Form 9465 instructions: filling out the installment agreement request line by line

What Form 9465 is used for

Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, asks the IRS to let you pay a tax bill in monthly installments. You can use it for a balance shown on a return you are filing now, or for a balance shown on a notice the IRS already sent you.

The form is one page of requests plus a second page (Part II) that some people must complete. It is not an application for a lower tax bill. Interest and the failure-to-pay penalty keep running until the balance is paid, though the penalty rate drops to 0.25% a month for people who filed on time and have an approved plan.

The fillable Form 9465 PDF and the separate instructions (the current instructions carry a July 2024 revision date) are on the IRS About Form 9465 page. Download both from irs.gov rather than from a third-party site, so you get the current revision.

When to use Form 9465 instead of applying online

The IRS instructions steer most people away from the paper form when a faster route exists. Check these three cases before you print anything.

• You can pay within 180 days. A short-term plan has no setup fee, so Form 9465 would only add cost. See our short-term payment plan page.
• You owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest. The Online Payment Agreement tool is faster than mail and has the lowest fees ($29 with direct debit, $69 otherwise).
• You are in bankruptcy or have a pending or accepted offer in compromise. The instructions say not to file Form 9465 in either situation.

Form 9465 makes sense when you are mailing a paper return and want the plan request to travel with it, when you owe more than $50,000, or when you cannot or prefer not to use the online account. A business that is still operating and owes employment or unemployment taxes cannot use this form; it has to contact the IRS directly.

Form 9465 instructions, line by line

The form is short, but a few lines decide whether the IRS approves the plan without asking for more paperwork. Work through it in this order.

Lines 1a and 2: who you are

Line 1a takes your name and Social Security number, and your spouse's if you filed jointly, in the same order they appear on the return. Check line 1b if your address changed since your last return. Line 2 is only for a business that is no longer operating; enter its name and EIN. Fill in the remaining contact lines as well, so the IRS can reach you if it needs to clarify something before approving.

Lines 5 to 9: how much you owe

• Line 5: the total due on your return or notice.
• Line 6: any other balances not on line 5, including amounts already in an existing installment agreement.
• Line 7: add lines 5 and 6.
• Line 8: any amount you are paying now. Pay it with the return, or attach a check or money order payable to United States Treasury with your name, address, SSN, phone number, tax year and form number written on it.
• Line 9: line 7 minus line 8. This is the balance the plan must cover, and it sets which rules apply to you.

Lines 10 to 11b: the monthly payment

The IRS wants the balance paid within 72 months, or by the collection statute expiration date if that comes sooner. Line 10 is the benchmark the form compares your offer against. A quick check is line 9 divided by 72: on a $30,000 balance that is about $417 a month before interest.

Enter on line 11a the most you can pay each month. If you leave it blank, the IRS divides the balance by 72 and assigns that payment. If your line 11a amount is below line 10 and you can raise it, write the higher amount on line 11b. If you cannot raise it, check the box under line 11b and attach Form 433-F.

Line 12: the payment date

Pick a day from the 1st to the 28th. Choose a date a few days after your paycheck usually lands, because a returned payment can put the plan into default.

Lines 13a to 14: how you will pay

Lines 13a and 13b set up direct debit. The routing number has nine digits and must start with 01 to 12 or 21 to 32. The account number can be up to 17 characters; include hyphens but leave out spaces and symbols. Line 13c is for low-income taxpayers who cannot use direct debit and want the reduced fee reimbursed when the plan is finished. Check line 14 to pay by payroll deduction instead, and attach Form 2159 signed by both you and your employer.

When you must complete Part II

Part II on page 2 asks for basic financial information, including the spouse's income for married people who live together or live in a community property state. You need it when line 9 is more than $25,000 but not more than $50,000 and your monthly offer is below the line 10 amount.

You can often skip Part II and Form 433-F in that $25,001 to $50,000 range by agreeing to pay by direct debit (line 13) or payroll deduction (line 14). That trade is worth considering if the monthly amount fits your budget.

Attaching Form 433-F

Form 433-F, Collection Information Statement, is a fuller picture of your income, expenses, bank accounts and assets. The IRS uses it to decide what you can afford. Attach it in these cases:

If your offer would not clear the debt before the collection statute runs out, the IRS may treat the request as a partial payment installment agreement, which always involves a full financial review. Our Form 433-F guide covers each section of that statement.

Form 9465 fees and direct debit

Filing Form 9465 by mail puts you in the higher fee bracket for a long-term plan. The fee is charged once the plan is approved.

Payroll deduction through Form 2159 carries the $178 fee. If the IRS does not recognize you as low-income automatically, you can ask with Form 13844, Application for Reduced User Fee for Installment Agreements. Our IRS payment plan fees page covers revision and reinstatement costs as well.

Can I file Form 9465 with my tax return?

Yes. If you are mailing a paper return, attach Form 9465 to the front of it and send both to the address for your return. If you already filed, or you are responding to a notice, Form 9465 goes by itself to a different IRS address that depends on your state and whether you file Schedule C, E or F. Our page on where to mail Form 9465 lists every address.

The IRS says it usually tells you within 30 days whether the request is approved or denied. For tax due on a return filed after March 31, the reply may take longer. Keep paying what you can while you wait; any payment reduces the balance that interest is charged on.

What happens after the IRS decides

An approval letter confirms the payment amount, due date and fee. From that point, three things keep the plan alive: pay on time every month, file every future return on time, and pay any new balance in full when it is due. Missing one of those can lead to a CP523 default notice.

If the IRS turns the request down, the letter explains why and how to appeal. You generally have 30 days from the date of the rejection letter to ask for a Collection Appeals Program review. The rejected payment plan page walks through that process, and the IRS payment plan guide compares every plan type if you need to start over.