The IRS payment plan landscape changed under your feet in 2025–2026. The “streamlined installment agreement” most guides still describe no longer exists — it was replaced by the Simple Payment Plan for individuals in March 2025 and for businesses in January 2026 (IRM 5.14.5, rev. July 2026). The old 72-month minimum-payment rule is abolished, the direct-debit mandate for mid-size balances is gone, and two online setup fees changed on July 5, 2026. This page is the current map: every plan, its cost as of October 2026, and the two non-plan exits.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Every figure on this page carries its as-of anchor; anything beyond one application is worth a tax professional’s hour.
Find the first rung your situation fits:
| Your situation | The route | Setup fee |
|---|---|---|
| You can pay in full now | Pay in full — no plan needed | $0 |
| You can pay in full within 180 days | Short-term payment plan — a deadline, not a monthly schedule | $0 at every channel |
| Income tax of $10,000 or less, clean filing/payment record for 5 years | Guaranteed Installment Agreement — the IRS must accept by statute (IRC §6159(c)); full pay within 3 years | $29–$178 by channel |
| Assessed balance of $50,000 or less | Simple Payment Plan — no financial statement, payment sized to full-pay by the collection deadline | $29–$178 by channel |
| Assessed balance above $50,000 | Non-Simple installment agreement — Form 433 analysis, lien determination, managerial approval | $107–$178 by channel |
| You can pay monthly, but not enough to retire the debt before the 10-year clock runs out | Partial Payment Agreement (PPIA) — payments stop at the deadline and the rest expires | $107–$178 by channel |
| You can pay nothing after basic living expenses | Currently Not Collectible status — a hardship status, not a plan | $0 |
| Your ability to pay plus your asset equity is worth less than the debt | Offer in Compromise — a settlement, examined like an audit | $205 application fee + down payment |
Two gates apply to every rung: all required returns filed, and payment compliance current (withholding/estimates for individuals; federal tax deposits for businesses) before any agreement is granted (IRM 5.14.5.1.1). On every plan type, refunds are offset against the balance while scheduled payments remain due in full.
Short-term plan (up to 180 days). Not an installment agreement — a deadline: no required monthly payment, no setup fee at any channel, balance with accruals cleared within 180 days. Full mechanics →
Guaranteed Installment Agreement. The one plan the IRS has no discretion to refuse: income tax of $10,000 or less (penalties and interest do not count against the cap), a clean five-year filing/payment record with no prior agreement, and full pay within three years or by the CSED, whichever is earlier.
Simple Payment Plan. The default long-term product for assessed balances up to $50,000. “Assessed” matters: the threshold is tax plus assessed penalties and interest — amounts still accruing do not count — and you may pay the balance down to $50,000 before the agreement is granted to qualify. No financial statement. Your payment must full-pay the balance, including projected accruals, by the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) — so terms can now approach ten years. Direct debit is optional at every balance, and businesses qualify too, on lower trust-fund caps, but cannot apply online. Full rulebook: the installment agreement page.
Non-Simple installment agreement. Above $50,000, the near-automatic criteria end: Form 433 financial analysis, lien determination, managerial approval. If the analysis shows you cannot retire the debt by the CSED, you get a partial payment agreement instead.
Partial Payment Agreement (PPIA). A real installment agreement whose payment is set at what you can afford — designed to end with a balance still owing, which becomes legally uncollectible when the CSED passes. It requires a full financial statement and asset-equity review first, and it is the only agreement type where the IRS can ask you to extend the collection deadline (Form 900). Details: the partial payment agreement page.
Setup fees run $0 to $178 — short-term plans are free, an online direct-debit agreement costs $29, a manual agreement up to $178, and low-income taxpayers (AGI at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines) pay $0 for a direct-debit plan; every figure is tabled on the fees and interest page. Two costs never stop on any plan: interest (7% for Q4 2026, compounded daily) and penalties accrue until the balance is paid in full. While an agreement is in effect (and while a request is pending, for 30 days after rejection or termination, and during appeal), the IRS is barred from levying (IRC §6331(k)) — though a Notice of Federal Tax Lien may still be filed on some agreement types.
An installment agreement pays the liability in full over time; an Offer in Compromise settles it for less, priced off your Reasonable Collection Potential — equity in assets plus future income.
The working rule: if a sustainable monthly payment full-pays by the CSED, the plan is faster, cheaper to enter, and does not toll the clock. If your ability to pay plus your asset equity cannot reach the balance, price an offer with the Offer in Compromise calculator — or compare a PPIA, which pays the same ability-to-pay number but simply stops at the deadline. An offer rejected or returned leaves the plan route intact.
CNC is not an agreement — it is an administrative hardship status:
| CNC (hardship status) | Partial Payment IA (PPIA) | Full-pay IA (Simple / regular) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payment required | None | Monthly, set at ability to pay | Monthly, sized to full-pay by CSED |
| Entry test | Hardship: paying anything would leave you unable to meet necessary living expenses (Form 433 vs. Collection Financial Standards) | Ability to pay exists but cannot full-pay by CSED; Form 433 analysis; equity addressed first | $50,000 or less assessed: criteria only; above: Form 433 analysis |
| Balance during | Grows — interest and penalties keep accruing | Grows more slowly — payments offset accruals | Shrinks to zero by design |
| The 10-year clock | Keeps running | Keeps running — payments simply stop at the CSED | Keeps running while in effect |
| At the CSED | Remaining liability expires uncollectible | Remaining balance expires | Nothing left to expire |
| Lien | May be filed to protect the government’s interest | Lien determination is part of the process | No lien determination for Simple/Guaranteed |
| Refunds | Offset to the balance | Offset — and scheduled payments still due | Offset — and scheduled payments still due |
| Review / exit | Periodic review against income on filed returns | Two-year reviews — payment can be raised, lowered or left alone | Runs to payoff; default leads to termination |
In one sentence: CNC is for when you can pay nothing after essentials; a PPIA is for when you can pay something, but not enough to retire the debt before the clock runs out; a full-pay plan is for when the math reaches zero by the deadline. CNC mechanics: the Currently Not Collectible pages.
Individuals apply online through the Online Payment Agreement tool, by phone, by mail on Form 9465, or in person at a Taxpayer Assistance Center — the online route, screen by screen, is on the apply online page. Missed a payment? See default and reinstatement. How the IRS sets your amount: minimum payment.
What are my options if I can’t pay my taxes? The ladder on this page: pay in full, a short-term plan (180 days, no fee), a Guaranteed or Simple installment agreement, a Form 433-based agreement above $50,000, a partial payment agreement if you cannot full-pay before the collection deadline, or the two non-plan exits — an Offer in Compromise if your collection potential is below the debt, and Currently Not Collectible status if paying anything would breach necessary living expenses (IRS Topic No. 202).
What is a payment plan? An arrangement with the IRS to pay a tax liability over time. Short-term plans give you up to 180 days to pay in full with no setup fee; long-term arrangements are installment agreements under IRC §6159 — monthly payments, a setup fee of $29–$178 as of October 2026, and interest and penalties accruing until the balance is paid.
Am I eligible for a waiver or reimbursement of the user fee? If your adjusted gross income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines, you qualify as low-income: a direct-debit agreement’s setup fee is waived entirely, and a non-direct-debit fee is capped at $43 and reimbursable after the agreement is completed.
How do I determine if I qualify for low income taxpayer status? Compare your adjusted gross income from your most recent return with 250% of the federal poverty guidelines for your household size. At or below that line, you are low-income for user-fee purposes — the Online Payment Agreement tool applies the classification automatically, and Form 13844 is the remedy if the system misses it.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Sources: IRS, “Payment plans” and “Online Payment Agreement” pages and Topic No. 202; IRM 5.14.1 and 5.14.5 (rev. July 2026); IRC §§6159, 6331(k), 6651(h); IRS Offer in Compromise pages; Policy Statement 5-71 and IRM 5.16.1.2.9 (CNC). Currency verified 2026-10-23.