IRS launches online tool to help taxpayers manage tax debt

An online tool to help taxpayers understand and resolve tax debt is now available on the IRS website.

The Tax Debt Help tool debuted Thursday, the day after the end of the filing season. It’s designed to provide businesses and individuals with an easy way to research payment options and find what they should do next, the IRS said in a news release.

The tool “shows the transformation underway at the IRS and the progress the agency has already made to deliver more user-friendly, digital-first services to taxpayers,” IRS CEO Frank Bisignano said in the release.

The tool walks users through a series of straightforward questions about their financial situation and tax debt. The tool then guides them to potential payment and available resolution options.

These options may include payment plans, temporary delay of collections, or an offer in compromise for those who qualify.

Taxpayers do not have to enter personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, names, or addresses.

“I think the idea of being a digital-first agency is appropriate,” Bisignano said Wednesday at a Senate hearing on the filing season. “The American public … want to be met where they want to be met, if it’s in the Taxpayer Service Center, if it’s on the phones, or if it’s on the web.”

Additional resources

Taxpayers can find more information using the following resources:

• Get help with tax debt
• Publication 6103, Get Help with Tax Debt (PDF)
• Apply online for a payment plan
• Information on payment plans
• Online account for individuals
• Business Tax Account

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Martha Waggoner at Martha.Waggoner@aicpa-cima.com.