NCLC Digital Library: Best Practices in Responding to IRS Debt

September 26, 2024 — Article

This article describes best practices when taxpayers are unable to repay their IRS tax obligations. Consequences of not paying can be severe. Outstanding federal taxes may be collected for ten years, and the IRS has far-reaching authority to collect taxes—it can place a lien on property and levy property including bank accounts, wages, Social Security, and even pension payments. (See IRS Powers to Force Payment, below.) But as set out in this article, taxpayers have important options for dealing with tax debt to avoid the worst consequences and even reduce the amount owed.

This article is adapted from a chapter written by this author in NCLC’s Surviving Debt.  Surviving Debt as a digital book is free to the public, and inexpensive print versions can be ordered here.  Surviving Debt is an accessible guide providing advice on significant areas of consumer debt—medical debt, student loans, debt collection, credit reporting, collection lawsuits, mortgages, property taxes, rent, utilities, and much more.