What your IRS balance costs, and the ways to pay it

Enter the tax you owe and when the return was filed. The calculator adds the penalties of the tax code and the interest the IRS charges each day, now and on the day you plan to pay. No name, no phone number, nothing is sent anywhere.

Updated October 20, 2026: rates, fees and standards read on irs.gov · How the figures are computed · Who publishes this · not tax advice, the IRS decides

Not paid by the due date

0 = paid today

More options
Final notice of intent to levy received

Balance on October 20, 2026

$12,842

$842 added to $12,000 of tax since April 15, 2026; interest now runs at about $2 a day.

Unpaid tax$12,000
Failure to file penalty$0
Failure to pay penalty, 7 months$420
Interest, compounded daily$422

Penalties of IRC 6651 and interest at each quarter's underpayment rate (7 % in the fourth quarter of 2026). Estimate, not tax advice.

How this is computed
How the balance grows, month by month
Month endingPenaltiesInterestBalance
May 15, 2026$60$60$12,120
June 15, 2026$120$122$12,242
July 15, 2026$180$187$12,367
August 15, 2026$240$261$12,501
September 15, 2026$300$336$12,636
October 15, 2026$360$410$12,770
October 20, 2026$420$422$12,842

An unpaid federal tax balance grows from three sources. The failure to file penalty is 5 % of the unpaid tax for each month or part of a month the return is late, capped at 25 %, with a minimum of $525 (or the whole tax if smaller) for a 2025 return filed more than 60 days late. The failure to pay penalty is 0.5 % a month, cut to 0.25 % while an installment agreement runs and raised to 1 % after a final notice of intent to levy, capped at 25 %. Interest is the federal short-term rate plus 3 points, 7 % in the fourth quarter of 2026, compounded every day on the tax and the penalties. On $12,000 of 2025 tax, filed on time and still unpaid on October 20, 2026, that is $12,842; had the return not been filed at all, $15,635. A Simple Payment Plan, with no financial statement and up to 10 years to pay for most people, is open online for balances up to $50,000, for a set-up fee of $29 by direct debit.

Four ways to clear $20,000 of tax, and what each adds

RoutePaymentInterest, penalty and feeConditions
Pay in full now$20,000$0Direct Pay, debit or credit card, check
Short-term plan, 6 months$3,460 a month$754Up to 180 days, balance under $100,000, no fee
Long-term plan, 36 months$642 a month$3,102Online, direct debit, set-up fee $29
Long-term plan, 120 months$253 a month$10,286Online, direct debit, set-up fee $29

Balance that is all tax, return filed on time, plan starting October 20, 2026, interest at the current rate kept for future quarters. When no monthly payment is affordable, the offer and hardship pages take over.

From the first bill to a levy

  1. CP14

    First bill: balance due, with penalties and interest to date. Pay or set up a plan by the date printed.

  2. CP501, CP503

    Reminders that the balance is still open; interest and the late payment penalty keep running.

  3. CP504

    Notice of intent to levy state tax refunds and other property. Ten days after it, the late payment penalty moves to 1 % a month.

  4. LT11 or Letter 1058

    Final notice of intent to levy and your right to a Collection Due Process hearing, to request within 30 days.

  5. Lien, levy, passport

    A Notice of Federal Tax Lien can be filed; wages and bank accounts can be levied; above $66,000 the debt can be certified to the State Department.

Interest rate by quarter

First quarter of 20257 %
Second quarter of 20257 %
Third quarter of 20257 %
Fourth quarter of 20257 %
First quarter of 20267 %
Second quarter of 20266 %
Third quarter of 20267 %
Fourth quarter of 20267 %

Underpayment rate for individuals, IRC 6621, compounded daily. Next rate: announced by the IRS in November 2026, set at the federal short-term rate plus 3 points (IRC 6621).

Why the balance on your notice is not the amount you will pay

A notice shows the balance on the day it was printed. The IRS keeps adding interest every day, at the rate of each quarter, and the late payment penalty at the start of each month, until the day the last dollar is received. The interest page of the IRS says it plainly: interest is charged on the tax, on penalties and on interest already charged, compounded daily. The rate has moved between 3 % in 2021 and 8 % in 2024; it is 7 % in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the rate for the first quarter of 2027 is announced by the IRS in November 2026, set at the federal short-term rate plus 3 points (IRC 6621).

The penalties come from section 6651 of the Internal Revenue Code. Filing late costs ten times more than paying late: 5 % a month against 0.5 %. In a month when both apply, the late filing penalty is reduced by the late payment penalty, so the pair costs 5 % a month for five months, then 0.5 % alone. That is why filing the return on time, even without the money, is the cheapest thing a person who cannot pay can do; the late filing penalty page has the arithmetic.

Relief exists and costs nothing to ask for. For 2025 returns and later, the IRS applies an Automatic Exemption from Penalty from summer 2026 to people with three clean prior years; for earlier years First Time Abate is granted on a phone call. Interest on the tax is never waived. The penalty relief calculator shows which route fits and what would go.

Every stage of a tax debt, one page each

Penalties and interest

  • Penalty and interest calculator · Your balance today: tax, both late penalties and daily interest, split line by line
  • Failure to file penalty · 5 % a month for 5 months, and the $525 minimum after 60 days
  • Failure to pay penalty · 0.5 % a month, 0.25 % in a plan, 1 % after a levy notice, up to 25 %
  • Extensions and penalties · What a six-month extension removes, and the interest and penalty it leaves running from April
  • First-time penalty abatement · First Time Abate on request for 2024 and earlier, the automatic exemption for 2025 returns onward
  • Penalty abatement · Reasonable cause, Form 843, and the interest that falls away with a removed penalty
  • Unfiled tax returns · Several years not filed: what each year has become, and what filing now still changes
  • Back taxes · Old balances on filed returns: the penalty ceiling, the rate history and the collection clock

Payment plans

  • IRS payment plan · Monthly payment, total cost and the $29 to $178 set-up fee
  • Installment agreement types · Simple plan, the agreement the IRS must accept, non-streamlined and partial pay, side by side
  • Short-term payment plan · Up to 180 days, no set-up fee, for balances under $100,000
  • Payment plan fees · Set-up fees from $0 to $178, low-income waivers and the cost of changing a plan
  • Can't pay your taxes · Why filing without paying costs far less than not filing, and the routes that follow
  • Owe the IRS $10,000 · The $10,000 line of section 6159(c), six months without a fee, or 3 years
  • Owe the IRS $50,000 · The Simple Payment Plan limit to the dollar, and what happens one dollar above it
  • Owe the IRS $100,000 · Past both online limits: the financial statement, the county standards and the payment they set
  • Missed plan payment · Default, the CP523 notice, the 30 days to act and what reinstating a plan costs
  • Partial payment agreement · A monthly plan set by the household budget, which ends when the collection period does

Offers and hardship

Notices and collection

  • CP14 notice · The first IRS bill: what the amount includes, what it costs to wait, and the replies that work
  • CP504 notice · The notice of intent to levy: the penalty doubles to 1 % a month, and what the IRS can seize next
  • CP2000 notice · A proposed change, not a bill: the extra tax, the 20 % accuracy penalty test and interest from the due date
  • IRS wage garnishment · What an employer must leave you each payday under Publication 1494 in 2026, and how the levy ends
  • IRS bank levy · When the IRS can take money from a bank account, the notices it must send first, and the requests that hold it off
  • IRS tax lien · How a federal tax lien arises, what the public notice does, and the four ways to release, discharge, subordinate or withdraw it
  • Passport and tax debt · Seriously delinquent tax debt over $66,000 in 2026: certification, denial or revocation, and how it is reversed
  • Collection statute (CSED) · The 10-year collection period from assessment, the events that pause it, and how to find your expiration date

Rules behind the numbers

What the calculator assumes

The tax entered is the tax shown on the return, minus withholding, estimated payments and credits, that was not paid by the original due date. The calculator applies the late filing penalty from that due date (or from October 15 with a valid extension), the late payment penalty from the due date, the minimum late filing penalty for returns more than 60 days late, the 25 % caps, and interest at each quarter's underpayment rate, compounded daily, on the tax and the penalties. Payments made after the due date, the estimated tax penalty and accuracy penalties are not in this calculator; the method page lists each rule and its source.

Payment plans, offers and hardship: which one when

If the balance can be paid within 180 days, a short-term plan costs no fee. If it can be paid over time, a Simple Payment Plan is set up online for balances up to $50,000 with no financial statement, and most people get up to 10 years (payment plan calculator). Above that, or when the monthly payment the IRS would require is out of reach, the IRS measures what you can pay against its Collection Financial Standards: what is left becomes the payment, an offer in compromise if the total could never be collected, or currently not collectible status if nothing is left.

Why there is no form on this site

The pages that rank for tax debt are mostly built to collect a name and a phone number for a resolution firm. Everything a firm would compute in a "free consultation" is here: the penalties, the interest, the plan, the allowable expenses of your county and the minimum offer. The IRS itself offers every one of these routes without a representative, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service helps for free when a case is stuck. The page on tax relief companies explains what they can and cannot do.

Questions people with a balance ask

How much does the IRS charge per month on unpaid taxes?

For a return filed on time, 0.5 % of the unpaid tax a month as a late payment penalty, plus interest at 7 % a year compounded daily, which is a little over half a percent a month. If the return was also late, add 4.5 % a month for up to five months. The penalty drops to 0.25 % under a long-term installment agreement.

Can I set up an IRS payment plan without calling anyone?

Yes, online, if you owe $50,000 or less in tax, penalties and interest and have filed all required returns. Most people can take up to 10 years, and the set-up fee is $29 with direct debit or $69 with other payments. A short-term plan of up to 180 days has no set-up fee for balances under $100,000.

Does the IRS forgive tax debt after 10 years?

The IRS generally has 10 years from the assessment date to collect a tax, under section 6502. When that collection statute expiration date passes, the remaining balance can no longer be collected. The period is suspended while an offer is pending, during bankruptcy and in some other cases, so the date can be later than ten years after the assessment.

What is the least the IRS will accept in an offer in compromise?

Usually the reasonable collection potential: the quick-sale equity in your assets, minus the allowances of Form 433-A (OIC), plus 12 months of the income left after allowable expenses for a lump-sum offer, or 24 months for a periodic offer. The offer calculator applies your county's standards to compute it.

Should I file my return even if I cannot pay the balance?

Filing on time removes the larger of the two penalties. The late filing penalty is 5 % of the unpaid tax a month, ten times the late payment penalty of 0.5 %, and a return more than 60 days late carries a minimum of $525 or the whole tax. A return filed on time also halves the late payment penalty once a payment plan is approved.

Is anything sent to a tax firm when I use the calculator?

No. The calculator runs in your browser and asks for no name, phone number or e-mail. There is no form on the site and no partner firm. The pages link only to the IRS, the tax code and official sources, and the figures you type stay on your device unless you copy a share link yourself.

IRS pages, forms and statutes behind this page

Compiled by

Independent publisher of federal tax debt calculators built on the Internal Revenue Code, IRS forms and the IRS Collection Financial Standards

Figures checked on · Editorial policy · Contact

Results are estimates built on the penalty rules of the Internal Revenue Code, the interest rates the IRS publishes each quarter, the payment plan fees and the Collection Financial Standards in force, applied to the figures you type. This is not tax advice, and the IRS decides: your transcript, notices and the financial statement it reviews are what count. We receive nothing from any tax resolution firm, lender or preparer.

Rates, fees and standards in force in 2026, last checked on