When you can fix an IRS problem yourself, for free

When you don’t need us

If you’ve filed every required return and owe $50,000 or less in tax, penalties and interest, you can probably set up an IRS payment plan yourself on IRS.gov, with no financial statement. You don’t need to hire anyone for that, including us.

Reviewed by [REVIEWER NAME], Enrolled Agent · Last reviewed [DATE]

We’d rather tell you this now than sell you something you can do yourself for an IRS setup fee.

Can you do it yourself?

You can probably handle it on your own if all three of these are true:

Every return the IRS expects from you is filed. No missing years.
You owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest.
No levy, garnishment or final notice is in play, and you can afford a monthly payment.

If so, the IRS’s Simple Payment Plan is built for you. It doesn’t require a financial statement, and you can set it up in your IRS Online Account.

How to set up a payment plan yourself

Create or sign in to your IRS Online Account at IRS.gov. You’ll need to verify your identity.
Check your balance and filing status for each year on the account summary.
Choose a payment plan under the payments section. Pick a monthly amount you can keep paying.
Choose automatic bank payments if you can. The online setup fee is $29 with direct debit, compared with $69 for other payment methods, and the $29 fee is waived for lower-income individuals.
Keep filing and paying on time in future years. Missing a new return or a new balance can put the plan in default.

If you can pay everything within 180 days, a short-term plan has no setup fee at all.

When professional help is worth it

Paying someone makes sense when the IRS’s self-serve options aren’t open to you:

You have unfiled years. The online payment plan requires every required return to be filed, and reconstructing old years without records is real work. That’s our core service: catch-up filing.
Collection has started. A levy on your wages or bank account, or a final notice of intent to levy, has deadlines that matter. See urgent help.
You owe more than $50,000, or you can’t afford a payment that clears the balance in time. Then the IRS needs a financial statement, and options like Currently Not Collectible or an Offer in Compromise come into play.

Free help, if you qualify

If your income is limited, a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic may represent you for free or for a small fee, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service helps people whose IRS problems aren’t being resolved through normal channels. See free and low-cost tax help.

Common questions

Can I really set up an IRS payment plan without a tax professional?

Yes. The IRS’s Simple Payment Plan is available online to individuals who owe $50,000 or less in assessed tax, penalties and interest and are current with all filing and payment requirements. It doesn’t require a financial statement.

Does the IRS charge a fee for a payment plan?

Usually, yes. Setting up a long-term plan online costs $29 with automatic bank payments or $69 with other payment methods, and the $29 fee is waived for lower-income individuals. A short-term plan of 180 days or less has no setup fee.

What if I’m not sure all my returns are filed?

Check your IRS Online Account or request your account transcripts for recent years. If any year shows no return filed, the online payment plan won’t be available until it is.