IRS Form 9465: Your Solution for Tax Installment Agreements

You’re not alone if you fall behind on tax payments since thousands of US taxpayers struggle to meet their yearly federal tax obligations.

IRS Form 9465 provides a relatively painless solution to piling tax liabilities by allowing taxpayers to set up an installment agreement and pay off their debts within 72 months.

The most recent statistics indicate that the average tax refund in 2023 is smaller than the year before, which means that tax liabilities for most taxpayers are rising.

Ignoring the IRS’s demands for payment can only increase your tax debt, so the best solution if you find yourself in this situation is to enter an installment agreement as soon as possible.

Let’s see how filing IRS Form 9465 can be your solution for tax installment agreements and help you manage tax debt.

Key Points:

• Form 9465 lets you spread your tax debts in monthly installments spread over 72 months if you cannot pay the tax debt in full.
• Filing this form is optional for taxpayers who owe less than $50,000 to the IRS.
• The IRS automatically approves all installment agreement requests submitted on Form 9465 for tax debts under $10,000.

What is IRS Form 9465?

The IRS allows taxpayers who cannot pay their entire tax debt with a single payment to set up an installment agreement and pay their back taxes in monthly installments.

You must use IRS Form 9465 if you owe more than $50,000, and you cannot request an online payment plan on the IRS website. If your tax liability exceeds this threshold, you must submit Form 433-F Collection Information Statement with Form 9465.

Besides calculating the monthly payments, you’re also required to indicate the payment method and the due date on the form. The IRS advises you to submit payments via direct debit deposits due to lower fees. But you can also use credit card, check, or money order payment methods.

Enrolling in the EFTPS program will enable you to schedule payments up to a year in advance and make same-day deposits for all payments you send to the IRS directly from your bank account.

The filing fee for Form 9465 ranges from $107 to $225, depending on how you set up an installment agreement and the payment method you choose.

IRS Form 9465 – Filing Requirements and Eligibility

At first glance, determining your eligibility or when to file Form 9465 can be confusing. However, the IRS provides clear guidelines regarding who and under which circumstances can use the form to request an installment agreement.

You should file this form if:

• You owe taxes on Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR and are ineligible to set up an online payment agreement.
• You’re an individual responsible for the trust fund recovery penalty.
• You owe employment taxes on Form 941 or Form 940 filed for a sole proprietor company that is no longer in business.

You must submit this form if you default on your current installment agreement and your tax liability is between $25,000 and $50,000.

On the other hand, you don’t have to prepare Form 9465 under the following circumstances:

• You can repay your tax debt in 120 days.
• Your tax liability, including interest and penalties, is under $50,000, and you can apply for an installment agreement online.
• You owe employment and unemployment taxes, but your company is still operational.

The IRS will automatically approve your installment agreement request if you meet all of the requirements below:

• Your balance due is less than $10,000.
• You can’t afford to pay the entire tax debt in a single payment.
• You and your spouse timely filed tax returns for the last five years and paid due taxes.
• You don’t have a prior installment agreement during this period.
• You agree to pay the tax debt in up to three years.

How to Prepare a Tax Installment Agreement Request?

It would help if you considered several factors before requesting an installment agreement on Form 9465.

Calling the IRS or speaking to a CPA before making the arrangements can help you understand your options better and determine whether filing this form is your best option.

You don’t need to be a tax expert to prepare Form 9465 because it only collects basic information about your financial situation and requires a simple calculation to determine the monthly payment amount.

The form has two parts, but to complete each one, you’ll need IRS Notice CP14 or similar notice, your latest tax return, and other financial documents you must use to establish your tax liability and determine the duration of the installment agreement.

Let’s review each part and see what you must do to complete it.

Part I – Installment Agreement Request

Disclose why you’re submitting the request, such as Form 1040 or Form 940, on the first line and then indicate the period for which you owe taxes.

Afterward, you must list your name, SSN, and address on Line 1a. If you filed a joint tax return with your spouse, you must also enter their name and SSN here.

The next segment is reserved for businesses that aren’t working anymore. It collects basic information about them, including their names, addresses, and EINs.

You should then enter the amounts you owe on lines 5 and 6 and add them to calculate your total tax liability.

The monthly payment amount you should enter on line 11a depends on various factors. But as a general rule, you should enter the highest amount you can afford to pay each month.

In addition, the installment payment you’re proposing should be higher than the minimum amount you must pay monthly to repay the debt in 72 months.

You must complete a financial statement on Form 433-F if you cannot afford to pay the minimum monthly installment amount for 72 months.

Once you determine how much you can afford to pay the IRS monthly, indicate when you want the installment agreement to start, choose a payment method, and provide bank details.

Form 9465 will instruct you to complete IRS Form 2159 to settle the tax debts via payroll deductions.

You and your spouse should sign the form at the bottom of the first page. In doing so, you’ll acknowledge the terms of the agreement and consent to the IRS contacting third parties and sharing your information with them while processing the request.

Part II – Additional Information

Filling out this section is only necessary if:

• Your tax liability is between $25,000 and $50,000
• You defaulted on an installment agreement in the last twelve months.
• The monthly payment amount you can afford is less than the minimum monthly installment required to repay the debt in 72 months.

This section asks for information about your primary country of residence, marital status, the number of dependents you can claim on a tax return, payment frequency, and net income. If married, you should also indicate your spouse’s payment frequency and net income.

The rest of Form 9465 collects information about the number of vehicles in your household, car payments, child and dependent care expenses, health insurance premiums, and monthly court-ordered payments.

You can either e-file Form 9465 with your tax return or send its paper version to the IRS. But keep in mind that you cannot file this form electronically if the amount you enter on Line 9 is above $50,000.

The mailing address for the paper Form 9465 depends on where you live and which Form 1040 Schedules you attach to your tax return.

Interest and Penalties

The IRS doesn’t stop charging interest and penalties after you file Form 9465 and enter an installment agreement.

That’s why you must account for the penalties and interests the IRS will add to the amount you owe until you repay the entire tax debt when determining the monthly installment amount you’re proposing.

However, the failure-to-file penalty will decrease from 0.5% of the balance due per month to 0.25% for the duration of the installment agreement. The interest rate equals the Federal Funds Rate plus 3% per quarter.

Hence, your tax liability will increase each year the installment agreement is in effect. However, the rate at which the balance due will grow depends on how much you owe and how much you can pay monthly.

IRS Form 9465 urges taxpayers to pay more than the amount they propose on this form every month to lessen the impact penalties and charges will have on their tax debt.

Frequently Asked Questions

Managing Tax Debts with IRS Form 9465

Even though completing IRS Form 9465 won’t prevent the growth of your tax liability, entering an installment agreement will temporarily stop the IRS from levying your bank account or placing a lien on your property.