agreement application. This application will walk you through the process of qualifying, gathering the documents and information you need, and paying the appropriate fees. If you think that you qualify for low-income fee waivers, you will need to complete Form 13844: Application for Reduced User Fee for Installment Agreements.

Your application online will be approved or rejected immediately. If it is rejected, you can try again by submitting Form 9465. In this case, your approval will be pending for 30 days, but this can provide some relief, as the IRS cannot take collections actions while the application is pending.

If you cannot apply or pay online, you will complete Form 6465: Installment Agreement Request, and attach Form 433F: Collection Information Statement, which you can mail to the IRS. You can also apply over the phone. Remember, applying online or over the phone carries significantly higher fees. Again, while the IRS reviews your application and it is pending, they should suspend any and all collections activities.

If you cannot make any payments at all, you may be eligible to request suspension of collection through a Currently not Collectible claim. You must, however, prove that your finances are low enough that you cannot pay. This can buy you a bit of extra time to set up your ability to make payments.

If you are not certain what to do, Instant Tax Solutions is here to guide you through the process.

Contact Instant Tax Solutions for IRS Tax Relief Today

If you owe back taxes, it can seem devastating. Remember, however, there are options for relief available. It just depends on your ability to prove your circumstances, show what you can pay, and work with the IRS to make it happen.

Working with the IRS can be tricky sometimes, as they are eager to get their money. When you work with Instant Tax Solutions, we can help negotiate with the agency and seek many forms of tax relief for you, including installment plans and fee or penalty waivers. Get out from under your crippling tax debt. Call us at (888) 921-3781 or use our online form to schedule a free case review today.

What is an IRS Installment Agreement (or Payment Plan)?

At its most basic, an IRS Installment Agreement is basically an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service to pay back the outstanding tax debt that you have over time, instead of all at once. These payments can be spaced out over years, and at a reasonable amount that you can afford, so that your quality of life isn’t significantly reduced as a result of becoming compliant again.

How Much Time Do I Have to Pay?

After determining which agreement will work best for you, you will have between 4 months and 10 years to pay off an outstanding tax debt. Full financial disclosure is important. The IRS may need you to sign an extension in lieu of the collection statute. Securing an IRS installment payment plan is dependent upon two things:

  • The amount you owe, and
  • How much you can afford to pay each month.

It is wise to have the help of a tax professional to enable you to clearly understand which IRS payment plan will be most beneficial to you in the long term. There are a few other things that they will take into consideration when considering this, including:

  • The level of monthly “disposable income” that you have coming in
  • Any allowed living expenses that you may have

 What are the Ways that I can Pay?

The government is fairly flexible in terms of the method of repayment, which will include:

Types of Agreements You Can Get

There are basically two different types of IRS Installment Agreements, depending on how much money you owe:

  1. Streamline
  2. Long-Term

1) Streamline Installment Agreement

If your tax debt is $25,000.00 or less including interest, penalties and fines, a tax debt settlement may be quickly reached. We can submit all of the necessary paperwork for you, and will make sure that everything is in place for a speedy resolution.

2) Long-Term Installment Agreement

If you owe more than $25,000.00 in combined liability from taxes, interest, penalties and fines, you may still qualify for an agreement. In addition to the normal Form 9456 Installment Agreement Request, your tax specialist will accurately complete and file a Collection Information Statement, Form 435.

What you will need before starting the process

If you have recently filed your tax return and were unable to pay, it is crucial to contact a tax attorney now. Even though you may not have received a notice from the IRS yet, it is wise to take proactive steps to prevent aggressive collection action.

To begin the process of negotiating an IA, please have the following ready:

This will aid us in determining the payment amount you will be required to pay, and what way we can work things out for you.

How it Works - The Process that We Use

If you choose to hire a professional like us, we will start the IA process by:

1) Scheduling a detailed consultation with you to carefully review your needs.

You will be required to examine your financial information in depth to determine the amount you can afford to pay each month. It is imperative to have wise financial guidance at this stage. You always have the option to pay more, but set the monthly payment at an amount you are comfortable with. Never allow the IRS to press you into a payment plan you cannot afford. Let us negotiate something that works on your behalf.

2) Determining if you are able to qualify for relief and verifying the true amount of your tax debt.

If you have received a notice, check to see if the balance has been included. If not, we will contact the IRS to confirm the exact amount due which will include all interest, penalties and fines. The correct tax debt information is vital when we are attempting to determine which plan will work best for you.

3) Completing and filing a Form 9465 IRS Installment Agreement Request. 

The next step we will take is to file a Form 9456 request, which will star the process. This iw Your tax specialist may also use the Online Payment Agreement Application, but occasionally we have to battle with them over the phone. In this application, you will be asked to select which day of the month you would like to schedule your payment, between the 1st and 28th.

 

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Un-Edited Client Reviews

Linda C.
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The experience was a painless one with no hassles of hoops to jump. I had a debt of $16,000.00 and ended up paying $1,700.00. They handled everything from start to end with a very positive resolution. The entire staff was very helpful and courteous through the process with no gimmicks. Keep on with the GREAT work.

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I had ten years of taxes I hadn’t filed. I was really nervous and didn’t know what to do. I checked the IRS website for tips on selecting a company. Instant Tax Solutions had a good rating and made me feel comfortable working with them. A burden has been lifted from my shoulders. Thank you Instant Tax Solutions!

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