IRS Form 433-F, the Collection Information Statement, is used to show the IRS what you earn, spend, own, and owe so it can decide how to handle an unpaid tax balance. The agency uses the numbers you report to work out your monthly disposable income and then chooses a path: a payment plan you can actually afford, a temporary pause on collection if you can’t pay anything, or continued collection if the figures say you can. You sign it under penalty of perjury, and the IRS compares what you write against wage, bank, and property data it already has.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-F (Rev. 7-2024) Collection Information Statement
When the IRS Asks for Form 433-F
Form 433-F is the standard financial statement used by the Automated Collection System, the IRS call-center operation that handles most individual collection cases after the initial notices go unanswered.2Taxpayer Advocate Service. A Comparison of Revenue Officers and the Automated Collection System You’ll typically be asked to complete it in three situations.
The first is an installment agreement that needs financial verification. If you owe $50,000 or less and can pay within the timeframe the IRS allows, you can usually set up a payment plan online with no financial statement at all. Once your balance is higher, or the streamlined criteria don’t fit, the IRS wants a full picture of your finances before agreeing to monthly payments, and 433-F is how ACS gets it.3Internal Revenue Service. Simple Payment Plans for Individuals and Businesses
The second is a request for Currently Not Collectible status. If your allowable expenses eat up your income, the IRS can shelve your account temporarily. Form 433-F is how you prove the hardship.
The third is stopping a levy. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6331, the IRS can seize wages, bank accounts, and other property to satisfy unpaid taxes after 30 days’ written notice. Submitting Form 433-F and getting into a payment arrangement or hardship status halts that process; while an installment agreement is pending or in effect, the IRS cannot levy your property.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6331 – Levy and Distraint
Self-employed individuals with no employees also use 433-F rather than the longer Form 433-A that field revenue officers use for more complex cases.
How 433-F Differs From the Other Collection Forms
Filing the wrong statement wastes weeks. Form 433-F is the shortest and most common. Form 433-A is a longer version used when a field revenue officer handles your case in person, with more detail on business assets and expenses. Form 433-B is for business entities like partnerships and corporations.
One boundary matters: Form 433-F is not used for an Offer in Compromise. If you want to settle for less than the full amount, you need Form 433-A (OIC) for individuals or Form 433-B (OIC) for businesses, along with the separate OIC application package.5Internal Revenue Service. Offer in Compromise Sending in a 433-F when the IRS needs a 433-A (OIC) delays the case and leaves collection activity open in the meantime.
What the IRS Does With Your Numbers
The core purpose of Form 433-F is a single calculation: total monthly income minus total allowable monthly expenses equals the disposable income the IRS expects you to put toward the debt each month. That number sets your installment payment, or, if it’s zero or negative, opens the door to Currently Not Collectible status.
Income and Assets You Report
You list current balances for every checking, savings, money market, and online payment account, plus investment holdings including CDs, IRAs, 401(k) plans, brokerage accounts, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, and commodities such as gold or silver.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-F (Rev. 7-2024) Collection Information Statement Real estate, vehicles, boats, and recreational vehicles are itemized with market value and any loan balance. Credit cards are listed with credit limit and current balance, because the IRS treats available credit as a potential immediate source of funds.
On the income side, you report gross wages, self-employment net profit, Social Security, pensions, rental income, interest, and dividends.
One quirk works in your favor. When the IRS values assets for collection purposes, it doesn’t use full market value. It uses a “quick sale value,” generally 80% of fair market value, reflecting what you could realistically get in about 90 days.6Internal Revenue Service. 5.15.1 Financial Analysis Handbook So your ability-to-pay calculation is built on a discounted asset picture, not the top-of-market number.
Expense Caps: The Part That Surprises People
The IRS does not accept whatever you claim to spend each month. It applies Collection Financial Standards that cap allowable living costs. If your actual spending exceeds the cap, the IRS treats you as having more disposable income than you feel you do.7Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards
The standards come in three layers. National standards set fixed monthly amounts for food, clothing, housekeeping supplies, personal care, and miscellaneous costs, regardless of where you live. For 2025, a single person is allowed $839 per month total, a family of four $2,129, plus $394 for each additional person. You can claim those amounts without documenting what you actually spend.8Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Allowable Living Expenses National Standards
Local standards cover housing (rent or mortgage, property taxes, insurance, repairs, utilities, internet) and transportation (ownership and operating costs), and they vary by county. A separate national standard covers out-of-pocket health care on top of insurance premiums; claiming more than the standard means producing documentation that the higher amount is necessary.9Internal Revenue Service. National Standards: Out-of-Pocket Health Care
There is one release valve. If you can pay the full tax debt within six years, the IRS may allow your actual expenses even when they exceed the standards, including minimum payments on student loans and credit cards.7Internal Revenue Service. Collection Financial Standards
What Happens After the IRS Reviews the Form
Review typically takes several weeks. The IRS may ask for supporting evidence: recent bank statements, pay stubs, or proof of any expense that exceeds the standard amounts.1Internal Revenue Service. Form 433-F (Rev. 7-2024) Collection Information Statement Ignoring a follow-up request gives the IRS grounds to resume collection.
Three outcomes are possible. The IRS approves an installment agreement based on your calculated disposable income. It places the account in Currently Not Collectible status if allowable expenses meet or exceed income. Or it rejects your proposal, usually because the numbers don’t line up with third-party data or unsupported expenses were claimed above the standards.
Currently Not Collectible is not forgiveness. Interest and penalties keep accruing while the account is shelved, and the IRS periodically re-checks the file; if your income improves, the account can be pulled back into active collection.10Internal Revenue Service. 5.16.1 Currently Not Collectible The IRS generally has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect, and that clock keeps running while the account sits in CNC.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6502 – Collection After Assessment
If your proposal is rejected, you can appeal through the Collection Appeals Program by filing Form 9423 within 30 calendar days of the decision, sending it to the ACS office or revenue officer that made the decision.12Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 9423, Collection Appeal Request
While all this is happening, you get a real protection. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6331(k), the IRS cannot levy your property while an installment agreement offer is pending, while an agreement is in effect, or for 30 days after a rejection, with additional time if you appeal.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6331 – Levy and Distraint
The Signature Line Matters
Form 433-F is signed under penalty of perjury. Willfully submitting a false statement carries a fine of up to $100,000 and up to three years in prison under 26 U.S.C. § 7206.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 7206 – Fraud and False Statements The IRS already has your wage transcripts, 1099 filings from banks and brokerages, and property records, so an omitted account or understated income tends to surface automatically. Even where criminal prosecution is unlikely in a collection case, a discrepancy is enough for the IRS to reject the payment plan, revoke an existing agreement, and pursue the full balance.
That is why Form 433-F is worth treating as a serious financial document rather than a form to knock out quickly. What you put on it decides how the IRS will collect from you for years.