Guide library
IRS hardship and Currently Not Collectible guides
How the IRS decides you cannot pay, what it allows for living expenses, what it does with your assets, and what life looks like once collection stops. Every guide cites the Internal Revenue Manual, the Code, or the regulations it relies on.
Currently Not Collectible basics
What Currently Not Collectible Status Really Means
CNC is a pause button, not an eraser. Used correctly, it can buy you real breathing room.
How the IRS Legally Defines Economic Hardship
Hardship is not a feeling. It is a legal test with a regulation behind it, and you can use that regulation.
CNC, Installment Agreement or Offer in Compromise: Choosing the Right Fit
CNC is one answer to 'I cannot pay.' It is not the only one, and it is not always the best one.
Forms 433-A and 433-F
Form 433-A, Section by Section, for a Hardship Request
Form 433-A is the document that decides most hardship cases. Fill it out like it matters, because it does.
Form 433-F: The Shorter Financial Statement, Explained
Shorter does not mean casual. Form 433-F asks fewer questions, but every answer still counts.
Form 433-A or Form 433-F: Which One You Will Be Asked For
The form you get depends on who has your case. The rules underneath are the same.
Collection Financial Standards
The IRS Collection Financial Standards, in Plain English
The IRS does not ask what you spend. It asks what it will allow. Those are different questions.
National Standards for Food, Clothing and Other Items
This is the one allowance the IRS gives you without asking for receipts. Know what it covers before you argue for more.
The Out-of-Pocket Health Care Standard and Medical Costs
Medical costs are where many hardship cases are actually won. The standard is only the starting point.
The Housing and Utilities Standard: Why Your County Matters
Two families with the same income can get opposite answers from the IRS because they live in different counties.
IRS Transportation Standards: Car Payments, Operating Costs and Transit
Your car gets two allowances, not one. Most people only claim half of what they are entitled to.
Expenses, debts and assets
How the IRS Measures Self-Employed Income in a Hardship Case
Your Schedule C is not your ability to pay. The IRS rebuilds the number its own way.
Other Necessary Expenses the IRS Allows Beyond the Standards
The standards are not the whole budget. A long list of other expenses can be allowed if you claim them.
The Documents That Prove an IRS Hardship Claim
A hardship claim without proof is a story. With proof, it is a case.
When Your Real Expenses Exceed the IRS Standards
The standards are guidelines. The IRM says so. Here is how to make that sentence work for you.
Shared Household Expenses When Only One Person Owes the IRS
Your spouse does not owe the tax. Their paycheck still changes your answer.
Credit Cards, Student Loans and Other Debts in an IRS Hardship Analysis
The IRS puts itself ahead of your credit card company. Here is exactly how that works on paper.
Owing Both the IRS and the State: How Delinquent State Taxes Are Treated
Two tax collectors, one paycheck. The IRS has a formula for splitting it, and an order of operations that matters.
Your 401(k) and IRA in an IRS Hardship Analysis
A retirement account is an asset. Whether the IRS goes after it depends on your age, your conduct, and whether you need the money to live.
Home Equity and Other Assets: When They Block a Hardship Finding
No income is only half the test. The other half is what you own.
Life Insurance in an IRS Financial Analysis: Term, Whole Life and Settlements
A term premium is an expense. A whole life policy is an asset. That one distinction changes many hardship cases.
Hardship reviews and life in CNC
Hardship Closing Codes 24 Through 32: The Number That Decides When CNC Ends
Two digits on an IRS screen decide how much you can earn before collection comes back. Most taxpayers never learn theirs.
How CNC Status Gets Reactivated, and How to Prepare for It
CNC is not permanent. The IRS built in ways to come back. Know them so you are ready when it does.
Interest, Penalties and Refunds While You Are in CNC Status
Collection stops. The meter does not. Plan for both.
CNC and the Ten-Year Collection Statute
The IRS clock keeps running while you are in CNC. For some taxpayers, that is the whole point.
Tax Lien Filing When Your Account Is Placed in CNC
CNC stops collection. It usually starts a lien. Here is why the two travel together.
Getting a Levy Released for Economic Hardship
When a levy leaves you unable to pay basic living expenses, the law says it has to come off. You still have to prove it.
CNC Without a Financial Statement: Exception Processing
For certain taxpayers, the IRS can skip the financial statement entirely. Here is who qualifies and what still has to be shown.
Can You Get CNC Status With Unfiled Tax Returns?
The IRS usually wants your returns before it agrees you cannot pay. Hardship changes some of the rules, not all of them.
Passport Certification and Hardship CNC Status
A hardship determination can protect your passport. Here is how the statute and the IRS's own policy fit together.
Want someone to run your numbers?
Darrin T. Mish reviews IRS financial statements and hardship requests for taxpayers nationwide.