The short answer
The IRS usually has 10 years to collect a tax debt. The clock doesn’t start when the tax was due. It starts on the day the tax was officially charged to your IRS account.
Tax pros call the end of that time the CSED. That’s short for Collection Statute Expiration Date. You won’t see it on your letters, but it’s in your IRS record.
When the time runs out, the IRS generally has to stop collecting. Whatever is left usually goes away.
Each year has its own clock
If you owe for more than one year, each year gets its own 10 years. So one year may end soon while another has years left.
Extra tax added later can have its own start date too. That happens after an audit, for example. This is why we look at every year, and every charge, one at a time.
What pauses the clock
The 10 years don’t always run straight through. Some events pause the clock. When the pause ends, the clock picks up where it left off. Some events also add extra time at the end.
Here are the main ones.
A pending offer. An Offer in Compromise is a request to settle for less than you owe. While the IRS reviews your offer, the clock is paused. If they turn it down, the pause lasts 30 more days. If you appeal, it stays paused until the appeal is over.
A payment plan request. You can ask to pay over time. The IRS calls this an installment agreement. While they review your request, the clock is paused. If they reject the request, the pause lasts 30 more days, plus any appeal. Once a plan is in place and you’re paying, the clock runs again.
A Collection Due Process hearing. This is a hearing you can ask for after a final notice, to tell your side before collection. The clock is paused from the day the IRS gets your request until the hearing and any appeal are done. If fewer than 90 days would be left at that point, the IRS gets 90 days.
Bankruptcy. Filing bankruptcy pauses the clock while the case is open. When the case ends, the IRS gets 6 more months.
Living outside the U.S. If you live outside the country for 6 months or more in a row, the clock generally pauses while you’re gone. The IRS may also get extra time after you come back.
An innocent spouse request. This is a request to be let off a joint tax bill because of what your spouse did. Filing one pauses the clock on your debt. It doesn’t pause your spouse’s. When the request is settled, 60 more days are added.
Military service in a combat zone can pause the clock too.
Why your end date matters
Knowing your end date can change your whole plan.
Say one of your years has only two years left. A long payment plan that pays it all off may not make sense. In some cases, a plan with smaller payments may let the clock run out on part of the debt.
Or say you’re thinking about an offer. Filing one pauses the clock. If the offer is turned down, the IRS has had more time added to collect. That’s not a reason to skip an offer. It’s a reason to plan it with care.
This works the other way too. Some people are paying on old debts that are past their end date, or close to it. That money might be better used somewhere else.
A few things to know
- If you never filed, there may be no tax bill yet for that year. Then no clock is running. The clock usually starts once a return is filed and the tax is charged.
- The IRS may not tell you your end date on their letters. You have to ask, or get your records.
- Dates can be wrong. We sometimes find end dates that were figured wrong. It’s worth a second look.
How we find your date
We get your full IRS record, year by year. We find the day each tax was charged. Then we check for every pause and add it up. That gives us a real end date for each year you owe.
Once we know how much time the IRS really has, we can pick the way out that fits your real numbers. Not the IRS’s first guess.