Setting up an IRS online payment agreement, step by step

Who can use the online application

Sole proprietors and independent contractors apply as individuals. If you owe more than the limits, or a return is missing, the application will not approve a plan; start with how to apply.

What to have ready

• Access to your IRS online account. First-time sign-in requires identity verification with a photo ID, so allow time for that before a deadline.
• The balance for each year, from your account or your latest notice
• A monthly payment you can keep after rent, food, insurance and this year's tax
• The day of the month you want to pay
• Your bank routing and checking account numbers, if you choose direct debit
• Confirmation that every required return is filed

The steps

1. 1.Sign in to your IRS online account and open the payment plan application.
2. 2.Confirm the balance shown. If a year is missing or a number looks wrong, stop and pull the account transcript before continuing.
3. 3.Choose a short-term plan if you can pay everything within 180 days. Otherwise choose a long-term plan.
4. 4.Enter the monthly payment and the payment date. The application checks the amount against the minimum the balance requires and prompts you to revise it if it is too low.
5. 5.Choose how you will pay. Direct debit has the lowest fee and the fewest missed payments.
6. 6.Review the terms and submit. The IRS says you receive immediate notification of whether the plan is approved.
7. 7.Save the confirmation, and make the first payment on the date you chose.

Choosing the monthly payment

A Simple Payment Plan (formerly the streamlined installment agreement) has to pay the balance in full by the collection statute expiration date. The IRS says most taxpayers have up to 10 years. That is the outside limit, not a target.

Interest runs at the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points, set each quarter and compounded daily (7% for the fourth quarter of 2026). The failure-to-pay penalty continues too, at 0.25% a month during an approved plan if you filed the return by its due date. A longer plan means a smaller payment and a larger total. Pay the highest amount you can keep in a bad month, and pay extra in good ones; there is no prepayment penalty. The Simple Payment Plan page covers the rules.

Illustrative example. A $24,000 balance spread over 60 months is $400 a month before interest and penalties are added. Over 96 months it is $250 a month, but interest and the monthly penalty run for three more years. The application shows the minimum; you choose what to pay above it.

If the minimum payment is too high

If you cannot make the minimum required payment, the IRS says the application will direct you to complete Form 9465 with Form 433-F, or the combined Form 433-H. At that point the IRS sets the payment from your income, allowable expenses and assets.

That route can lead to a lower payment, a partial pay agreement, or a hardship delay. It also means disclosing your finances, so gather the records first. The document checklist lists them.

Changing the plan later

• You can change the monthly amount, the due date, or switch to direct debit in the same online application.
• Revising a plan online costs $6 as of October 2026, against $89 by phone, mail or in person. Changes to an existing direct debit agreement cost $0.
• If you file a later return with a new balance, add it to the plan before the plan defaults. See what keeps a plan alive.

Where we come in

If your returns are filed and the balance in your account is right, you do not need us for this. Apply online and pay only the IRS fee. We are useful one step earlier: reading the transcripts when the balance looks wrong, preparing unfiled returns, working out the collection statute date for each year, and preparing a Form 433 when the online minimum is out of reach. We give you a scope and a price in writing before anything starts.