What should you gather when the IRS starts collection?

Gather every IRS notice with its date and envelope, an account transcript for each year you owe, proof of what you have already paid, and the financial records behind an IRS collection information statement: three months of pay stubs, bank statements and bills, plus statements for every asset and loan. If a lien or levy has already happened, add the levy papers and the affected bank or pay records, and bring any returns you have not filed yet.

These papers answer the three questions that shape every collection case: what deadlines are running, how much is really owed, and what the IRS will say you can pay. The options they lead to are set out on Kathryn Meyer's page on IRS collections and enforcement.

How IRS collection usually unfolds

IRS Publication 594 (Rev. 1-2026) describes the general path from bill to enforcement, and it explains why the date on each letter matters.

1. A first bill. After a return is filed or a final decision sets the tax, the IRS sends a bill for the balance with penalties and interest.
2. At least one more bill. Interest and penalties continue to accrue as the reminders go out.
3. Collection action. After the final bill, the IRS may apply later refunds, file a notice of federal tax lien, levy wages or accounts, or assign a revenue officer, who normally sends an appointment letter or calls before visiting.
4. Notices with hearing rights. Before most levies, the IRS must send a Final Notice of Intent to Levy and Notice of Your Right to a Hearing; after a first lien filing, it must send a lien notice with hearing rights. Each opens a 30-day window.

Because a hearing request filed inside that window stops most levies and preserves Tax Court review, the first item on any checklist is the date. The window is explained in what a Collection Due Process hearing is and when to ask for one.

The checklist

Why the notices and transcripts come first

A notice's title tells you which procedure applies. Publication 1660 lists the notices that carry Collection Due Process rights, including the lien filing notice under IRC 6320 and the final notice of intent to levy under IRC 6330. Other actions, such as a rejected payment plan, are appealed through the Collection Appeals Program on much shorter timelines; the two are compared in Collection Due Process or the Collection Appeals Program.

The account transcript shows what the IRS has actually assessed and credited. The IRS's page on the collection period explains that the transcript's transactions section carries a date that generally reflects the collection statute expiration date plus any time added by law, and that you can ask the IRS or the Taxpayer Advocate Service to explain a date you think is wrong. That date limits how long a plan can run; see how long the IRS has to collect a tax debt.

What the financial records are for

When a case needs more than a simple payment plan, the IRS asks for a collection information statement. Form 433-A (Rev. 6-2026) covers wage earners and self-employed individuals, Form 433-F is the shorter version, and businesses use Form 433-B. The current Form 433-A asks about digital assets, foreign residence of six months or more in the past 10 years, and every account, vehicle, policy and property you own. Form 433-F tells filers that documentation may include pay statements, bank and investment statements, loan statements and bills for recurring expenses.

The IRS then compares your income with allowable expenses and adds the equity in your assets. The national and local standards, and the six-year rule that can allow more, are explained in how the IRS decides what you can afford to pay.

What to think through before the meeting

Records answer most questions, but a few answers can only come from you, and they often decide which option is realistic.

• Will your income change? The IRS looks at whether income is likely to rise or fall, so a new job, a retirement date, a large contract or a seasonal slowdown belongs in the conversation.
• Could you sell or borrow against anything? Equity in a home, a vehicle, a retirement account or a whole life policy is part of what the IRS counts, and using it yourself may cost less than an enforced sale.
• Are refunds coming? Publication 594 lists applying later refunds to the balance among the IRS's collection actions, so an expected refund affects both the balance and your cash flow.
• Is anyone else liable? A joint return, a business partner or a payroll service can change who owes what.
• Has your address changed? Notices go to your last known address, so a move can explain missing letters and lapsed deadlines.
• Who at the IRS is handling the case? A revenue officer's name and deadlines, or a campus phone number, changes how and how quickly you need to respond.

What changes the answer

• A levy already in place. A bank holds levied funds for 21 days before sending them (IRC 6332(c)), so bank statements and the levy notice go to the top of the pile; see how to get a bank or wage levy released.
• Unfiled returns. Form 656-B says an offer cannot be considered until all required returns are filed, current estimated tax payments are made, and business owners with employees have made deposits for the current and two prior quarters. Bringing past years up to date, and choosing how to correct them, is part of strategic tax counsel.
• A business balance. Unpaid payroll taxes can lead to personal liability for owners and others, so payroll records and who signed checks matter; see whether the IRS can make you pay your company's unpaid payroll taxes.
• A lien and a pending sale or refinance. Bring the closing details, because discharge and subordination requests have their own forms and lead times (see whether a federal tax lien can be released or withdrawn).
• A joint balance and a divorce or separation. Spousal relief has its own deadlines, covered in innocent spouse relief.
• A bankruptcy question. The ages of the tax years and the filing dates of the returns decide what could be discharged; see whether income taxes can be discharged in bankruptcy.

For example: a final notice and a frozen account

For example, imagine a self-employed designer who owes for two years and finds that her business checking account has been frozen by an IRS levy. In her mail are two balance due notices, a Final Notice of Intent to Levy dated six weeks earlier, and the bank's levy letter. She gathers the notices with their envelopes, downloads account transcripts showing the assessments and her two earlier payments, and pulls three months of bank statements, her client invoices and her rent, car and insurance bills. She also finds that her most recent return was never filed. Because the levy notice is more than 30 days old, her Collection Due Process window has closed, but the bank's 21-day hold has not ended, and she can still ask for an equivalent hearing within one year or seek a levy release. With the records in hand, a representative can show her income and expenses on Form 433-A, file the missing return, and propose a plan or another alternative. This is a hypothetical, not a real case.

Common mistakes before a first meeting

• Bringing only the latest letter. Earlier notices show which deadlines have already run.
• Throwing away envelopes. Mailing dates can matter when a deadline is close.
• Guessing at the balance. Transcripts show assessments, payments and penalties line by line.
• Hiding an unfiled year. Filing compliance is a condition of plans and offers.
• Waiting to collect records. A bank levy's 21-day hold runs whether or not the paperwork is ready.
• Paying a caller you cannot verify. Legitimate private collectors follow a set process; see whether a private agency collecting your IRS debt is legitimate.

What to do this week

1. Put every IRS letter in date order and mark any with "Your Right to a Hearing" in the title.
2. Download account transcripts for each year you owe from your IRS online account.
3. Collect three months of pay, bank and bill records, and the latest statement for each asset and loan.
4. List any unfiled returns and start gathering what you need to file them.
5. Sign Form 2848 so a representative can obtain your records and speak with the IRS.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need all of this for a simple payment plan?

Often not. The IRS says simple payment plans require no financial analysis and no substantiation of expenses, but you still need the notices and transcripts to know the balance and deadlines.

What if you cannot find older notices?

Your account transcripts list notices issued and the assessments behind them. The general guide to what to do if you receive an IRS notice explains how to read them.

How far back should bank statements go?

The IRS normally reviews three months of expenses and may look at up to a year if three months are not representative (IRM 5.15.1). Businesses reporting income on Form 656-B use 6 to 12 months of records.

Should you bring audit papers too?

Yes, if the balance came from an audit. Some unpaid assessments can be reopened, and the audit list in what to bring to a first meeting about an IRS audit covers those records.

Why does the IRS want a signed Form 2848?

It authorizes a representative to receive your information and act for you; see how a tax attorney represents you before the IRS.

Can an offer be considered with an open bankruptcy case?

No. Form 656-B says you are not eligible for an offer while in an open bankruptcy proceeding; the offer rules are covered in whether you qualify for an IRS offer in compromise.

Bringing the papers to a first meeting

A first meeting is most useful when the deadlines and numbers are on the table from the start. Kathryn Meyer spent more than two decades in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel and represents taxpayers in collection matters. The firm's other work is listed under services. When your papers are together, contact the firm or call (571) 560-8674.

Sources

• IRS Publication 594, The IRS Collection Process (Rev. 1-2026)
• IRS Publication 1660, Collection Appeal Rights
• IRS, Time IRS can collect tax
• IRS, Get your tax records and transcripts
• IRS, Collection financial standards
• Internal Revenue Manual 5.15.1, Financial Analysis Handbook
• IRS Form 433-A (Rev. 6-2026)
• IRS Form 433-F, Collection Information Statement
• IRS Form 656-B, Offer in Compromise booklet
• IRS, About Form 2848
• 26 U.S.C. 6330 and 26 U.S.C. 6332