TaxReliefCalculator.com

How the illustrations are put together

Every calculated line should be traceable to a documented rule and an official source.

Sources and dates

The methodology uses official IRS pages, current forms and the relevant Internal Revenue Manual sections. An effective date tells you when a rule or table applies; a retrieval date tells you when the source was obtained. They are not interchangeable. A professional-review credit appears only after an actual review and consent.

The current research includes Form 656-B and Form 433-A (OIC), revised April 2026; collection standards effective June 29, 2026; Simple Payment Plan procedures revised July 21, 2026; and the ordinary individual underpayment interest rate of 7 percent for October 1 through December 31, 2026. The working data carries the precise effective period for each item. Unknown required values prevent an affected result.

Sources: Form 656-B, collection standards, IRM 5.14.5, IRS interest information.

Offer worksheet in words

First, apply each asset category's documented valuation, secured-debt deduction and any permitted exclusion. Do not apply one percentage to all assets. Cash-value insurance is different from a home's estimated sale value, and a monthly loan payment is different from a loan balance. Add the resulting asset equity amounts under the form's rules.

Next, subtract allowable monthly expenses from the applicable household income. If the resulting monthly figure is negative, use zero for the future-income calculation while still showing the original income-and-expense comparison. Multiply supported monthly disposable income by twelve for the relevant lump-sum illustration or twenty-four for periodic payments. Add that future income to asset equity to obtain illustrated reasonable collection potential. These form mechanics do not establish an acceptable offer or the result of the IRS's full-payment analysis.

  • OIC-01: Asset equity plus future income; the 12 and 24 multipliers.
  • OIC-02: Full-payment analysis and conditions on exclusions and multipliers.
  • OIC-03 through OIC-10: Separate treatment of bank balances, investments, retirement, life insurance, real estate, vehicles, other personal assets and business assets.
  • OIC-11 and OIC-12: Income and allowable actual expense categories.
  • OIC-13: Application fee and payment options.
  • OIC-14: Either permitted low-income test and the applicable geographic table.
  • OIC-15: Filing, payment and bankruptcy prerequisites.
  • OIC-16: Form rounding.

Current Form 656-B, including Form 433-A (OIC).

The full-payment screen cannot be bypassed by automatically applying the bank or vehicle exclusions. The second vehicle's exclusion depends on the joint-offer rule. Assets or household arrangements that lack required facts must be marked unresolved, not treated as zero.

Living-expense standards in words

National food, clothing and related allowances depend on household size. Healthcare uses a per-person age-based amount. Local housing, ownership and operating expenses follow their own actual-versus-standard rules. A necessary expense above the ordinary allowance may require documents and IRS consideration. The lookup does not approve a deviation.

STD-01 effective period; STD-02 national living expenses; STD-03 healthcare; STD-04 housing; STD-05 ownership; STD-06 operating; STD-07 public transportation; STD-08 county and metropolitan mapping; STD-09 documented exceptions; STD-10 older or high-mileage vehicle operating adjustment, subject to its input and interpretation gates. IRS collection financial standards.

Payment illustration in words

For a supported repayment scenario, start with known balance components, apply documented interest and applicable penalties, then apply each payment using the verified allocation method. Repeat until the supported balance is paid or the proposed payment fails to amortize it. Show the setup fee separately unless its actual treatment is established. Repeat the same supported assumptions with an additional fifty dollars per month for the comparison.

A total balance alone does not identify unpaid tax, penalty cap already consumed, payment allocation or the remaining collection period. This version must not produce an exact payoff from those missing facts. It also cannot replace them with a standard loan formula. Where the necessary model is unresolved, outputs and comparison rows remain unavailable.

IA-01 online monthly criteria; IA-02 short-term criteria; IA-03 and IA-04 fees; IA-06 through IA-08 current framework and compliance; IA-09 and PEN-07 reduced-rate conditions; IA-10 and IA-11 balance, term and fee limitations; IA-12 input safeguards. IRS online plan criteria and fees, IRM 5.14.5.

Penalties and interest in words

Use unpaid tax, not a total balance containing earlier charges. Count each commenced penalty month under the calendar rules. The ordinary late-filing rate is five percent per month, generally up to five months. The ordinary late-payment rate is one-half percent per month, with a twenty-five percent cumulative cap. When both apply, reduce the late-filing component by the late-payment component for overlapping months.

A return more than sixty days late can trigger a minimum late-filing penalty. Today's illustrated minimum is the smaller of $525 or all unpaid tax. That minimum can exceed the ordinary twenty-five percent limit and the usual combined monthly pattern. It must not be forced back under a general cap. The applicable published minimum is tied to the original unextended due-date period, while this requested current-rule illustration holds today's rule constant across its span.

The reduced one-quarter-percent late-payment rate requires an individual, timely filing including a valid extension, and an approved agreement covering that tax during the relevant period. Unknown conditions block that branch. A final levy-notice situation or additional tax not shown on the return can require different rules and dates.

Interest compounds daily: each day's interest is included in the interest-bearing amount for the next day. The current annual rate stays constant throughout this illustration, even for earlier dates. Day-count treatment still follows the relevant calendar year. Interest on tax, late-filing penalties and late-payment penalties does not necessarily start on the same date. Missing assessment or notice facts prevent a complete penalty-interest or total-balance result. This site does not ask for or net out previously assessed penalty amounts.

PEN-01 bases; PEN-02 ordinary late filing; PEN-03 calendar months; PEN-04 minimum; PEN-05 overlap; PEN-06 ordinary late payment; PEN-07 reduced rate; PEN-08 notice-related exceptions; PEN-09 current rate; PEN-10 daily compounding; PEN-11 penalty-interest dates; PEN-12 current-rule illustration; PEN-13 extension limits; PEN-14 fixture and display conventions. Failure to file, failure to pay, interest.

Relief and collection-period guides

The penalty-relief checklist distinguishes request-based FTA from the 2026 transition to AEP. It does not automatically remove charges. The collection-period guide explains the general ten-year rule and common events affecting it; it does not calculate a legal expiration date.

FTA-01 legacy criteria; FTA-02 transition; FTA-03 AEP history and filing-window conditions; FTA-04 effect on interest. CSED-01 assessment-based period; CSED-02 through CSED-08 common suspension and extension events; CSED-09 overlap and the guide-only boundary. Administrative relief, AEP transition, collection period, IRM 5.1.19.

What this version does not do

It does not determine eligibility, approve an offer or payment, establish CNC status, reconstruct a historical IRS account, decide reasonable cause, compute a collection statute date or submit an application. It does not handle state tax or every business, special-relief, asset or assessment situation. The worksheet and printout must identify every material omission rather than hide it in this page.

Updates and review

Check the interest rate each quarter; update other tables when their official revisions become effective (standards typically spring, poverty guidelines January, fees and forms as revised). Record the date of each check in meta.last_reviewed.

The typical seasonal schedule is a reminder to check, not proof that an update occurred. The current 2026 standards took effect in June. Keep a tool disabled when its required rules or tables are under review. Hand-worked examples and data checks are verification aids, not a claim that an EA or CPA reviewed the work.

When to do it yourself and when to get help

Use the linked forms and sources to understand a straightforward worksheet. Ask an enrolled agent, CPA, tax attorney or Low Income Taxpayer Clinic to review account-specific decisions, unusual facts or deadlines. An educational calculation should help you ask better questions, not make an unsupported commitment.

Rule and source reference

OIC-01 - Conditional worksheet formula

Form 433-A (OIC), section 8: add available individual asset equity (Box A), applicable business equity (Box B), and future remaining income. Box F is Box D income minus Box E allowed expenses, floored at zero. Multiply Box F by 12 for payment in five or fewer payments within five months or less, or by 24 for payment over six to 24 months. These are future-income multipliers, not the number of payments. Do not cap the illustrated collection potential at the debt; comparison with the debt is a separate result state. A zero illustration is permitted, but an actual offer must be greater than zero and in whole dollars.

Source: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 7 Boxes D–F and section 8 Boxes G/H; revision/effective period: April 2026 current form, verified October 6, 2026, until superseded. Official form.

OIC-02 - Full-payment limitation; no eligibility determination

This conditional illustration uses the offer worksheet's reductions and 12- or 24-month income multiplier. It assumes the IRS has ruled out full payment from assets, a payment plan, or both. This calculator has not determined whether you can pay in full within the legal collection period. Display this assumption beside results and in print. An exceptional or unknown asset leaves total equity and RCP unavailable while known asset components, expense arithmetic and both low-income tests remain visible where independently supported.

The section 8 multipliers and bank/vehicle reductions do not apply if the IRS determines the taxpayer can pay the liability in full within the legal collection period. Form 656-B, page 1, says the reductions apply to individuals only after full payment from assets, an installment agreement, or both has been ruled out. The illustrated RCP-to-debt comparison alone cannot perform that determination. V1 may show the conditional worksheet with an adjacent assumption and the required neutral result wording; it must not claim the worksheet establishes eligibility. Cases where full payment is possible, special circumstances apply, or the remaining collection period matters need professional/IRS review. No CSED date engine is added.

Sources: IRS-656B-2026, page 1, “Can You Pay in Full?”; IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 8 note. Revision/effective period: April 2026 current forms until superseded. Booklet.

OIC-03 - Bank balances and cash

Form line 1 combines the listed personal cash/bank-type accounts and subtracts $1,000 once, then floors the result at zero. Do not multiply cash by 80%, deduct $1,000 per account, or deduct it from investments. IRM 5.8.5.7 permits further consideration of fluctuating cash needed for monthly necessary expenses; that requires account analysis and is not a second automatic deduction. Business bank balances on line 8 do not receive this personal-bank exclusion.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 lines 1a–1c and 1; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.7, subsection dated April 8, 2024. Current form revision April 2026; current manual transmittal April 23, 2026, until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-04 - Investments and digital assets

Lines 2a/2b/2d use current market value minus the applicable loan balance, with no universal 20% haircut. Floor each asset at zero. Line 2c uses the current U.S.-dollar equivalent of digital assets. IRM 5.8.5.8 permits sale fees, withdrawal penalties and current-year tax consequences when an investment will be liquidated to fund the offer; those amounts require facts, not a default percentage. Nonpublic business interests and unusual digital assets require individual valuation. Cash and investment inputs must be separate.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 line 2; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.8 and 5.8.5.8.1, dated April 8, 2024. Effective period: April 2026 form/current manual until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-05 - Retirement accounts

Form line 3 illustrates 80% of current market value minus an outstanding account loan, floored at zero. The form expressly says the reduction may exceed 20% because of taxes/withdrawal penalties. IRM 5.8.5.10 requires consideration of actual withdrawal tax/penalty, access and borrowing restrictions, retirement timing, and whether the plan provides necessary living income. An inaccessible account is not automatically counted at 80%; an account treated as income must not also be indiscriminately counted as liquid equity. V1 must label the 80% calculation as the form convention and flag nonstandard cases for review; a single “retirement balance” is insufficient for all branches.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 lines 3a–3b and note; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.10. Revision/effective period: April 2026 form and current April 23, 2026 manual, until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-06 - Cash-value life insurance

Form line 4 uses current cash value minus policy loan balance, floored at zero, without an 80% haircut. Face/death-benefit amount is not cash value. IRM 5.8.5.9 distinguishes cash surrender value, policy sale proceeds and available borrowing value depending on the intended treatment. An insurance premium expense is separate from the insurance asset. Ordinary term policies may have no cash value, but do not state that every term policy can never have a sale value.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 line 4; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.9, dated April 8, 2024. Effective period: current April 2026 form/manual until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-07 - Real property and quick-sale valuation

For each home/other real property, form line 5 uses 80% of current market value minus mortgages/loans, floored at zero. Apply the percentage before subtracting the loan. No negative-equity offset against another asset. A renter without real property has zero real-property equity, but still has housing expenses. IRM 5.8.5.4.1 defines net realizable equity using secured claims with priority over the federal tax lien and allows a different quick-sale percentage when facts justify it. An actual or pending sale to fund an offer uses verified sale proceeds, rather than automatically reducing those proceeds another 20%. Ownership shares and liens need review in non-simple cases.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 line 5; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.4.1 (April 8, 2024) and 5.8.5.13 (April 23, 2026). Effective period: current April 2026 form/manual until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-08 - Vehicle equity is distinct from ownership expense

For an owned vehicle, lines 6a/6c use 80% of market value minus its loan. Subtract $3,450 from the first qualifying vehicle's equity, floored at zero. The second $3,450 exclusion is allowed on line 6d only for a joint offer. A single/nonjoint taxpayer's second vehicle receives no second exclusion merely because the input permits two vehicles. IRM 5.8.5.12 limits the exclusion to vehicles used for work, income production or family welfare. A leased vehicle has zero equity in the form. Paid-off status does not remove positive vehicle equity; it removes the ordinary loan/lease expense under STD-05. The full-payment caveat in OIC-02 applies.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, lines 6a–6e; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.12, dated September 24, 2021. Effective period: April 2026 current form/manual until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-09 - Other personal property and personal-effects exclusion

Line 7 applies 80% valuation and loan subtraction to the listed personal-property categories, floors negative component equity at zero, then subtracts the $11,980 IRS deduction once from the combined lines 7a–7c and floors that total at zero. Do not apply this deduction to cash, investments, retirement, insurance, real property or vehicles. The form's broad “other valuable items” label does not justify classifying all assets there. IRM 5.8.5.11 discusses the personal-effects levy exemption and ownership shares. Business tools and business interests need their own treatment.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 3 line 7; IRS-RP-2025-32, section 4.49; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.11. Form revision April 2026; the $11,980 amount is effective January 1–December 31, 2026. Form; Revenue procedure.

OIC-10 - Self-employed business assets cannot be hidden in “other assets”

Form sections 4–6 apply to self-employed people. Line 8 is business cash/digital assets without the personal $1,000 deduction. Lines 9–11 and Box B distinguish leased/income-producing assets and eligible tools/books. The 2026 books/tools levy exemption is $5,990, but is not an unconditional deduction against every business asset. IRM 5.8.5.15 requires coordinating essential income-producing assets with the income stream; real property has special rules. Net self-employment income alone does not tell the calculator about those assets. Identify whether these facts exist; a generic other-asset field cannot supply a correct business-equity result. Required factual inputs or a specific blocked branch preserve V1 scope without adding a business calculator.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, sections 4–6, lines 8–11/Box B; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.15–.16; IRS-RP-2025-32, section 4.49. Form April 2026; exemption January 1–December 31, 2026. Form; IRM; Revenue procedure.

OIC-11 - Income, household contributions and noncash deductions

Section 7 lines 30–38/Box D use average monthly household income: gross wages and benefits, spouse income, contributions, interest/dividends/royalties, distributions, net rent, net business income, child support and alimony. Include applicable nontaxable income. Self-employment net income must add back noncash deductions such as depreciation/depletion that are not permitted for offer purposes. Do not subtract payroll taxes twice: use gross wages, then necessary current taxes under OIC-12. Form 656 low-income test 2 uses household income; the taxpayer's RCP may need separate allocation when a contributor is not liable. IRM 5.8.5.24 generally excludes a nonliable person's assets/income from the taxpayer's ability to pay, while allocating shared necessary expenses. Community-property exceptions require review. A single household total cannot silently resolve these ownership/liability facts.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 7 lines 30–38; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.24, revised April 23, 2026. Effective period: current April 2026 form/manual until superseded. Form; IRM.

OIC-12 - Actual other expenses must be necessary and not duplicated

The necessary-expense test is health/welfare of the taxpayer/family or production of income. Form section 7 lines 44–51 are not a blanket permission for every entered expense:

  • Line 44: actual health-insurance premiums, separate from out-of-pocket health allowance. Include only the household amount actually paid; avoid duplicating payroll deductions.
  • Line 46: supported necessary court-ordered payments such as qualifying support/alimony. Being court-ordered does not make otherwise disallowed college tuition or children's life insurance automatically allowable.
  • Line 47: necessary child/dependent care actually paid, with supporting facts; avoid duplicating business deductions.
  • Line 48: reasonable term-life premiums on the taxpayer's life. Whole-life investment premiums are generally not a necessary expense; cash value is an asset under OIC-06.
  • Line 49: current federal, payroll, state and local taxes. A paystub can support withholding, but materially excessive withholding is adjusted to actual tax expense. Do not include the federal back-tax balance as a monthly expense.
  • Line 50: qualifying secured debt/other necessary costs actually paid, not already included in housing, vehicle, business or other categories. Unsecured credit-card payments are not an extra allowance on top of national standards. Voluntary retirement contributions/loan repayments generally are not allowable, subject to the IRM's specific exceptions.
  • Line 51: delinquent state/local tax payments require the IRM allocation and timing analysis; an actual payment alone does not establish the allowable amount. Needed inputs include state/local debt, payment agreement timing relative to the earliest IRS assessment, and payment amount. An unspecified “other” field must not automatically deduct them.

Sources: IRS-433AOIC-2026, section 7 lines 44–51; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.22.4 (September 24, 2021) and 5.8.5.23; IRS-IRM-5151, other expenses and life insurance. Effective period: current April/June 2026 sources until superseded. Form; OIC IRM; Financial analysis handbook.

OIC-13 - Fee, payment type and first payment

The application fee is $205 per Form 656 unless the individual low-income exception applies. A lump-sum offer requires 20% with the application; the remaining balance is due in five or fewer payments within five months after acceptance. A periodic offer requires the first proposed monthly installment with submission, monthly payments during consideration, and payment according to the six-to-24-month terms. Low-income certification waives the application fee, initial payment and periodic payments during consideration, not the accepted settlement obligation. Initial offer payments generally are not refunded; the fee may be returned if the offer cannot be processed. Do not add the $205 fee to RCP or confuse an initial payment with the income multiplier. Without chosen periodic payment terms, the first periodic installment is unknown, not automatically RCP/24.

Source: IRS-656B-2026, pages 1–5, particularly page 3 “Paying for Your Offer”; IRS-656-2026, section 4. Revision/effective period: April 2026 current forms until superseded. Booklet.

OIC-14 - Both low-income tests, inclusive threshold, correct geography

For an individual/sole proprietor, illustrate the fee/payment exception when either (1) AGI from the most recently filed individual return, or (2) current gross monthly household income from Form 433-A (OIC) multiplied by 12, is at or below 250% of the applicable poverty guideline. The prompt's “prior-year AGI” label must be clarified to “AGI from your most recently filed individual return”; those are not always the same year. Show each test's result separately and combine with OR. Never use disposable income. Missing income is unknown, not zero; one known passing test is enough to show that test passes. This exception does not apply to a corporation, partnership or other non-sole-proprietor business, or an offer for a deceased individual.

The April 2026 Form 656 table already contains 250% thresholds. The data file separately stores base poverty guidelines and the form thresholds; do not multiply the latter by 2.5 again. One-person thresholds: contiguous states/DC $39,900; Alaska $49,875; Hawaii $45,900. Family sizes 1–8 and additional-person increments are fully sourced in the data. Use the Alaska/Hawaii table only for that residence; age 65 does not change the poverty table. HHS published the 2026 guidelines January 15, 2026; for this October illustration the April IRS form and HHS tables agree exactly.

Sources: IRS-656-2026, section 1 p.2; IRS-TOPIC-204, fee exception; HHS-POVERTY-2026. IRS form revision April 2026 until superseded; poverty base publication January 15, 2026, 2026 guideline vintage. Form; Topic 204; HHS table.

OIC-15 - Application prerequisites and ongoing compliance

Before applying, required returns must be filed, current required estimated payments made, and at least one included tax debt must have been billed. An employer must have made required federal tax deposits for the current and two preceding quarters. Open bankruptcy prevents an OIC application. Resolve open audits, outstanding innocent-spouse issues or a deactivated ITIN before submission as the booklet directs. A valid filing extension may apply to a current-year return not yet due; do not equate that with a delinquent unfiled return. Following acceptance, filing/payment compliance continues through the fifth year. These are checklists and warnings, not V1 eligibility verdicts.

Source: IRS-656B-2026, pages 1–2 and 6; current IRS OIC overview. Revision/effective period: April 2026 booklet/current overview checked October 6, 2026 until superseded. Booklet.

OIC-16 - Rounding and nonnegative figures

Form 433-A (OIC) entries use nearest whole dollars; negative amounts floor at zero. The authorized site convention resolves exact ties half-up at numbered/lettered form-entry boundaries. Downstream totals consume those displayed entries. Example: $10,000.50×80%−$4,999.90=$3,000.50 becomes entry6a $3,001 before the vehicle exclusion on its separate line. No legal $1 minimum or submittable offer is inferred from zero. Raw entered cents remain available in the worksheet assumptions.

Form 433-A (OIC) instructs rounding to the nearest whole dollar and entering zero for negative line items. A penny remains a valid input for validation/testing but is not a one-cent Form 656 offer. Round where form entries are produced, not every intermediate percentage multiplication indiscriminately. The form does not specify the software convention for exact half-dollar ties; that implementation convention must be explicit and reviewer-approved before coding. A zero illustrated RCP stays zero; do not silently raise it to $1 and call it an offer.

Source: IRS-433AOIC-2026, sections 3, 5, 7 and 8; revision/effective period April 2026 current form until superseded. Form.

STD-01 - Effective date and intended use

Current standards are effective June 29, 2026 for federal tax collection analysis, not bankruptcy means-testing. They are monthly allowances, not annual figures. Use the current table vintage as of the illustration date, recording the effective and retrieval dates. Refresh on official revisions rather than assuming every annual table changes in spring.

Source: IRS-STANDARDS-2026, “Recent revisions”; revised/effective June 29, 2026, until superseded. Standards overview.

STD-02 - National food, clothing and miscellaneous; form line 39

Use the full monthly national total regardless of lower actual spending: $867 for one person, $1,558 for two, $1,857 for three, $2,176 for four, plus $397 for each additional person. These are nationwide amounts. The miscellaneous part already accommodates costs such as credit-card payments; do not add those costs again. Documented necessary deviations can apply to food, housekeeping, apparel or personal care; the IRS does not permit a deviation for miscellaneous itself. Household-size counting generally follows the most recent return's dependents; shared-household and nondependent situations require the OIC-specific analysis.

Source: IRS-NATIONAL-2026 and IRS-433AOIC-2026 line 39. Revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. National standards.

STD-03 - Health out-of-pocket; form line 45

Use $90 monthly per person under 65 and $163 monthly per person age 65 or older, without requiring actual spending at that level. These amounts are additional to actual health-insurance premiums. The requested data key over65 means 65 and older, not strictly over 65. Higher necessary out-of-pocket costs may be allowed with documentation; elective procedures generally are not. The baseline illustration uses the standard unless a reviewed deviation branch is supported.

Source: IRS-HEALTH-2026 and IRS-433AOIC-2026 line 45. Revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. Health standards.

STD-04 - Housing/utilities; form line 40

Ordinarily allow the lesser of actual necessary monthly housing/utilities or the county/family-size standard. Include mortgage or rent, property taxes, home insurance, maintenance, repairs and covered utilities/communications. Do not add those separately after using an all-in housing amount. The table's five categories mean family sizes 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 or more. There is no automatic per-person increment after five. Above-standard actual costs may be allowed if supported by individual circumstances and documentation; V1 cannot promise that all actual amounts will be accepted.

housing.json reproduces all 3,145 official county/equivalent rows for 50 states and DC, with all five amounts. Every value was matched against the independent 125-page IRS PDF extraction. The formatted file is 362,668 bytes, over 300 KB, so it is separate and must be lazy-loaded. County names retain official distinctions, including independent cities, Alaska equivalents and Connecticut planning regions. “Complete” means complete coverage of the published IRS tables, not a claim that every table label matches every current Census/HUD code without reconciliation.

Sources: IRS-HOUSING-2026; individual state source IDs IRS-HOUSING-XX; IRS-IRM-585 5.8.5.22.2 (September 24, 2021). Table revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. Housing hub; all-state PDF; OIC IRM.

STD-05 - Vehicle loan/lease ownership expense; form line 41

For each necessary financed/leased vehicle, use the smaller of its actual monthly payment and $703. The two-vehicle national total is $1,406. A taxpayer with no loan/lease payment has zero ownership allowance, including a paid-off car. A single taxpayer normally receives one vehicle; do not automatically grant two allowances without the necessary facts. Ownership expense is distinct from vehicle-equity exclusions and from operating expenses. Documented necessary higher costs can be considered individually under STD-09.

Source: IRS-TRANSPORT-2026, “Ownership costs”; IRS-IRM-585 5.8.5.22.3. Table revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. Transportation standards.

STD-06 - Vehicle operating expense; form line 42

Ordinarily allow the smaller of actual monthly operating costs and the applicable one-/two-car region or MSA amount. It includes maintenance, repairs, insurance, fuel, registrations, licenses, inspections, parking and tolls; the transportation page excludes personal-property taxes, which are considered in current taxes. Do not add the regional amount to an MSA amount. The complete current 27-area table is in transport.operating. Housing county and transport MSA are separate lookups. Higher necessary costs can be documented, such as unusually long work travel; the older-vehicle rule is separately STD-10.

Source: IRS-TRANSPORT-2026, “Operating costs”; IRS-IRM-585 5.8.5.22.3(4)–(7), subsection April 8, 2024. Table revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. Transportation standards; IRM.

STD-07 - Public transportation; form line 43

A household with no vehicle receives the full $220 monthly public-transportation standard without questioning actual spending. Do not multiply it by household size. For a household using both a vehicle and public transportation, necessary actual transit expenses may be considered up to the standard, alongside the separately limited vehicle costs. The no-vehicle rule is a specific exception to the form's general instruction to enter actual expenses outside lines 39/45; distinguish recording an actual expense from calculating its allowable amount. A no-car renter must not get zero transportation merely because the input has no vehicles.

Source: IRS-TRANSPORT-2026, “Public transportation”; cross-reference IRS-433AOIC-2026 line 43. Revised/effective June 29, 2026 until superseded. Transportation standards.

STD-08 - Geography and ZIP crosswalk

Geography resolution 2026-10-06: BLS 2024-current crosswalk row24033 confirms Prince George's County, Maryland in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria MSA. The raw IRS transportation label Prince George is preserved and resolved only within Maryland. transport.county_to_area.MD[Prince George's County] is washington_d_c; existing IRS301/602 amounts are unchanged. Source ID BLS-COUNTY-MSA-2024: https://www.bls.gov/cew/classifications/areas/county-msa-csa-crosswalk.htm . No cross-state fuzzy alias or separate tax-interpretation gate applies.

Match the confirmed county/equivalent to the detailed IRS MSA county lists first, then use the Census regional amount only when no MSA applies. MSA county lists cross regional/state boundaries: Cecil County, Maryland and New Castle County, Delaware use Philadelphia. The data preserves the exact source lists and a derived county-to-area mapping. One alias is deliberately unresolved: transportation lists Maryland “Prince George,” while housing lists “Prince George's County.” That county must not silently fall back to the South regional amount; see open questions.

HUD's ZIP-to-county crosswalk uses residential-address share (RES_RATIO), and one ZIP can have multiple counties or cross a state boundary. Store ZIP and county FIPS as strings with leading zeroes, return all candidates ordered by share, and require confirmation. Use the ZIP-to-county direction, not county-to-ZIP. Shares can have rounding differences; missing PO-box-only or ungeocoded ZIPs require direct state/county selection. No household input is sent to HUD at runtime: the requested dataset is static.

The public HUD download page requires login; the API requires an account/access token. No account or persistent credential was created. zip-county.json is therefore an explicitly blocked empty object with a separate status/schema file, not a complete dataset. On October 6, 2026 the calendar quarter is Q4; a current-quarter-end snapshot cannot yet exist. HUD says releases are generally posted by the end of the following month. The latest actually published quarter was not visible without login and is null. “Latest available published quarter” versus literal current quarter needs an explicit source-date decision before launch; no stale data is labeled current.

Sources: IRS-TRANSPORT-2026, MSA definitions, effective June 29, 2026; HUD-ZIP-DOC (page revised February 9, 2026); HUD-ZIP-API (live documentation checked October 6, 2026, no stated revision). IRS mapping; HUD crosswalk; HUD API documentation.

STD-09 - Standards are guidelines, not automatic above-standard allowances

The IRS may allow documented higher necessary expenses when standards would leave inadequate basic living resources. Housing and transportation ordinarily use the lesser of actual or standard; national food/health ordinarily allow the full standard. Do not combine those rules into a single universal “min” or “max” formula. Showing both actual and standard is useful, but an unreviewed claimed excess must not automatically lower RCP. Special circumstances need professional/IRS review; do not remove that limitation with a generic checkbox. The six-year conditional-expense and one-year adjustment rules for installment agreements do not apply to OIC calculations.

Sources: IRS-STANDARDS-2026, necessary expenses/deviations; IRS-NATIONAL-2026, miscellaneous restriction; IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.22 and .23. Table revision June 29, 2026/current manual until superseded. Standards; OIC IRM.

STD-10 - Older/high-mileage vehicle operating adjustment

IRM5.8.5.22.3(6) describes an additional operating allowance for a vehicle over nine years old OR at least125,000 miles. Known true of either fact is distinct from both known false; missing facts are unknown, never ineligible by default. The below-standard actual-cost composition remains an interpretation question: v1 explicitly shows the ordinary baseline before this adjustment and includes no added allowance. Do not silently enable the proposed min(actual,standard)+$200 composition. Paid-off loan/lease ownership expense is zero; vehicle equity is separate.

IRM 5.8.5.22.3(6) says an additional $200 monthly operating expense generally is allowed for a vehicle over nine years old or with at least 125,000 miles, up to two vehicles for a joint offer. Documentation of the exact extra cost is generally unnecessary up to that amount; greater deviations need support. This is an operating allowance, not an equity exclusion or paid-off ownership allowance. “Over nine” is strict; “125,000 or more” is inclusive. Vehicle age/mileage and joint-offer facts are required to implement this branch. Unknown answers block only this adjustment branch; do not assume the car is new, old, low-mileage or qualifying. Reviewer must settle how the extra allowance is presented alongside actual-expense input and the baseline cap, as the public transportation table does not describe that interaction.

Source: IRS-IRM-585, 5.8.5.22.3(6), subsection dated April 8, 2024; current manual revision April 23, 2026, until superseded. OIC-specific transportation guidance.

IA-01 - Online long-term criteria

For an individual, the public online application describes combined tax, penalties and interest of $50, 000 or less and all required returns filed. This is a screening fact, not an approval promise. Sole proprietors and independent contractors use the individual route. Business-entity applications are directed to IRS staff.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: Online eligibility FAQ
  • Effective period: Current published criteria checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: FAQ updated 2026-03-03; do not import obsolete business-online criteria.
  • Source IA-PUBLIC: Payment plans; installment agreements; FAQ sections updated 2026-03-03; page reviewed 2026-08-13
IA-02 - Short-term online criteria

The short-term arrangement is 180 days or less, with no IRS setup fee. Online individual balance must be strictly less than $100, 000 combined tax, penalties and interest. Interest and applicable penalties continue. It is not itself an installment agreement supporting the reduced FTP rate.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: Short-term fees / online eligibility; IRM 20.1.2.3.8.1.2
  • Effective period: Current published criteria checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source IA-PUBLIC: Payment plans; installment agreements; FAQ sections updated 2026-03-03; page reviewed 2026-08-13
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
IA-03 - Initial standard setup fees

Online monthly plan: $29 direct debit or $69 other payment methods. Phone, mail or in person: $107 direct debit or $178 other methods. Card/processor charges are additional and not included in these IRS fees.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: Payment plan costs and fees
  • Effective period: Public fee table updated 2026-03-03; legal first effective date not stated
  • Last-18-month check: Use current table; do not reuse older $22/$69 or $31/$130 tables.
  • Source IA-PUBLIC: Payment plans; installment agreements; FAQ sections updated 2026-03-03; page reviewed 2026-08-13
IA-04 - Low-income setup treatment

For individual applicants at or below 250% of the applicable federal poverty guideline, using the most recent AGI available to IRS, the direct-debit fee is waived. The non-direct-debit reduced fee is $43; reimbursement requires the applicable conditions, including inability to make electronic debit payments and completion. A default low-income flag must not be inferred from debt or income alone.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: User-fee waiver/reimbursement FAQ; Form 13844 link
  • Effective period: Waiver/reimbursement legislation applies to agreements on/after 2018-04-10; current fee table checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source IA-PUBLIC: Payment plans; installment agreements; FAQ sections updated 2026-03-03; page reviewed 2026-08-13
IA-05 - Changing an existing plan

The published online revision fee is $6; other-channel revision fee is $89. Low-income other-channel fee is $43; qualifying reimbursement may apply. Published table says changes to existing direct-debit IAs have $0 fee. These are revision fees, not initial setup fees.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: Change an existing payment plan
  • Effective period: Current table checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: FAQ fee table updated 2026-03-03.
  • Source IA-PUBLIC: Payment plans; installment agreements; FAQ sections updated 2026-03-03; page reviewed 2026-08-13
IA-06 - Simple plans replace old 72-month field rule

Implementation resolution 2026-10-06, parent research batch 1: ia.max_months remains null and blocks an IRS-allowed-term claim only. Accept a user-selected comparison period for an illustration, prominently state that eligibility and the available IRS term are unverified, and do not introduce a CSED engine or universal 72/120-month maximum.

IRM 5.14.5 expressly replaces streamlined terminology and removes the two-tier and 72-month minimum-payment rule. Field plans must be calculated with the IRS IAT Compliance Suite Payment Calculator to pay all balances and accruals by CSED. The public page says most taxpayers have up to 10 years; IRM says up to 10 years or CSED, whichever earlier. Neither means a new 120 months starts today. The v 1 model must not set a universally applicable max_months = 72 or 120.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM 5.14.5 transmittal, 5.14.5.2(1), (8), (13); Simple plans Terms
  • Effective period: IRM effective 2026-07-21; individual interim guidance incorporated from 2025-03-03
  • Last-18-month check: Major change within 18 months: 2026-07-21 revision, building on 2025-03-03 guidance.
  • Source IA-IRM: IRM 5.14.5 Simple Payment Plans; Manual transmittal 2026-07-21; page reviewed 2026-07-23
  • Source IA-SIMPLE: Simple Payment Plans for individuals and businesses; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
IA-07 - Online versus field balance and debit rules

Implementation resolution 2026-10-06, parent research batch 1: keep public online screening at combined tax, penalties and interest of $50,000 or less. Tell readers to consult the IRS online application/current account; do not substitute Field Collection UBA.

Field Simple Payment Plans use unpaid balance of assessment (UBA): tax, assessed penalties/interest and other assessments, excluding accrued unassessed penalties/interest; pre-assessed liabilities also count toward the $50, 000 limit. No DDIA/payroll-deduction requirement or collection information statement for qualifying Simple Payment Plans. Public online FAQ uses combined tax/penalties/interest while Simple-plan overview says assessed balances. Do not silently substitute field UBA for online combined balance or resurrect mandatory debit above $25, 000.

IA-08 - Continuing compliance

All required returns must be filed; current withholding or estimated tax obligations must be met. Future returns/payments must stay current, payments continue even when refunds are applied, and the agreement can default if its obligations are not met.

IA-09 - Reduced FTP input dependency

Use PEN-07 for the reduced FTP branch. Necessary facts are individual status, whether that tax return was timely filed including a valid extension, whether an approved IRC 6159 agreement covers that tax, and effective/termination dates for the illustrated months. A plan requested or planned is not an agreement in effect. Unknown facts block this branch rather than selecting 0.25%.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM 20.1.2.3.8.1.2
  • Effective period: Penalty months beginning after 1999-12-31; current instructions checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-FTP: Failure to Pay Penalty; Page reviewed 2026-06-05
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
IA-10 - Balance is insufficient for payoff arithmetic

A combined IRS balance is not an unpaid-tax principal or a fresh failure-to-pay cap. The authorized v1 baseline models the whole starting balance as interest-bearing and explicitly excludes all future penalties. Label it "Illustrated payments, excluding future penalties." It does not reconstruct account assessment or allocation and does not establish an IRS term/minimum payment. Optional hypothetical FTP projection is not enabled.

FTP applies to unpaid tax, not the total account balance. A single balance does not specify remaining unpaid tax, consumed FTP cap, penalty/interest components, effective dates, or allocation among years. IRS allocation rules are not the ordinary loan convention of interest first. Full payoff, FTP totals, and the + $50 sensitivity row remain null when these necessary model facts are unknown. No invented formula may be called an IRS balance.

IA-11 - Term and fee modelling boundary

A visitor may choose an illustrative period without a universal IRS maximum. ia.max_months remains null: the IRS remaining collection period controls actual terms. Freeze the local device calendar date per calculation/print. Monthly effective payments use the original calendar day, clamped for shorter months, without a business-day shift. Compound current-rate interest daily with calendar-year 365/366 divisors. Solve chosen-period payments at full precision; never forgive a sub-cent residual. The listed fee is separate upfront, no conditional reimbursement deducted; an unknown fee blocks only fee-inclusive outlay. +$50 comparison uses the same assumptions.

There is no verified universal personal maximum term without the IRS remaining collection period. max_months is null pending a narrow product decision; the verified general upper-bound description is up to 10 years. Setup-fee payment timing/capitalization is not determined by a direct-debit flag alone. Known-facts fixtures explicitly pay the fee separately and do not call this the universal IRS schedule.

IA-12 - Deterministic fixture boundaries

Zero debt needs no payment plan. Negative debt/payment or invalid/nonfinite values are rejected. A positive opening balance with zero payment cannot amortize while positive interest continues. A proposed payment above a known payoff is capped at the payoff, leaving zero balance, not a negative balance. These are arithmetic/input safeguards, not eligibility rules.

PEN-01 - Unpaid-tax bases

For the normal 1040 illustration, use tax required to be shown less timely payments, withholding, estimated payments and refundable credits. FTF uses unpaid tax at the original payment due date; payments made later ordinarily do not reduce that FTF base. FTP uses the applicable unpaid tax at each penalty month. A total IRS notice balance is not the tax input.

PEN-02 - Failure-to-file rate and ordinary cap

Ordinary FTF is 5% for each month or partial month late, at most five penalty months and normally 25% of the original unpaid-tax base. It starts after the filing deadline, including a valid filing extension. The more-than-60-day minimum is an exception to the ordinary cap. Fraud and other return types are outside this ordinary 1040 illustration.

PEN-03 - Penalty months are not 30-day blocks

Count each commenced penalty month. For an April 15 deadline, April 16-May 15 is one month and May 16 begins the second. IRM provides special end-of-month/February rules. Count actual elapsed calendar days separately for the greater-than-60-day test and interest; do not use ceil(days/30) for penalty months.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM 20.1.2.3.7.1 and 20.1.2.3.8.4.2
  • Effective period: Month rule subsection dated 2011-04-19; current publication checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-04 - More-than-60-day minimum and date ambiguity

Today's $525 minimum applies across the counterfactual span when the return is more than 60 days late, limited by unpaid tax. Statutory filing dates anchor that test after a late act; a verified next-business-day timely act has no late-filing penalty. Original statutory dates after the frozen calculation date are outside this version; future illustration endpoints remain hypothetical.

For ordinary income-tax returns with original unextended due dates in calendar 2026, FTF after more than 60 days is at least the lesser of $525 or 100% of unpaid tax. Apply the minimum after overlap reduction; it can exceed 25%. Exactly 60 days does not trigger it. The selector is original return due-date year, not tax year. Current IRM lists $535 for due dates after 2026-12-31; public page says $525 after 2025-12-31. Today’s illustration deliberately holds today’s $525 constant across the span. A 2026 tax-year return normally due in 2027 is a different question and must not silently switch the illustration to $535.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM 20.1.2.3.7.3-.4
  • Effective period: Current $525 amount: original due dates 2026-01-01 through 2026-12-31; v 1 current-rule counterfactual holds this constant
  • Last-18-month check: Amount changed from $510 for 2025 due dates; $535 future amount appears in current IRM.
  • Source PEN-FTF: Failure to file penalty; Page reviewed 2026-10-05
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-05 - Overlap reduction, not a universal total ceiling

When FTF and FTP under IRC6651(a)(2) apply in the same month, reduce that month’s FTF by the FTP amount. Under ordinary .5% FTP this is 4.5% FTF + .5% FTP = 5%. Over five overlapping months the ordinary FTF part becomes 22.5%; FTP can then continue to 25%, giving ordinary 47.5% aggregate. The FTF minimum still overrides. Do not clamp all penalties to 5% per month or 47.5% when the minimum applies.

PEN-06 - Ordinary failure-to-pay rate/cap

For tax shown on the return, FTP ordinarily accrues at 0.5% of unpaid tax per month or part, capped at 25% aggregate. A full penalty month applies even if tax is paid midway through it. The cumulative rate/cap matters when the balance changes; the total notice balance is not the penalty base.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.1.2.3.8.1, .4
  • Effective period: Current rule; IRM revised 2025-12-30
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-FTP: Failure to Pay Penalty; Page reviewed 2026-06-05
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-07 - Exactly when reduced FTP applies

The reduced 0.25% failure-to-pay rate requires an individual taxpayer, timely filed return (including a valid extension), approved agreement covering this tax, and known effective/active/termination facts. A whole commenced penalty month containing an established agreement effective or termination date uses the reduced rate, without daily proration. An agreement effective after the illustration endpoint cannot reduce an earlier illustrated month. Known false conditions select the ordinary branch; unresolved conditions block only the dependent branch.

0.25% applies to an individual who timely filed the return for the tax in question, including valid filing extensions, for any penalty month during which an approved IRC6159 installment agreement is in effect for that tax. It ends following the month of termination. Agreement-in-effect alone is insufficient. Entity status, timely filing, tax coverage, effective date and termination date/status must be known; otherwise the reduced branch is null. Neither a short-term arrangement nor a proposed agreement establishes this rate.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.1.2.3.8.1.2
  • Effective period: Penalty months beginning after 1999-12-31; subsection revised 2025-12-30
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-FTP: Failure to Pay Penalty; Page reviewed 2026-06-05
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-08 - Higher FTP and additional-assessment boundaries

An unpaid final intent-to-levy notice can increase FTP to 1% under the specified 10-day/month-start rules. Tax not shown on the return follows notice-and-demand timing, generally 21 calendar days or 10 business days for$100, 000 + . These are not captured by the original minimal inputs. Unknown notice status or additional tax blocks the affected branch; do not silently assume .5%.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.1.2.3.8.1.1 and.5
  • Effective period: Current rule; IRM revised 2025-12-30
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-FTP: Failure to Pay Penalty; Page reviewed 2026-06-05
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-09 - Current interest rate

Ordinary individual underpayment interest is 7% annual, compounded daily, for 2026-10-01 through 2026-12-31. Store .07 with its effective quarter. This is not a guaranteed future rate or the rate that applied to every earlier quarter.

PEN-10 - Daily compounding and distinct dates

Daily compounding uses the current annual rate divided by 365 or 366 for each calendar year, from the start date inclusive to the paid endpoint exclusive. Distinguish original statutory due date from verified timely action deadline and, if extended, statutory extension filing date from verified timely extended filing deadline. Acts by a verified timely deadline incur no applicable late penalty or tax interest. If late, statutory clocks govern. Unknown required dates leave only dependent components unavailable. No state/holiday calendar or date reconstruction is added. IRM20.2.5.5(1),(3) and IRM20.1.2.2.1(2).

Daily compound interest adds each day’s interest to the interest-bearing principal for the next day. Tax interest starts at the original payment due date; a filing extension does not postpone tax interest. For the fixed non-leap-year fixture subset: factor = (1 + .07/365)^days-1. Do not round daily. Leap-year spans require the 366-day divisor for that year; this is a day-count rule, not a historical-rate engine.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.2.1.3.1.2; Rev.Rul.2026-15 factor tables
  • Effective period: Daily compounding effective 1983-01-01; current-rate fixture contract 2026.10
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source INT-IRS: Interest; Page reviewed 2026-04-26
  • Source INT-IRM: IRM 20.2.1 Interest Introduction, Standards and Guidelines; Manual effective 2025-01-14; compounding subsection dated 2016-04-27; page reviewed 2026-04-30
  • Source INT-RR2026-15: Revenue Ruling 2026-15; Rev. Rul. 2026-15; IRB 2026-36 dated 2026-08-31
PEN-11 - Interest on penalties is not uniform

Interest on ordinary late-filing penalties starts at the statutory return due date or later statutory extension filing date, under the current-rule illustration. Interest on late-payment penalties requires assessment/notice-demand dates and is unavailable and excluded in the public tool. Public total_interest and illustrated_total stay null; no complete interest, IRS balance or payoff is claimed. Display only supported additions, excluding unpaid tax, FTP interest and unavailable components. The independent original fixture aggregates are compared through documented supported-interest/tax-plus-supported-component adapters, not displayed as complete outputs.

Implementation resolution 2026-10-06, parent research batch 2: without FTP assessment dates, show FTP interest as unavailable and exclude it. Public results contain a supported-charges subtotal of known FTF, FTP, tax interest and FTF interest only; exclude unpaid tax and any unavailable component. Do not display complete interest, payoff or IRS account balance. No hypothetical assessment scenario is introduced.

FTF interest starts at the filing due date or valid extended filing due date, while FTP interest starts at the penalty assessment date (public page also refers to notice). Applying interest only to tax omits FTF interest; treating every monthly FTP addition as immediately interest-bearing is also unsupported. If a necessary FTP notice/assessment date is unknown, total penalty interest and total balance are null. No already-assessed amounts are requested or netted out in this version.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.2.5.3; Interest stop/start dates
  • Effective period: Current rules; IRM20.2.5 revised 2025-07-08
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source INT-IRS: Interest; Page reviewed 2026-04-26
  • Source INT-UNDER: IRM 20.2.5 Interest on Underpayments; Manual transmittal 2025-07-08; page reviewed 2026-04-30
PEN-12 - Current-rule illustration is the requested counterfactual

Use the exact label: A current-rate illustration, not a reconstruction of your IRS balance. Apply today’s verified rate and rules from the entered due date across the whole selected span; no historical rates and no assessed-penalty netting. If an IRS notice lists assessed penalties, point to the notice. Show an earlier-quarter warning when applicable. The choice to hold rules constant is a product instruction, not an IRS billing rule.

  • Type: product_requirement
  • Form/publication/section: User approved patch 1; IRS interest-quarter explanation
  • Effective period: Requested v 1 design as of 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source INT-IRS: Interest; Page reviewed 2026-04-26
  • Source INT-Q42026: Interest rates remain the same for the fourth quarter of 2026; IR-2026-98, 2026-08-21
PEN-13 - Extensions and special relief

A filing extension does not generally extend payment time. For the narrow individual extension presumption in IRM20.1.2.2.3.1(5)(a),(6), require a valid verified extension, at least 90% of tax shown paid by the original payment deadline (exactly90% included), and the entire remainder paid with the timely filed return on the common illustration endpoint. Known false facts select ordinary FTP without demanding irrelevant unknowns; unresolved material facts block FTP only. Other reasonable cause, disaster postponement, special payment relief and levy-rate increases remain outside this illustration.

A filing extension changes the FTF clock, not the ordinary tax-payment/interest deadline. A boolean extension flag is insufficient unless the applicable extended due date is established. Special rules can excuse FTP during an extension when required tax was paid and other conditions hold; disasters, combat-zone or overseas rules can change relevant dates. Do not infer a universal six-month extension or diagnose relief eligibility from the present inputs.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.1.2.2.2-.3; 20.1.2.3.7.1
  • Effective period: Current rules; special-case coverage remains open
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source PEN-IRM: IRM 20.1.2 Failure to File/Failure to Pay Penalties; Manual effective 2025-12-30; page reviewed 2026-04-30
  • Source PEN-FTP: Failure to Pay Penalty; Page reviewed 2026-06-05
  • Source INT-IRS: Interest; Page reviewed 2026-04-26
PEN-14 - Fixtures and rounding are limited oracles

Authorized site convention: currency inputs have at most two decimals; preserve full precision through rates, caps and minimum, round each final displayed component half-up to cents, then sum displayed cents. Unrounded nonzero amounts that display $0.00 must not be called no additions. This is a site display convention, not an asserted IRS assessment-rounding rule. The owner reports the delivered packets reviewed and approved; no named reviewer, independently verified credential or post-review professional approval of new modeling is claimed.

Authorized site display convention 2026-10-06, parent research batch 2: preserve full precision internally, round final displayed components half-up to cents, and sum displayed component cents for the supported subtotal. This is a documented site display convention and requires no separate CPA permission. The owner reports delivered-packet review approval; reviewer attribution stays blank. OIC exact whole-dollar ties are a separate unresolved issue.

Numeric fixtures are independent hand-derived worked examples with fixed dates, exact stated facts, and component-by-component equations. Monetary displays round half-up to cents only after each final component; total display is the sum of displayed components so it reconciles. This is the authorized site display convention, not an IRS assessment-rounding rule. A blocked/null fixture is a required fail-closed expectation, not a passed application test. Required unknown facts block only affected components. Public results show a supported-charges subtotal, excluding unpaid tax and FTP interest; no complete interest, payoff or IRS balance is claimed.

FTA-01 - Legacy request-based FTA criteria

For eligible penalties and periods, legacy FTA considers the same return-type filing history for the preceding three years (or no filing obligation), with no disqualifying unreversed penalties other than estimated-tax penalties and no disqualifying prior FTA/tolerance relief. Joint returns require both spouses’ relevant histories. FTA is one eligible period, not permission to erase all years. Contact the notice number or send a request/Form 843; the IRS checks its records.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM20.1.1.3.3.2.1(4)-(11); FTA public section
  • Effective period: Legacy policy; AEP transition limits described in FTA-02
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source FTA-IRM: IRM 20.1.1 Introduction and Penalty Relief; FTA subsection 20.1.1.3.3.2.1 dated 2023-03-29; page reviewed 2026-04-30
  • Source FTA-PUBLIC: Administrative penalty relief; Page reviewed 2026-07-14
FTA-02 - AEP transition is now material

Source/implementation question resolved 2026-10-06, parent research batch 1: IRS July 2026 fact sheet expressly replaces FTA with AEP for original returns due January 1, 2027 onward. Eligible TY2025 returns are part of the summer-2026 transition; an exact system start day and individual relief dollars are not assumed. Final professional review remains a separate gate.

Automatic Exemption from Penalty began its announced transition in summer 2026 for eligible original tax-year 2025 and later returns and 2026 quarterly returns. Older periods and transition returns not considered for AEP can still receive request-based FTA. For eligible original returns due 2027-01-01 or later, AEP replaces FTA. Do not advertise FTA as always requiring a call for every current return or promise AEP was actually applied.

FTA-03 - AEP checklist and account confirmation

An eligible original return must be filed within three years of its original due date. The prior three years/12 quarters must show required same-type returns filed or no filing obligation, with no disqualifying penalties (estimated-tax penalty excepted); reasonable-cause/IRS-error abatements can count as compliant, prior AEP/FTA/tolerance cannot. Both spouses’ histories count for a joint return. The IRS sends a relief notice; after AEP the covered FTP does not continue accruing. Other tax/interest/penalties can remain. The calculator must not automatically subtract relief from an unchecked checklist.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IPU20.1.1.3.3.2.5(7)-(18)
  • Effective period: Announced summer 2026 transition
  • Last-18-month check: Added 2026. Public summary omits some detailed requirements; use IPU for detail.
  • Source FTA-PUBLIC: Administrative penalty relief; Page reviewed 2026-07-14
  • Source FTA-IPU2026: Automatic Exemption From Penalty Administrative Relief; IRM procedural update sbse-20-0626-0643, 2026-06-17
FTA-04 - Relief and interest

FTA may leave additional FTP accruing until tax is paid, while AEP suppresses covered FTP accruals. Removing a penalty removes related penalty interest; neither program removes interest on the underlying unpaid tax merely because of first-time relief. Reasonable-cause requests remain possible where appropriate.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: FTA/AEP comparison; IRM20.1.1.3.3.2.1(14)
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source FTA-PUBLIC: Administrative penalty relief; Page reviewed 2026-07-14
  • Source FTA-IRM: IRM 20.1.1 Introduction and Penalty Relief; FTA subsection 20.1.1.3.3.2.1 dated 2023-03-29; page reviewed 2026-04-30
  • Source INT-IRS: Interest; Page reviewed 2026-04-26
CSED-01 - General collection period

The IRS generally has ten years from each assessment to collect related amounts. It is not ten years from return due date, tax year, or first notice. Separate additional assessments can have separate CSEDs; court actions and other exceptions matter.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.2 and.3
  • Effective period: Current guide policy; IRM revised 2026-05-05
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-02 - Payment-plan events

Pending IA requests can suspend the clock; rejection/termination appeal periods and timely appeals can add time. An approved IA being in effect does not itself suspend CSED. Public withdrawal wording differs from the detailed IRM; do not give a definitive extra 30 days for a withdrawn request without review.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.5-.5.1
  • Effective period: Current detailed subsection 2023-12-18; transaction section 2026-05-05
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-03 - Offer events

An OIC while pending, 30 days after rejection, and a timely rejection appeal can suspend collection time. Accepted installment payments do not justify adding the entire payment term by assumption. Events can be spouse-specific.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.4-.4.1
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-04 - Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy generally suspends CSED while collection is legally prohibited, plus six months; other court-control rules can matter. The exact case and stay dates need qualified review rather than a generic filing-date shortcut.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.1
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-05 - Collection due process

A timely CDP hearing request suspends CSED through the final determination and court appeals. If fewer than 90 days remain at final determination, the period is extended to 90 days. An equivalent hearing is different; do not apply the rule to any appeal.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.3
  • Effective period: Subsection 2018-04-26; current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-06 - Spousal relief

Qualifying innocent-spouse relief requests can suspend the requesting spouse’s clock through applicable waiver/petition/final-decision events and add 60 days. The other spouse’s deadline is not automatically extended.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.6
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-07 - Outside the United States

Continuous absence from the United States for at least six months can suspend collection time; a minimum period after return can apply. Do not turn a general travel date into a CSED calculation.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3.7
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-08 - Military and other events

Combat-zone service and certain military-service protections can suspend or extend collection time. Lawsuits/judgments, estate-tax arrangements and other exceptions also exist. The guide list is illustrative, not exhaustive.

  • Type: irs_rule
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3
  • Effective period: Current policy checked 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11
CSED-09 - No date engine

Overlapping suspension periods run concurrently rather than being blindly added. Obtain an account transcript and ask the IRS to verify the date for each assessment; get professional help where events or records are uncertain. Version 1 provides a guide only and returns no expiry date.

  • Type: product_requirement
  • Form/publication/section: IRM5.1.19.3(2), .6
  • Effective period: Guide-only v 1; current sources 2026-10-06
  • Last-18-month check: No specific recent substantive change verified.
  • Source CSED-PUBLIC: Time IRS can collect tax; Page reviewed 2026-06-27
  • Source CSED-IRM: IRM 5.1.19 Collection Statute Expiration; Manual effective 2026-05-05; page reviewed 2026-05-11