Form 433-F: how to fill out the IRS Collection Information Statement

What Form 433-F is and when the IRS asks for it

Form 433-F, Collection Information Statement, is the form the IRS uses to collect current financial details from wage earners and self-employed individuals who owe tax. The form's own instructions say its purpose is to work out how you can satisfy an outstanding liability. Your answers decide whether you get a payment plan, what the monthly payment is, or whether collection is paused.

You usually need Form 433-F in one of these situations:

• A long-term payment plan over $50,000. The Form 9465 instructions say to complete and attach Form 433-F when the balance on line 9 is more than $50,000. See our Form 9465 instructions.
• A plan between $25,000 and $50,000 with a low payment. If your proposed payment is below the required amount and you will not use direct debit, you check the box on Form 9465 and attach Form 433-F.
• A hardship request. To place an account in Currently Not Collectible status, the IRS may ask for Form 433-F, 433-A or 433-B with proof of income, expenses and assets.
• A collection employee asks for it. A phone assistor or revenue officer may request it to set up an IRS installment agreement or a partial payment installment agreement.

Form 433-F vs 433-A: which collection information statement do you need?

The IRS has several collection information statements, and they are not interchangeable. Use the one named in your letter or requested by the IRS employee handling your case.

If you are thinking about settling rather than paying over time, Form 433-F will not do. An offer needs Form 433-A (OIC), and the free offer in compromise pre-qualifier runs the same math before you commit.

Form 433-F instructions: section-by-section walkthrough

The July 2024 revision has a header, sections A through H, and a signature line. Use extra sheets whenever a section runs out of room, and enter N/A for questions that do not apply rather than leaving them blank.

Header: identity and household

Enter names, address, county of residence, Social Security or ITIN numbers, and phone numbers for you and your spouse. Then give the number of people in the household you can claim on this year's return, split into under 65 and 65 and over. That split matters, because the health care allowance is higher for older household members. If you have self-employment income, add the business name, EIN, type of business and number of employees.

Section A: accounts and lines of credit

List every checking, savings, money market and online or mobile account, such as PayPal, even if the balance is zero. Then list investments: CDs, IRAs, 401(k) plans, brokerage accounts, stocks, bonds, and holdings like gold or silver. Do not list bank loans here. The same page asks for digital assets, including the wallet or exchange, the email used to open it, and the current US dollar value.

Section B: real estate

List your home, vacation property, timeshares and land. For each, give current market value, loan balance, monthly payment, and purchase and refinance history. Equity is market value minus what you owe. Your mortgage payment goes here, not on the rent line in Section H.

Sections C and D: other assets and credit cards

Section C covers vehicles by make, model and year, boats, RVs, whole life insurance with cash value, and valuables such as collections or antiques. If a car is leased, write lease in the year purchased column. Section D lists every credit card and credit line, with limit, balance and minimum payment, even at a zero balance.

Sections E, F and G: business, wages and other income

Section E applies only if you or your spouse have self-employment income, including online sales. List money owed to you in E1 and any merchant card or digital payment accounts in E2. Section F asks for each employer, pay frequency, gross pay and taxes withheld per period; you may attach a current pay stub instead. Section G lists monthly non-wage income such as Social Security, pensions, unemployment, child support, alimony, rental and net self-employment income.

For rental or business income, report the monthly amount after cash expenses and attach a current profit and loss statement or Schedule C. Leave depreciation out, since it is not a cash cost, and enter 0 if the result is a loss.

Section H: monthly necessary living expenses

Section H has two columns: your actual monthly cost and the IRS allowed amount. Convert bills that are not monthly using the multipliers from the form's instructions.

433-F allowable expenses: what the IRS will count

The IRS does not simply accept your budget. It compares each category with its Collection Financial Standards, updated effective June 29, 2026. For food, clothing and other items, and for out-of-pocket health care, you get the national standard without having to prove what you spend. You can claim more only by documenting the higher cost.

• Miscellaneous is capped at the standard for your household size. It is meant to cover things like credit card payments, bank fees and school supplies, so card payments do not get their own line.
• Out-of-pocket health care is $90 a month per person under 65 and $163 per person 65 and older. Health insurance premiums are listed separately.
• Housing and utilities and transportation use local standards by county and family size. You are allowed the lower of your actual cost or the local standard.
• Other expenses can include child or dependent care, current estimated tax payments, term life insurance, required retirement contributions, union dues, court-ordered payments, and minimum payments on federally guaranteed student loans.
• Six-year rule: if you can pay the full balance, including penalties and interest, within six years, the IRS may allow expenses above the standards.

A worked example

Consider a married couple, both under 65, with $6,200 in gross monthly wages and $900 in taxes withheld. They claim the two-person national standard of $1,558 and $180 of out-of-pocket health care. Rent and utilities are $1,900, below their county's local standard, so the actual amount counts. Add a $450 car payment and $350 of vehicle operating costs, both within local standards, plus $420 of health insurance.

Allowed expenses total $5,758 including withheld taxes, leaving about $442 a month. That figure is roughly what the IRS would expect as a monthly payment. If the total balance could not be paid before the collection deadline at that rate, a partial payment plan may fit. These numbers are illustrative only; your county's housing and car standards will differ.

Documents to attach to Form 433-F

The instructions say the IRS may ask for proof of income and of any expense above the standards after it reviews the form. Sending clear copies up front avoids a second round of letters. Keep a full copy of what you send.

Sign, send and what happens next

Both spouses sign if the debt is joint, declaring under penalty of perjury that the statement is true, correct and complete. Send the form to the address or fax number on your notice, or to the IRS employee who asked for it. If you are also requesting a payment plan by mail, submit Form 9465 with it; the instructions note that a larger down payment can speed up approval and cut penalties and interest.

The IRS then compares your figures with its standards and the third-party income data it already has, and may call or write for more proof. Expect one of three outcomes: an installment agreement, a partial payment plan, or a hardship delay. None of them erases the debt, as explained on our page asking does the IRS forgive tax debt. For how these outcomes fit together, see our tax debt relief options.