How to Fill Out Form 433-A: IRS Partial Payment Installment Agreement

To fill out Form 433-A for a Partial Payment Installment Agreement, use the standard Form 433-A (Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals), complete every section that applies to your situation, measure your expenses against the IRS Collection Financial Standards, and list every asset with its current value, loan balance, and equity. The form is the financial disclosure the IRS uses to decide whether your proposed monthly payment is the maximum you can afford before the collection statute expires. Getting it wrong, or leaving fields blank, is the fastest way to have your request returned.¹

Use the Standard Form 433-A, Not the OIC Version

There are two forms with similar names. For a Partial Payment Installment Agreement you need the standard Form 433-A, available at irs.gov.¹ Do not use Form 433-A (OIC); that version is exclusively for Offer in Compromise submissions.² If you run a business, the IRS also requires Form 433-B alongside Form 433-A.³

Which Sections You Complete

Not every section applies to every filer. Wage earners complete Sections 1 through 5 and sign page 4. Self-employed individuals complete Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.¹ Answer every question in the sections that apply. If a line does not apply to you, write “N/A” rather than leaving it blank. Blank fields read as incomplete and can send the whole package back.

Reporting Your Income

Enter gross monthly income from every source. Wages, self-employment earnings, rental income, interest, dividends, retirement income, child support, alimony — the IRS wants the full picture, not just your paycheck.

If you are self-employed, average your income over the prior 3, 6, 9, or 12 months, and note on the form which period you used.¹ Pick a period that reflects your actual current earning pattern rather than one that flatters the number in either direction.

One quirk: if your net business income is a loss, enter zero rather than a negative number.¹ The form does not use negative income to offset other lines.

Filling In Expenses Against the Collection Financial Standards

This is the section where most PPIA applications turn. The IRS does not simply accept whatever you claim to spend. It compares your reported expenses to published Collection Financial Standards, and only allowable amounts count in the calculation of what you can afford to pay.

National Standards cover food, housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care, and miscellaneous items. These are fixed allowances based on household size and income level.⁴ A separate National Standard covers out-of-pocket health care costs on a per-person basis.⁵ Housing, utilities, and transportation are set by Local Standards that vary by county and region.

You can claim expenses above these standard amounts, but you will need documentation showing the higher cost is necessary. Without proof, the IRS will substitute the standard figure and recalculate what you can pay. Before you write in numbers that exceed the standards, decide whether you can back them up.

Practical Tips for the Expense Section

Match your entries to how the IRS thinks about each category. Housing and utilities are one bucket. Transportation is split between an ownership cost (loan or lease payment) and an operating cost (gas, insurance, maintenance). Health care includes premiums, out-of-pocket medical, prescription costs, and dental. Court-ordered payments like child support belong on their own line.

The monthly payment you propose on Form 9465 should equal the disposable income calculated at the bottom of Form 433-A. The IRS will flag any mismatch between the two forms.⁶

Listing Your Assets

List every asset. Bank accounts, investments, digital assets like cryptocurrency, vehicles, real property, and available credit all belong on the form. For each one, provide:

Current value
Any loan balance
Equity, meaning the difference between the two
The date the value or balance was pulled

This is where the IRS decides whether you have equity you could tap toward the debt.¹ You are not automatically disqualified for having equity. The Internal Revenue Manual states that “complete utilization of equity is not always required as a condition of a PPIA,” but you may need to explain why tapping a particular asset is not feasible.³ A retirement account with early-withdrawal penalties, home equity you cannot borrow against because you would not qualify for the loan, an older vehicle you need to get to work — these are the kinds of specifics that belong in your explanation.

Do not omit assets. The IRS cross-checks disclosures against filed returns, third-party reports, and its own records. A missing account is worse than a disclosed one you cannot easily liquidate.

Documents to Have Ready

After reviewing your completed Form 433-A, the IRS may request verification of what you reported. The form instructions list the kinds of records it may ask for:¹

Recent tax returns
Pay statements or self-employment income records
Bank and investment statements
Loan statements
Bills for recurring expenses (housing, utilities, insurance, child care, medical)

Pull several months of bank statements and pay stubs before you submit. Responding within a few days to a document request keeps the review moving and reduces the chance the IRS will make assumptions about anything you didn’t substantiate.

Signing and Submitting the Form

Sign and date page 4. For a wage earner filing jointly with a spouse whose income appears on the form, both signatures are needed. Attach Form 433-A to your Form 9465 request. A PPIA cannot be applied for online, so you have two submission channels:⁷

By mail. Send Form 9465, Form 433-A, and any supporting documents to the IRS service center for your state. The correct address depends on where you live and whether you file Schedule C, E, or F. The full address table is at irs.gov/filing/where-to-file-your-taxes-for-form-9465.⁸

By phone. A revenue officer can walk through Form 433-A with you line by line. You still sign and mail the physical form, but the phone interview lets you catch entries the IRS is likely to question before the paperwork is final.

If you want a tax professional to represent you during this process, file Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative.⁹

After You Submit

The IRS verifies your numbers, calculates the time remaining on the Collection Statute Expiration Date (ten years from the date of assessment under 26 U.S.C. § 6502), and decides whether your proposed payment is the maximum you can afford.¹⁰ If the payment on your Form 433-A calculation would actually clear the debt before the CSED, the agency puts you on a regular installment agreement instead. Acceptance is confirmed in writing by Letter 2273C.¹¹

Expect to complete a fresh Form 433-A every two years for the life of the agreement. The IRS reviews your financial situation on that cycle and may raise your payment if income or assets have grown.³ The same rules for completing the form apply each time.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals – Form 433-A
2
Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-A (OIC) – Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals
3
Internal Revenue Service. IRM 5.14.2 Partial Payment Installment Agreements and the Collection Statute Expiration Date
4
Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Food, Clothing and Other Items
5
Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Out-of-Pocket Health Care
6
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 9465
7
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Partial Payment Installment Agreement
8
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form 9465
9
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 6502 – Collection After Assessment
11
Internal Revenue Service. Internal Revenue Manual Procedural Update SBSE-05-0112-0264