How to Fill Out IRS Form 433-D for Installment Agreements

To fill out IRS Form 433-D, enter your identifying information and the tax periods you owe for, list the total balance and the monthly payment you’re committing to, pick a withdrawal date between the 1st and 28th of the month, provide your bank’s routing and account numbers, sign the authorization, and submit the form with a voided check to the IRS employee handling your case.¹ Your signature authorizes the U.S. Treasury to pull that fixed amount from your checking or savings account each month through the ACH system until the debt is paid.

When You Actually Need This Form

Form 433-D isn’t the only way to set up a direct debit installment agreement, and for most individual taxpayers it isn’t the first choice. If you owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties, and interest and have filed all required returns, you can set up a long-term direct debit plan through the IRS Online Payment Agreement tool for a $22 setup fee.²

Form 433-D comes into play when you’re working directly with an IRS employee: a revenue officer assigned to your case, a collections representative on the phone, or staff at a local office. The Internal Revenue Manual describes it as a document signed by the taxpayer and the Commissioner, and it specifically requires a taxpayer signature for direct debit agreements.³ Balances above $50,000 typically require more detailed financial information and will often route you to Form 433-D through an IRS employee rather than the online system.

What to Have In Front of You

Before you start filling in boxes, pull together:

Your SSN, ITIN, or EIN. Joint filers need both Social Security Numbers.¹
The specific tax type and tax periods (years or quarters) tied to the balance.¹
Your most recent IRS balance-due notice (for example, a CP14). Use the amount the IRS most recently sent you rather than calculating your own.
Bank routing and account numbers. The routing number is the nine-digit code at the bottom left of a check. For a savings account, call your bank to confirm the correct electronic transfer numbers, which sometimes differ from what’s printed on deposit slips.⁴
A voided check. The IRM instructs that a voided check should be attached to the form for processing.³

One thing Form 433-D does not ask for is your employer’s name and address. That appears on other collection forms like Form 433-A and Form 433-F, but Form 433-D stays limited to identification, tax liability, and bank details.¹

Filling In Each Section

Name, Address, and Identification

Enter your full name (add your spouse’s name if the debt is from a joint return), your current mailing address, and phone numbers where you’re reachable during business hours. Your SSN or EIN must match what appears on the returns that generated the debt. Business filers use the legal business name and EIN. There’s also space to report a recent name or address change so the IRS updates its records.¹

Tax Owed, Monthly Payment, and Withdrawal Date

Enter the total balance as of the date on your most recent IRS correspondence, including tax, penalties, and interest. List the tax type and each period the debt covers. Then fill in the monthly payment amount and the day of the month you want the debit to hit. That date must fall between the 1st and 28th.¹ A date a few days after your regular paycheck lands is usually safer than one that rides the edge of your balance.

The form language commits you to paying the taxes shown “plus penalties and interest provided by law,” so the actual payoff will be higher than the starting balance. Interest continues at the IRS underpayment rate (7% annually for the first quarter of 2026) until the debt is cleared.⁵

Bank Routing and Account Numbers

Copy the routing and account numbers directly from a check or from your bank’s online portal. The form notes that the first two digits of the routing number must be 01 through 12 or 21 through 32.¹ If yours falls outside that range, verify with your bank before submitting. A wrong number triggers a dishonored payment penalty: $25 or the payment amount (whichever is less) for payments under $1,250, or 2% of the payment amount for payments of $1,250 or more.⁶

Signing the Authorization

Your signature authorizes the Treasury and its financial agent to start the monthly ACH withdrawals.¹ Banking rules require that someone named on the bank account sign the authorization. On a joint account, the person who’s also the taxpayer should be the signer.⁷ If you want payments drawn from an account that isn’t in your name, contact the IRS first about the extra authorization they’ll require; the standard form isn’t built for that.

What the Setup Costs

The IRS charges a one-time fee to set up a direct debit installment agreement, and the amount depends on how you apply:

Online: $22
Phone, mail, or in person: $107²

Low-income taxpayers pay nothing if they choose direct debit. The IRS treats “low income” as an adjusted gross income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines: for a single filer in the continental United States in 2026, an AGI of $39,900 or less; for a family of four, $82,500 or less. To claim the waiver, submit Form 13844 within 30 days of receiving your installment agreement acceptance letter.⁸

Submitting the Form

Because Form 433-D usually moves through an IRS employee, how you turn it in depends on your case. A revenue officer may accept it during a meeting. If you’re mailing it, send it to the IRS office or service center handling your account, and use certified mail with a return receipt so you have proof of delivery. In some cases the IRS will accept the form by secure fax if a revenue officer directs you to. Attach the voided check so the bank information you entered can be verified.

After the IRS Approves the Agreement

The IRS sends a formal acceptance letter, such as Letter 2273C, confirming the terms and the start date of the automatic withdrawals.⁹ Watch your bank statements for the first debit on the scheduled date. If it doesn’t post, make a manual payment through IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS so you don’t fall behind before the agreement even gets going.

If you switch banks or close the account tied to the agreement, update the routing and account numbers through your IRS Online Account, or call 800-829-1040 (individuals) or 800-829-4933 (businesses).² Don’t leave the old account in place hoping the timing works out. A failed withdrawal can be treated as a missed payment and adds the dishonored payment penalty on top.

What Signing Actually Commits You To

An installment agreement doesn’t freeze what you owe. Interest keeps compounding on the unpaid balance at the IRS underpayment rate, and it accrues on penalties too.⁵ The real break the agreement gives you is on the failure-to-pay penalty: it drops from 0.5% per month to 0.25% per month while the agreement is active, provided you filed the return on time.¹⁰ Form 433-D locks in a minimum payment, not a maximum. You can pay extra through Direct Pay or EFTPS whenever you want, and doing so cuts real interest off the total.

Missing a payment, or picking up a new tax balance while the agreement is active, can put you into default. The IRS sends Notice CP523 first, giving you 30 days to catch up or appeal before the agreement is terminated and the full remaining balance becomes immediately collectible through levies or a federal tax lien.¹¹ Staying current on new returns and new balances matters as much as making the monthly payment.

One last thing worth knowing before you sign: requesting an installment agreement pauses the IRS’s 10-year collection clock while the request is under review, and rejection, withdrawal, or proposed termination extends the collection deadline by 30 days each.¹² For most balances, that tradeoff is worth avoiding levies. If you’re near the end of the 10-year window with a large debt, factor the extension in before you sign.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-D (Rev. 7-2024) Installment Agreement
2
Internal Revenue Service. Payment Plans; Installment Agreements
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Internal Revenue Service. 5.14.1 Securing Installment Agreements
4
American Bankers Association. ABA Routing Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Quarterly Interest Rates
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Internal Revenue Service. Dishonored Check or Other Form of Payment Penalty
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Internal Revenue Service. 5.14.10 Payroll Deduction Agreements and Direct Debit Installment Agreements
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IRS.gov. Application For Reduced User Fee for Installment Agreements
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Internal Revenue Service. Interim IRM Procedural Update – Fresh Start II Changes
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Internal Revenue Service. Failure to Pay Penalty
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Internal Revenue Service. Notice CP523 – Notice of Intent to Levy – Intent to Terminate Your Installment Agreement
12
Internal Revenue Service. Time IRS Can Collect Tax