Short answer
Enter each assessment date from your IRS account transcript and any events that paused collection. The calculator adds 10 years (IRS.gov, 2026) to each assessment, then adds the paused time the law allows: pending payment plan requests and offers plus 30 days after a rejection, Collection Due Process hearings, bankruptcy plus 6 months, and long stays abroad.
Key takeaways
- The IRS generally has 10 years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it (IRC 6502), and each assessment on your transcript has its own collection statute expiration date (CSED).
- A pending installment agreement request or offer in compromise pauses the clock, and a rejection adds 30 more days plus any appeal you file within those 30 days (IRC 6331(k)).
- A timely Collection Due Process hearing pauses it until the determination is final, and the CSED can never end sooner than 90 days after that (IRC 6330(e)); bankruptcy pauses it for the case plus 6 months (IRC 6503(h)).
- When pauses overlap, the IRS counts the shared days only once (IRM 5.1.19.3), and the calculator does the same.
- A payment plan that is in effect and currently not collectible status do not pause the clock. The result is an estimate: confirm the date with the IRS before you rely on it.
Estimate your collection statute date
Add one row for each assessment: the tax from your return (transaction code 150) and each later addition, such as TC 290 or TC 300 after an amended return or an audit. Then add every event that paused collection, with the dates from your letters or transcript. Leave an end date blank if the matter is still pending. Nothing you type is sent or saved.
How the calculator counts each pause
The starting CSED is the assessment date plus 10 years. Each event below adds the days it paused the clock. A pause that runs from one date through another adds the days between them, which is how the IRS manual counts it.
| Event | Clock paused from | Paused through | Transcript clue | Law |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Installment agreement request | The day you asked | Approval; or 30 days after a rejection or withdrawal; or the end of an appeal filed within those 30 days | TC 971 action code 043, then 063 | IRC 6331(k)(2), (k)(3); IRM 5.1.19.3.5 |
| Installment agreement terminated | The termination date | 30 days later, or the end of an appeal filed within the 30 days | TC 971 action code 163 | IRC 6331(k)(2)(D) |
| Offer in compromise | The day the IRS accepted it for processing | Acceptance, withdrawal or return; or 30 days after a rejection; or the end of an appeal filed within those 30 days | TC 480, then 481, 482 or 780 | IRC 6331(k)(1); IRM 5.1.19.3.4 |
| Collection Due Process hearing (timely request) | The day the IRS received the request | Withdrawal, or the date the determination becomes final (30 days after the notice of determination if you don’t petition the Tax Court). The CSED then can’t end sooner than 90 days after that date. | TC 520 closing code 76 or 77 | IRC 6330(e)(1); IRM 5.1.9.3.6 |
| Bankruptcy | The petition date | Discharge, dismissal, closing or lifting of the stay, plus 6 months | TC 520 with a bankruptcy closing code, then TC 521 | IRC 6503(h)(2); IRM 5.9.4.3 |
| Living outside the U.S. for 6 months or more in a row | The day you left | The day you came back. The CSED can’t end sooner than 6 months after your return. | No dedicated code; the IRS may post a new CSED with TC 550 | IRC 6503(c); IRM 5.1.19.3.7 |
| Combat zone or contingency operation | The day you entered | The day you left, plus 180 days | TC 500 | IRC 7508(a); IRM 5.1.19.3.8 |
| Innocent spouse request (requesting spouse only) | The day you filed Form 8857 | A signed waiver, or the end of the 90 days to petition the Tax Court, or a final Tax Court decision, plus 60 days | TC 971 action code 065 | IRC 6015(e)(2); IRM 5.1.19.3.6 |
Overlapping pauses count once
The IRS manual says overlapping suspensions “run concurrently; they are not cumulative.” The calculator merges overlapping periods and counts each day once. A pause that begins after the CSED has already passed cannot revive it, and a pause that began before an assessment only counts from that assessment’s date.
Dates the law doesn’t settle exactly
An assessment made on February 29 has no anniversary in a common year; the calculator uses March 1 and flags it. Six-month periods are added as calendar months, using the last day of a shorter month. If your CSED depends on a day or two either way, don’t rely on the estimate.
Worked examples
Example (assumed dates). Each row comes straight from the calculator.
| Situation | Pauses counted | Estimated CSED |
|---|---|---|
| Tax assessed June 1, 2009. Combat zone service May 10, 2014 to March 1, 2015; offer in compromise from April 20, 2015, rejected October 17, 2015, not appealed (the IRS manual’s own example) | May 10, 2014 through November 16, 2015: 555 days. The 130 days when both applied are counted once. | December 7, 2020 (instead of June 1, 2019) |
| Tax assessed May 1, 2016. Hearing request received March 2, 2026; notice of determination April 1, 2026; no Tax Court petition | March 2 through May 1, 2026 (final 30 days after the notice): 60 days, which would give June 30, 2026 | July 30, 2026: fewer than 90 days were left at the final determination, so the 90-day minimum applies |
| Two assessments: return tax May 23, 2022 (TC 150) and an audit addition September 14, 2024 (TC 300). Payment plan request pending January 10 to March 10, 2023; bankruptcy filed January 6, 2025 and closed August 31, 2025 | Return tax: 59 days for the plan request plus 418 days for the bankruptcy and its 6 months. Audit addition: 418 days only, because the plan request ended before it was assessed. | Return tax: September 12, 2033. Audit addition: November 6, 2035 |
| Tax assessed February 29, 2024, no pauses | None | March 1, 2034 (2034 has no February 29), flagged as an edge case |
| Abroad January 10 to July 9, 2020 | None: the stay was shorter than 6 months in a row | No change |
Where to find the dates you need
Your IRS account transcript lists each assessment with its date: TC 150 for the tax on your return, TC 290 or TC 300 for later additions. It also shows codes for most pauses, such as TC 480 for a pending offer and TC 520 for bankruptcy or a hearing. Our transcript guide explains how to get one and read it line by line.
For event dates, use your paperwork: the date on your payment plan request or Form 9465, the IRS letter accepting your offer for processing, the rejection or determination letter, and the bankruptcy court’s discharge or dismissal order. For a Collection Due Process hearing, the pause starts when the IRS receives a timely request, which you generally must send within 30 days (IRS.gov, 2026) of the levy or lien notice; see the CDP hearing explainer. If the request is late, you get an equivalent hearing, which does not pause the clock.
What does not pause the clock
- A payment plan that is in effect. The clock pauses while a request is pending, not while you are making payments (IRM 5.1.19.3.5).
- Currently not collectible status. It is not on the IRS list of events that suspend the CSED; the clock keeps running.
- An equivalent hearing, requested after the CDP window has closed.
- An offer returned as not processable. Only offers the IRS accepted for processing pause it.
- Receiving notices. A CP504 or LT11 does not change the CSED; a hearing request in response to the LT11 does.
The calculator also leaves out events it cannot model reliably: a collection waiver signed with a partial payment plan (Form 900), military deferment under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a Taxpayer Assistance Order request, wrongful levy claims, court judgments and estate tax extensions. The collection statute guide covers each one.
Using your estimate
The CSED is a fair input when choosing between options. A partial payment installment agreement or hardship status with only a few years left can cost less than full payment, and every request you make pauses the clock while it is pending. It is not a reason to ignore the balance: interest keeps growing, the IRS can levy right up to the date, and a filed lien stays until then.
- Confirm the date with the IRS. Call 800-829-1040 (IRS.gov, 2026) or the number on your latest notice and ask for the CSED of each assessment.
- Compare it with your estimate. A gap usually means a pause you didn’t enter, or one the IRS recorded wrongly.
- If you think the IRS date is wrong, ask the Taxpayer Advocate Service for help. Low Income Taxpayer Clinics also help eligible taxpayers.
- Before you file anything new, check how it affects the clock: see how to pause IRS collection and bankruptcy and IRS taxes.
You can do all of this yourself. If several years, a bankruptcy or an old offer make the count hard, Global Gate Tax Relief offers a free consultation, pulls your transcripts and quotes a flat fee upfront if it takes the case: request a review or call 1-877-800-8180.
Frequently asked questions
Find the assessment date for each balance on your account transcript (TC 150 for the return, TC 290 or 300 for additions) and add 10 years. Then add the days collection was paused, such as pending payment plan requests and offers, Collection Due Process hearings and bankruptcy, counting overlapping days once.
A pending request pauses the clock, and a rejection, withdrawal or termination adds 30 days plus any appeal. Once a plan is in effect, the clock keeps running. A partial payment plan can come with a signed waiver (Form 900) that extends it, which this calculator does not model.
The time the offer was pending, from the day the IRS accepted it for processing until it was accepted, withdrawn, returned or rejected. A rejection adds 30 days, and an appeal filed within those 30 days adds the time the appeal takes.
Yes. The clock is suspended from the petition date while the bankruptcy bars collection, and for 6 months after the case is discharged, dismissed or closed or the stay is lifted (IRC 6503(h)).
No. The clock keeps running while your account is in currently not collectible status, which is why some balances expire during it.
Generally no. Exceptions include a court judgment the government won before the date and a levy on future income made before it. If you pay after the CSED, you can ask for a refund within the refund time limits.
Usually because of a pause you didn’t enter, an event that applied to only one spouse or some years, or a few days’ difference in how a deadline was counted. Ask the IRS which events it used, and get help from the Taxpayer Advocate Service if you think its date is wrong.
Sources
- 26 U.S.C. 6502, Collection after assessment
- 26 U.S.C. 6503, Suspension of running of period of limitation (subsections (c) and (h))
- 26 U.S.C. 6331, Levy and distraint (subsections (i)(5) and (k))
- 26 U.S.C. 6330, Notice and opportunity for hearing before levy (subsection (e))
- 26 U.S.C. 7122, Compromises
- 26 U.S.C. 6015, Relief from joint and several liability on joint return (subsection (e)(2))
- 26 U.S.C. 7508, Time for performing certain acts postponed by reason of service in combat zone
- IRM 5.1.19, Collection Statute Expiration (rev. May 5, 2026)
- IRM 5.1.9, Collection Appeal Rights (5.1.9.3.6, suspension of the collection statute)
- IRM 5.9.4, Common Bankruptcy Issues (5.9.4.3, ASED/CSED)
- IRM 5.8.7, Return, Terminate, Withdraw, and Reject Processing (offers)
- IRS: Time IRS can collect tax
- Taxpayer Advocate Service
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