IRS collection statute
How long the IRS can collect: the 10-year statute of limitations on collection.
This 10-year rule runs from each assessment, not from the year the tax was owed. IRS Publication 594 says the running of the period may be suspended, including while the IRS considers a payment plan or offer in compromise request, during a Collection Due Process hearing, during a bankruptcy automatic stay and for 6 months after, and while the taxpayer lives outside the United States continuously for at least 6 months. Because suspensions add time, a balance assessed more than 10 years ago can still be collectible, and the date has to be worked out assessment by assessment.
Mr. Powell represents individuals and closely held businesses in IRS collection matters. He works from 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300 in Washington, DC, and handles IRS and U.S. Tax Court matters nationwide from that office.
26 U.S.C. sections 6015, 6320, 6322, 6325, 6330, 6331, 6343, 6401, 6502, 6503, and 6511, Treasury Regulation 301.6502-1, Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.19, and IRS Publication 594 (Rev. 1-2026) were checked on govinfo.gov, ecfr.gov, and irs.gov on November 4, 2026. The expiration date for each assessment is worked out from the IRS account record and the statute; this page does not compute it. This page is not legal advice.
The rule
Ten years from assessment.
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6502(a), an assessed federal tax may be collected by levy or by a proceeding in court only if the levy is made or the proceeding begun within 10 years after the assessment of the tax. The end of that period is the collection statute expiration date, or CSED. The period runs from the assessment, and several events suspend it.
How long can the IRS collect back taxes?
Generally 10 years from the date the tax was assessed. Under 26 U.S.C. section 6502(a), an assessed tax may be collected by levy or by a proceeding in court only if the levy is made or the proceeding begun within 10 years after the assessment, unless the period is extended. IRS Publication 594 says the IRS can attempt to collect taxes up to 10 years from the date they were assessed, and that the running of that period may be suspended.
Does IRS tax debt expire after 10 years?
Generally yes, 10 years after each assessment, but the count is not from the tax year. The Internal Revenue Manual says certain transactions carry their own CSEDs and that in some instances penalties may have a different CSED apart from any other assessment for the same period, and suspensions add time. Under section 6502(a), if a timely court proceeding to collect the tax is commenced, the levy period does not expire until the liability, or a judgment arising from it, is satisfied or becomes unenforceable.
Can the IRS extend the collection statute?
Yes, in limited ways. First, under section 6502(a)(2) and Treasury Regulation 301.6502-1(b), the IRS and the taxpayer can agree in writing to extend it when an installment agreement is entered into; the Internal Revenue Manual says Form 900, Tax Collection Waiver, is only executed with a partial payment installment agreement in certain situations, limited by policy to five years plus up to one year. Second, under the same provisions, they can agree in writing before the release of a levy that was made within the 10 years and is released after the 10 years end. Third, a suit to reduce the assessments to judgment, filed before the CSED, extends collection.
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6502
Official source: Treasury Regulation 301.6502-1
Official source: Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.19, Collection Statute Expiration
Official source: IRS Publication 594, The IRS Collection Process
Suspensions
What stops the clock.
Offer in compromise
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6331(k)(1), no levy may be made while an offer in compromise is pending, for 30 days after a rejection, and while an appeal filed within those 30 days is pending, with exceptions under section 6331(k)(3)(A) that include a written waiver and a jeopardy finding, and section 6331(k)(3)(B) suspends the collection statute for that time. An offer is pending from the date the IRS accepts it for processing.
Installment agreement request
The same rule covers a pending request for an installment agreement, the 30 days after a rejection or a termination, and a timely appeal of either. The clock runs while an agreement is in effect.
Collection Due Process hearing
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6330(e)(1), which section 6320(c) also applies to lien hearings, a timely request for a Collection Due Process hearing suspends the collection statute while the hearing, and appeals in it, are pending, and the period cannot expire before the 90th day after a final determination. IRS Publication 594 says the 10-year period is not suspended during an equivalent hearing.
Bankruptcy
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6503(h), the collection statute is suspended while the IRS is prohibited from collecting because of a bankruptcy case, and for 6 months after.
Living outside the United States
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6503(c), the collection statute is suspended while the taxpayer is outside the United States, if the absence is for a continuous period of at least 6 months. If the period would otherwise expire within 6 months after the taxpayer returns, it does not expire until 6 months after the return.
Innocent spouse request
Under 26 U.S.C. section 6015(e), the IRS may not levy or sue to collect from a spouse who has asked for innocent spouse relief on the assessment the request covers, generally until 90 days after the final determination or, if the spouse petitions the Tax Court, until its decision is final. Section 6015(e)(2) suspends the collection statute on that assessment for that period and for 60 days after, and the Internal Revenue Manual applies the suspension to the requesting spouse.
The Internal Revenue Manual says more than one case action can suspend the collection statute at the same time, and that overlapping suspensions run concurrently; they are not cumulative. The list above is not complete: the statute also suspends the period while the taxpayer's assets are in the custody of a court and for 6 months after, and, for the amount returned, from a wrongful seizure of a third party's property until its return plus 30 days, and the Manual says a Form 911 request for Taxpayer Advocate Service assistance suspends it, and counts military deferment and combat zone service among the events that suspend or extend the date. On a joint return, when only one spouse files for bankruptcy, requests a hearing, or makes an offer, the Manual has the date determined for each spouse separately.
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6331
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6330
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6320
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6503
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6015
Official source: Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.19, Collection Statute Expiration
Official source: IRS Publication 594, The IRS Collection Process
When I take on a collection statute question.
I take on a collection statute question when the date changes the decision: an IRS request to sign Form 900, a choice between an offer in compromise, a payment plan, and hardship status on a balance with a few years left, a bankruptcy filing that would add months, or a levy notice on an older balance. Each assessment has its own date, and an offer, a payment plan request, a Collection Due Process hearing, or a bankruptcy filing on the account can move it.
The Internal Revenue Manual reminds IRS employees that the CSED shown on the IRS systems may not be correct because of simultaneous actions suspending or extending it, so the date is rebuilt from the account record rather than taken from a single screen.
Payment plans, hardship status, and offers are covered on IRS installment agreement, Currently Not Collectible status, and alternatives to an offer in compromise.
Questions
Common questions.
Does an installment agreement stop the collection statute?
Not while the agreement is in effect. The Internal Revenue Manual says the CSED is not suspended while an installment agreement is in effect. The clock is generally suspended while a request for an installment agreement is pending, for 30 days after a rejection or a termination, and during an appeal filed within those 30 days: 26 U.S.C. section 6331(k)(2) bars levy in those periods, and section 6331(k)(3) applies the suspension rule of section 6331(i)(5) to them, but not to the period an agreement is in effect.
What happens when the collection statute expires?
The IRS cannot begin a new levy or court proceeding to collect that assessment. Under 26 U.S.C. section 6401(a), an amount assessed or collected after the period of limitation has expired is an overpayment, which can be refunded on a claim filed within the periods in section 6511. The Internal Revenue Manual tells IRS employees not to solicit voluntary payments on accounts barred by statute, and to tell a taxpayer who makes one that the payment is not required and ask whether the taxpayer wants it returned.
Does a levy or a federal tax lien end when the collection statute expires?
Generally yes. Under 26 U.S.C. section 6343(a)(1)(A), the IRS must release a levy when the liability becomes unenforceable by reason of lapse of time. Separately, the Internal Revenue Manual says proceeds received from a levy served before the CSED may be applied to the expired periods. Under section 6322, the lien lasts until the liability, or a judgment arising out of it, is satisfied or becomes unenforceable by reason of lapse of time, and section 6325(a) requires a certificate of release within 30 days after the IRS finds the liability legally unenforceable.
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6331
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6401
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6343
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6511
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6322
Official source: 26 U.S.C. 6325
Official source: Internal Revenue Manual 5.1.19, Collection Statute Expiration
Related pages
Related IRS collection resources.
- IRS installment agreementSimple, guaranteed, and partial payment agreements, and when the collection clock keeps running.
- Currently Not Collectible statusThe IRS hardship status and what it does and does not stop.
- Alternatives to an offer in compromisePayment plans, partial pay, hardship status, penalty relief, and the collection statute.
- IRS Form 656The offer in compromise forms and what the IRS asks for.
- CDP vs equivalent hearingThe 30-day CDP window, Tax Court review, and the later equivalent-hearing path.
- Federal tax lienRelease, withdrawal, discharge, and subordination.
- Bankruptcy and IRS tax debtThe discharge date tests for IRS tax debt in a bankruptcy case.
- Innocent spouse reliefForm 8857 and the three kinds of relief from a joint return.
Send the tax years and what the IRS has sent.
Say whether an offer, payment plan request, hearing request, or bankruptcy has been filed, and when. Send only a high-level summary.
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