Form 433-A and 433-A (OIC)

Two forms with the same name: which one you need

Both forms are titled “Collection Information Statement for Wage Earners and Self-Employed Individuals,” which causes a lot of wrong filings. The IRS itself says Form 433-A (OIC) “should only be used with the Form 656, Offer in Compromise.”

When you usually need neither

• You qualify for a Simple Payment Plan: individuals who owe $50,000 (IRS.gov, July 2026) or less and pay by the collection statute date. These plans need no financial statement.
• You mail Form 9465 and the form asks for a financial statement: it asks for the shorter Form 433-F, not 433-A.
• Your business is a corporation, partnership or LLC: the business uses Form 433-B or 433-B (OIC), and owners may also need a 433-A.

Form 433-A section by section

The June 2026 form tells wage earners to complete Sections 1 to 5 and self-employed people Sections 1 and 3 to 7, both with the signature on page 6. Answer every question or write N/A. This walkthrough follows the official PDF.

Section 1: personal information (lines 1-3)

Names, address, county, marital status, SSNs or ITINs, everyone in the household (whether you claim them and whether they contribute income), and any outside business interest, including an LLC or partnership share.

Section 2: employment (lines 4-5)

Employer, pay period, occupation and time on the job for you and your spouse, and whether the IRS may contact you at work.

Section 3: other financial information (lines 6-11)

Lawsuits, an expected rise or fall in income, bankruptcies, whether you hold a U.S. passport, time lived abroad and dual citizenship, incarceration, trusts and estates you benefit from or control, safe deposit boxes, and assets you transferred for less than full value in the past 10 years. Attach documents that apply.

Section 4: personal assets, foreign and domestic (lines 12-20)

• Cash and bank accounts (12-13): cash on hand and every checking, savings, online and mobile account (for example PayPal) and stored value card, even with a zero balance.
• Investments (14): stocks, bonds, funds, CDs, IRAs, 401(k) plans, commodities and any business interest, with loan balances.
• Digital assets (15): cryptocurrency, NFTs and smart contracts, where they are held, the email used to open the exchange account, their dollar value, and who has access to the private keys.
• Available credit (16) and life insurance cash value (17).
• Real property (18), vehicles (19) and other personal assets (20): fair market value, loan balance, monthly payment and final payment date. Include intangibles such as domain names, patents and copyrights.

Section 5: monthly income and expenses (lines 21-51)

Gross monthly income for the household, then actual monthly living expenses: food, clothing and miscellaneous; housing and utilities; vehicle ownership and operating costs; public transportation; health insurance and out-of-pocket care; court-ordered payments; child care; life insurance; current-year taxes; secured debts; delinquent state or local taxes; and other expenses. The form converts pay: weekly times 4.3, every two weeks times 2.17, twice a month times 2. Line 51 is income minus expenses.

Sections 6-7: self-employed only (lines 52-90)

Only sole proprietors complete these; other business entities file Form 433-B. List payment processors, merchant card accounts, business bank accounts, receivables (including government contracts) and business assets, then average monthly business income and expenses over the last 3, 6, 9 or 12 months. Net business income on line 90 goes to line 24. You may use Schedule C figures, but add back depreciation and depletion and don’t double-count home-office costs already in housing.

Form 433-A (OIC) line-by-line highlights

The OIC version, in the Form 656-B booklet, is built to produce a number. Use it if you owe individual income tax, a Trust Fund Recovery Penalty or personal excise tax, are self-employed, are personally liable for a partnership’s offer, or are filing for a deceased person’s estate.

Section 1: household

Includes a box to check if you were married and lived in a community property state (AZ, CA, ID, LA, NM, NV, TX, WA or WI) in the last ten years, and asks who else contributes to household income.

Section 3: personal assets and Box A

• Line 1, bank accounts: the form subtracts a fixed allowance from the total.
• Lines 2-4: investments and life insurance cash value at full value less loans; digital assets at their dollar value today; retirement accounts at a reduced value (the form notes the reduction may be larger because of taxes and early-withdrawal penalties).
• Lines 5-7: real estate, vehicles and valuables at quick-sale value (current market value times the factor printed on the form) minus loans. A leased vehicle counts as zero. A fixed vehicle allowance is subtracted for one car, or for two on a joint offer, and a fixed deduction applies to furniture and personal effects.
• Box A totals lines 1-7: your available individual equity. Never enter a negative line; use zero.

The form’s fine print says these allowances apply only if you are an individual and the IRS finds you can’t pay in full; they, and the 12 and 24 multipliers below, drop out if the IRS decides you can pay the balance within the collection period.

Sections 4-6: self-employed and Boxes B-C

Business bank accounts, digital assets and equipment (tools used to produce income can be entered at zero, and there is a deduction for professional books and tools of the trade), receivables, then monthly business income and expenses averaged over 6 to 12 months, or a current profit and loss statement. Depreciation and other non-cash expenses are not allowed.

Section 7: household income and expenses, Boxes D-F

Income includes everyone who contributes to the household and non-taxable income. For food, clothing and miscellaneous (line 39) and out-of-pocket health care (line 45), enter the full IRS standard even if you spend less; for everything else, enter actual costs. The IRS generally won’t count private school tuition, college costs, charitable gifts or unsecured loan payments. Box F is remaining monthly income.

Section 8: your minimum offer

Multiply Box F by 12 (IRS.gov, April 2026) if you will pay in five or fewer payments within 5 months (IRS.gov, April 2026), or by 24 (IRS.gov, April 2026) if you will pay over 6 to 24 months (IRS.gov, April 2026). Add Box A and Box B. That is the minimum offer you carry to Form 656, Section 4.

Example (assumed figures): Box A is $6,000, there is no Box B, and Box F is $300. A lump-sum offer would be $6,000 + ($300 x 12) = $9,600. A periodic offer would be $6,000 + ($300 x 24) = $13,200. Paying faster lowers the minimum.

Sections 9-10: other information and signatures

Bankruptcy in the past 7 years, time abroad, litigation, trusts, safe deposit boxes, expected inheritances, assets transferred for less than full value in the past 10 years, and foreign assets. Then sign; both spouses sign a joint statement. Estimate your own numbers with our offer estimator or the IRS OIC Pre-Qualifier.

How the Collection Financial Standards cap your expenses

The IRS measures expenses on both forms against its Collection Financial Standards, effective for financial analysis on or after 29 June 2026.

• Deviations. If the standards leave you unable to cover basic living expenses, the IRS may allow actual costs, but you must document why.
• The six-year rule. For a payment plan (not an offer), if you can pay the full balance with penalties and interest within six years, the IRS may allow expenses above the standards and payments such as minimum credit card or student loan payments, without substantiating reasonable expenses.
• Household size. Generally the same as the dependents on your latest return.

Look up the current amounts for your county on IRS.gov before you fill in the expense section; they are updated every year. See how the same rules apply to hardship status on our currently not collectible page.

Documents to gather

Form 433-A (OIC) lists the copies you must attach; the IRS may ask for the same proof after reviewing a Form 433-A.

• The most recent pay stub or earnings statement from each employer.
• Complete statements for the three most recent months for each personal bank account, and the six most recent for each business account.
• The latest statement for every investment and retirement account, and records of any digital assets you hold.
• Statements for pensions, Social Security, rental income, interest, dividends, gig or app income and other sources.
• Mortgage, car loan and other lender statements showing balance and monthly payment.
• A list of accounts or notes receivable, if you have any.
• Proof of delinquent state or local taxes and the payment amount.
• Court orders for child support or alimony you pay.
• Trust documents, if Section 9 applies, and Form 433-B if you own part of a business entity.
• A Form 2848 if a representative will handle the case.

Send copies, never originals.

Where to send the forms

• Form 433-A (OIC) goes in the offer package with Form 656: online through your IRS Individual Online Account, or by mail to the Memphis or Brookhaven offer unit for your state (see where to send Form 656).
• Form 433-A has no general mailing address. Send it to the revenue officer, IRS office or address named in the letter or call that asked for it, by the date given.

The IRS publishes no processing time for either form. After it reviews your statement, expect it to ask for verification, and answer by the deadline: a missed deadline on an offer gets it returned without appeal rights.

Common Form 433-A mistakes

1. Filing the wrong version. Form 433-A with an offer, or the OIC version with a hardship request.
2. Using an old revision. Both forms changed in 2026; use the current PDFs from IRS.gov.
3. Leaving accounts off. Zero-balance, online, foreign and digital asset accounts must be listed. The IRS compares your statement with its own records and third-party data.
4. Entering less than the standard on the OIC food and health care lines. Form 433-A (OIC) tells you to enter the full standard there.
5. Leaving out household income. A non-liable spouse or other contributor’s income counts toward household expenses.
6. Keeping depreciation as an expense, or claiming expenses the IRS generally disallows, such as private school tuition or unsecured loan payments.
7. Negative numbers and blank lines. Use zero and N/A.
8. Missing signatures, including a spouse’s on a joint liability.

How to complete Form 433-A or 433-A (OIC), step by step

1. Pick the right form. Use Form 433-A (OIC) from the Form 656-B booklet only for an offer in compromise. Use Form 433-A when an IRS employee or letter asks for it, or for a hardship or payment plan review.
2. Gather three to six months of records. Collect pay stubs, three months of personal bank statements (six for business accounts), investment, retirement and digital asset statements, loan statements, bills and, if self-employed, a profit and loss statement.
3. Look up the Collection Financial Standards. Check the IRS national standards for your household size and the local housing, utilities and transportation standards for your county, effective 29 June 2026.
4. Complete the sections that apply to you. Wage earners and self-employed people complete different sections. Answer every question, write N/A where a question doesn’t apply, list foreign as well as domestic assets, and never enter a negative number.
5. Complete the business sections first if self-employed. Finish the self-employment sections before the household income and expense section, and add back depreciation and other non-cash deductions.
6. Check the totals. On Form 433-A (OIC), carry Box A, Box B and Box F into Section 8 to compute the minimum offer. On Form 433-A, subtract total living expenses from total income on line 51.
7. Sign and attach copies. Sign under penalties of perjury; both spouses sign for a joint liability. Attach copies, not originals, of the listed documents.
8. Send it with the right package. Send Form 433-A (OIC) with Form 656 by mail or through your Individual Online Account. Send Form 433-A to the IRS employee or address that asked for it, and keep a copy.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading in the Fresh Start hub

• Form 656 step by stepThe offer form that Form 433-A (OIC) goes with.
• Offer in compromise under Fresh StartHow reasonable collection potential works.
• Form 433-F explainedThe shorter IRS financial statement.
• Currently not collectible statusWhen the IRS pauses collection for hardship.
• Fresh Start forms libraryEvery IRS form used under Fresh Start.
• How to apply for Fresh Start reliefThe five steps, from transcripts to compliance.