Owe the IRS for past years? Here are your options.

Get the real number. Notices show one year at a time and go stale as interest adds up. Your account transcripts show every year, every payment, and every penalty. Blaga can request them under Form 2848. Also check your most recent letter. If it is a CP504 or a final notice like an LT11, the deadline on that letter comes first.

Penalties and interest. The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each month, up to 25%, per the IRS failure-to-pay page. It rises to 1% a month if you don't pay within 10 days of a notice of intent to levy. Interest runs on top. Some of those penalties can be removed. See penalty abatement. Paying even part of the tax early lowers both, because both are figured on the unpaid amount.

Generally 10 years from the date the tax was assessed. The IRS calls this the Collection Statute Expiration Date, or CSED, on its collection period page. Each assessment has its own date, and it shows on your transcript. Some actions pause or extend it, such as a payment plan request or an offer in compromise. Knowing your dates helps pick the right option.

• Payment plan. The most common answer. See installment agreements.
• Hardship delay. If you can't pay basic living expenses, the IRS may mark the account currently not collectible. Penalties and interest still accrue. See stop collections.
• Offer in compromise. Only when full payment is out of reach. See offer in compromise.
• Fix the balance. Missing payments, wrong penalties, or an amended return can lower what you owe.

The right choice depends on your income, your expenses, and what you own. Blaga runs those numbers with you before any form is filed.

Yes, for almost every option. Online payment plans require all required returns to be filed, and so does an offer in compromise. If years are missing, start with our unfiled returns page. Blaga can prepare those years and the resolution together. Current-year filing matters too. If you are self-employed, keep making estimated payments while the old balance is worked out.

Yes. Tax & Business Solutions is at 5629 FM 1960 West, Suite 221, in the Champions area. Blaga Veleva has more than 25 years in finance and taxation, and the IRS gives Enrolled Agents unlimited practice rights. You can meet in person or send documents through the secure portal. The first consultation is free. Bring your most recent IRS letter, your last filed return, and a rough list of monthly bills.

Avoid the moves that make the debt bigger or close off options. Don't skip this year's return because of old balances, since new unfiled years block most relief. Don't pull from a retirement account to pay without checking the tax on the withdrawal. Be careful with ads that promise to settle for a fraction of what you owe. The IRS accepts offers only when full payment is out of reach. And don't let letters pile up unopened. Use our letter decoder to sort them.