How to File Hardship With the IRS: Forms, Steps, and Approval

To file hardship with the IRS, you request Currently Not Collectible (CNC) status by contacting the IRS, submitting a detailed financial statement on Form 433-A or Form 433-F, and proving that paying your tax debt would leave you unable to cover basic living expenses like housing, food, and medical care.¹ If the IRS agrees, active collection stops — no levies, no wage garnishments — but interest and penalties keep accruing on the balance, and future refunds are seized.

Do You Actually Qualify

Before you fill out anything, be honest about whether your situation fits. CNC is for taxpayers whose monthly income, after necessities, leaves nothing or almost nothing to put toward the debt. The IRS defines economic hardship as a situation where collecting would prevent you from meeting reasonable basic living expenses.² Tight is not the standard. Unable to cover essentials is.

Situations that commonly lead to CNC approval:

You live on a fixed low income such as Social Security, disability, or a small pension.
You have serious medical costs or a condition that keeps you from working.
You have been unemployed long-term with depleted savings.
Your total household income is below what the IRS considers necessary for basic living under its published Collection Financial Standards.

The IRS also looks at what you own. If you have equity in non-essential assets — a second vehicle, investment accounts, real estate beyond your home — the IRS may expect you to sell those before granting hardship status.

One thing to know before you start: the IRS does not accept your expense claims at face value. It uses published Collection Financial Standards to cap food, clothing, personal care, housing, utilities, and transportation, and it uses the lower of your actual expense or the cap.³ The math is simple: if monthly income minus allowable expenses is zero or less, you qualify.

Which Form to File

Two forms do the work for individuals, and the IRS tells you which one it wants based on your case.

Form 433-A

Form 433-A (Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals) is the detailed version. It requires a full accounting of your income, expenses, bank accounts, investments, real estate, vehicles, and other assets. Self-employed filers complete added sections on business assets, equipment, and accounts receivable.⁴ The IRS generally requires 433-A when a revenue officer is assigned to your case or your balance is larger.

Form 433-F

Form 433-F (Collection Information Statement) is the shorter version. The IRS Automated Collection System uses it for phone-handled cases and streamlined financial reviews.⁵ It covers the same categories with less granular detail.

Business owners may also be asked to complete Form 433-B (Collection Information Statement for Businesses) alongside the individual form.² For some lower-balance accounts, the IRS may skip the written form entirely and do a phone-only financial review; the exact balance threshold is redacted in the Internal Revenue Manual.⁶

Documents to Gather First

Every number you report should be traceable to a document. Numbers that don’t match your records can get your request rejected or your account flagged.⁴

Income. Report every household source: wages, Social Security, pensions, interest and dividends, rental income, alimony, child support, self-employment earnings. Have recent pay stubs, Social Security statements, and 1099s ready. The IRS wants gross income, not take-home.

Expenses. Pull recent bills and statements for rent or mortgage, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance, utilities, vehicle payments, car insurance, health insurance, out-of-pocket medical costs, childcare, and any court-ordered obligations. Use actual bills, not estimates.

Assets. Disclose the full picture:

Checking, savings, and money market balances from recent statements.
Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and CDs.
401(k), IRA, and pension values.
Current market value and mortgage balance on any real estate.
Current market value and loan balance on cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, and RVs.
Cash value of life insurance policies and any business equipment or other valuable property.

The IRS calculates equity from these figures. Substantial equity in non-essential assets can knock you out of CNC eligibility until you liquidate.

Steps to Submit Your Request

Step 1: Figure out who is handling your case. If a specific revenue officer has been writing to you, contact that person. Otherwise, call the number on your most recent collection notice or the main individual line at 800-829-1040.²

Step 2: Ask for CNC status and confirm the form. The agent or revenue officer will tell you whether to use Form 433-A or Form 433-F. Ask whether a phone-based financial review is possible for your balance.

Step 3: Complete the form and attach documentation. Fill every line. If you mail it, use certified mail with a return receipt. Some revenue officers accept faxed submissions, which is faster.

Step 4: Cooperate with the review. Expect follow-up questions, requests for more documents, or a phone interview walking through your statement line by line. Respond quickly. Delays can restart collection.

Step 5: Wait for the written determination. The IRS usually places a temporary hold on active collection during review. If approved, your account is coded Currently Not Collectible in the IRS system.¹

What Approval Actually Does — and Doesn’t Do

CNC stops the IRS from actively pursuing you. It does not freeze or forgive the debt, and a few consequences continue.

Interest and Penalties Keep Accruing

The balance grows every month. The IRS charges interest on unpaid balances, currently 7% per year for individual taxpayers, adjusted quarterly.⁷ The failure-to-pay penalty adds 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month or partial month the balance remains, up to a maximum of 25% of the original amount owed.⁸

Tax Refunds Are Seized

The IRS will keep future refunds and apply them to your balance while CNC is active.² Adjust your withholding so you break even at filing time rather than handing the IRS an automatic payment.

A Federal Tax Lien May Still Be Filed

Levies and garnishments stop, but the IRS may still file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. The Internal Revenue Manual directs that a lien generally should be filed on CNC accounts when the unpaid balance is $10,000 or more.⁶ A lien attaches to your property and can damage your credit, making it harder to rent, borrow, or pass background checks. If a levy is already in place and it is creating economic hardship, you can request its release by showing it prevents you from paying reasonable basic living expenses.⁹

You’ll Still Get Annual Bills

The IRS mails an annual statement showing your balance due. No payment is required while CNC is active, but the debt has not gone away.²

The 10-Year Collection Clock

The IRS generally has 10 years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it, called the Collection Statute Expiration Date.¹⁰ CNC status itself does not pause that clock. If your finances never recover, the debt can expire when the 10-year window closes. Filing an Offer in Compromise, filing for bankruptcy, entering an installment agreement, or leaving the country for an extended period can pause or extend the CSED.²

Keeping CNC Status

CNC is not permanent. The IRS reviews your finances periodically and can revoke it.

File every required return on time, even if you can’t pay. Missed filings add late-filing penalties and can jeopardize your status.² If you’re self-employed or have income without withholding, keep making quarterly estimated payments for current-year taxes. CNC covers old debt, not new debt.

The IRS monitors your reported income each year. If your Total Positive Income rises above a level tied to the closing code on your case, the IRS may reactivate the account and ask for an updated financial statement.⁶ If your situation has improved, expect a push toward an installment agreement or resumed collection.

If Your Request Is Denied

You have three main routes if the IRS denies hardship or takes a collection action you disagree with.

Collection Appeals Program

The Collection Appeals Program (CAP) lets you dispute a specific action — a levy, lien filing, or seizure — using Form 9423. First, request a conference with the collection employee’s manager. If that doesn’t resolve it, notify the IRS within two business days that you plan to appeal, and get Form 9423 in or postmarked within three business days of the manager conference.¹¹ The deadlines are tight.

Collection Due Process Hearing

If you receive a formal CDP notice, typically sent before the IRS files a lien or issues a levy, you can request a hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals using Form 12153. At the hearing, you can propose collection alternatives including CNC. Submit Form 12153 to the address on the notice within the stated timeframe (generally 30 days). If you miss it, you can still request an equivalent hearing within one year.¹² A timely CDP hearing preserves your right to petition the U.S. Tax Court.

Taxpayer Advocate Service

If IRS collection is causing an immediate financial hardship and normal channels aren’t working, file Form 911 to request help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service.¹³ TAS is independent within the IRS, free to use, and useful when you need urgent relief while a CNC request is pending.

CNC vs. Offer in Compromise

CNC pauses collection but doesn’t reduce what you owe. An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is the tool for permanently settling the debt for less than the full amount, based on what the IRS calculates you could realistically pay. CNC fits taxpayers who genuinely cannot pay anything; OIC fits taxpayers with some ability to pay but no realistic path to the full amount. Both use the same Form 433 financial disclosure, so if an OIC is rejected, the same information can support a CNC request. An OIC requires an application fee and initial payment (both waived for low-income taxpayers), and acceptance requires staying current on all filings and payments for five years afterward or the deal is voided.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Temporarily Delay the Collection Process
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Taxpayer Advocate Service. Currently Not Collectible
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Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-A Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals
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Internal Revenue Service. Collection Process for Taxpayers Filing and or Paying Late
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Internal Revenue Service. 5.16.1 Currently Not Collectible
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Internal Revenue Service. Quarterly Interest Rates
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Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
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eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6343-1 Requirement to Release Levy and Notice of Release
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6502 Collection After Assessment
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Internal Revenue Service. Collection Appeal Request Instructions for Form 9423
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Internal Revenue Service. Request for a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing
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Internal Revenue Service. Request for Taxpayer Advocate Service Assistance