IRS Installment Agreement Help in Sugar Land, TX
Installment agreement help is one of the tax resolution services at Nguyen Accounting Group in Sugar Land, TX. If you are an individual, owe $50,000 or less and have filed every required return, you may be able to apply for an IRS payment plan online. Business accounts have to call the IRS or visit an office. A CPA helps when returns are missing, payroll taxes are involved or the balance is over the online limits.
15 minutes to get to know you and see if working together makes sense.
What we do
If you owe the IRS more than you can pay at once, an installment agreement is one of the options. The IRS also calls it a payment plan. Whether it is the right option depends on how much you owe, which returns are filed and what you can pay each month.
Installment agreements are one of the tax resolution services at Nguyen Accounting Group. Thuy Nguyen is a CPA and a Certified Tax Resolution Specialist, and she works in English and Vietnamese.
This page sets out the IRS's own rules, with links to the IRS pages they come from. Read it before you call anyone, us included, so you know which kind of plan you are likely to need.
What installment agreement help includes
Installment agreements
Setting up a monthly payment plan with the IRS when the balance cannot be paid at once.
Back tax returns
Filing years that were never filed. A payment plan request needs your filing to be current, as the IRS rules below explain.
IRS letter response
Reading the letter that says you owe, and answering it.
Offer in Compromise
Settling for less than the full balance is a separate IRS program with its own rules. Ask whether it applies to you.
How it works
Start with a 15-minute intro call. Have the IRS letter that shows the balance within reach, if you have one, and your most recent return.
After that, the same steps apply whoever you work with. Confirm what you owe. File anything that is missing. Pick the plan that fits the balance and the monthly amount you can manage. Apply. Then keep the plan in good standing for as long as it runs.
Who installment agreement help is for
- Individuals who owe the IRS more than they can pay right away
- Business owners with a balance on a business tax return
- Employers behind on payroll tax deposits, where the IRS can assess the Trust Fund Recovery Penalty against a responsible person, which can include an owner
- Anyone with unfiled years that need filing before a plan can be requested
- Anyone whose balance is over the limits for a simple payment plan
- Vietnamese-speaking taxpayers who would rather go through it in Vietnamese
What an IRS installment agreement is
In the IRS's words, a payment plan is "an agreement with the IRS to pay the taxes you owe within an extended timeframe" (IRS: payment plans).
There are two kinds. A short-term plan is for a balance you can pay in 180 days or less. A long-term plan, the installment agreement, is paid in monthly payments (IRS: payment plans).
A plan costs more than paying now. The IRS says interest and some penalty charges continue to be added to the amount you owe until the balance is paid in full (IRS: payment plans).
Who qualifies for a simple payment plan
Filing comes first. The IRS says that before a payment plan request can be considered, you must be current on all filing and payment requirements (IRS Tax Topic 202).
Individuals: most qualify for a Simple Payment Plan, generally when the assessed total of tax, penalties and interest is $50,000 or less. The payments must clear the balance by the Collection Statute Expiration Date, which is generally 10 years from the date the tax was assessed (IRS Tax Topic 202).
Businesses: where the balance includes trust fund taxes, the general limit is $25,000 or less in assessed tax, penalties and interest, or $50,000 or less for an out-of-business sole proprietorship. Without trust fund taxes it is $50,000 or less. The payments still have to clear the balance by the Collection Statute Expiration Date (IRS Tax Topic 202). Trust fund taxes are the income tax and the employee's share of Social Security and Medicare withheld from wages (IRS: Trust Fund Recovery Penalty).
Over those limits, you may still qualify, but the IRS may require a Collection Information Statement (Form 433-F, 433-A or 433-B) and decide whether to file a Notice of Federal Tax Lien. If the monthly amount you can afford will not clear the balance by the collection date, a Partial Payment Installment Agreement may be an option. It needs a Collection Information Statement with supporting financial information, and the IRS reviews it every two years (IRS Tax Topic 202). If you cannot pay the full balance at all, an Offer in Compromise is the separate IRS program to read about.
What the IRS charges to set one up
The IRS charges a setup fee when it approves a long-term plan. On its payment plans page, updated March 3, 2026, the fees are $29 online or $107 by phone, mail or in person for a plan paid by direct debit from a checking account, and $69 online or $178 by phone, mail or in person for a plan paid another way (IRS: payment plans).
A short-term plan of 180 days or less has no setup fee. Low-income individuals, with adjusted gross income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level, can have the long-term fee waived or reimbursed under the conditions the IRS sets out, and paying by card adds a processing fee (IRS: payment plans).
Those are the IRS's fees, not ours. Individual tax returns at Nguyen Accounting Group start at $950. The firm has not published a fee for resolution work, so ask what the work would cost.
What changes once you apply
With certain exceptions, the IRS is generally prohibited from levying while an installment agreement request is pending, and its time to collect is suspended or prolonged (IRS: payment plans).
Once a plan is in place, the IRS asks you to pay at least the minimum monthly payment when it is due and to file all required returns and pay all taxes in full and on time. Future refunds are applied to the tax debt until it is paid in full, and a plan that goes into default may carry a reinstatement fee (IRS: payment plans).
Doing it yourself, and when to bring in a CPA
For a small balance with every return filed, the IRS online application may be all you need. Individuals may qualify to apply online if they owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest and have filed all required returns, and the IRS says you get an immediate answer on whether the plan is approved. An individual who owes less than $100,000 in combined tax, penalties and interest may also apply online for a short-term plan, paid in 180 days or less. Sole proprietors and independent contractors apply as individuals. Business accounts cannot apply online: the IRS says business taxpayers should call the number on their notice or visit a Taxpayer Assistance Center (IRS: Online Payment Agreement; IRS: payment plans).
Bring in a CPA when the balance is over those limits, returns are missing, payroll taxes are part of what you owe, the IRS has asked for a Collection Information Statement, or a lien or levy is already in play. A representative can also apply for you. The IRS says the representative first submits Form 2848, which has to cover every tax period with a balance due, and then applies through a Tax Pro Account or offline. Not every authority level on the form can set up a payment plan, and some Form 2848s can only be used offline (IRS: Online Payment Agreement; IRS: About Form 2848).
Installment Agreement Help in Sugar Land and across Fort Bend County and the Houston area
Our office is at 12440 Emily Ct, Suite 303, Sugar Land, TX 77478, in Sugar Land, Texas.
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Who can help with an IRS installment agreement in Sugar Land, TX?
Nguyen Accounting Group, Inc is a tax and accounting practice at 12440 Emily Ct, Suite 303, Sugar Land, Texas 77478, led by Thuy Nguyen, JD, CPA, a Certified Tax Coach and Certified Tax Resolution Specialist. Its tax resolution services include installment agreements, back tax returns, IRS letter response and Offers in Compromise. The office works in English and Vietnamese. Call 832.500.4299, Monday to Thursday 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm and Friday 9am to noon, or book a 15-minute intro call.
Installment Agreement Help FAQs
How much can I owe and still get a simple IRS payment plan?
For most individuals, the IRS says $50,000 or less in assessed tax, penalties and interest. For businesses with trust fund taxes in the balance, it is $25,000 or less, or $50,000 or less for an out-of-business sole proprietorship. Without trust fund taxes, it is $50,000 or less. In each case the payments have to clear the balance by the collection statute date (IRS Tax Topic 202).
Do I have to file my missing returns first?
Yes. The IRS says you must be current on all filing and payment requirements before a payment plan request can be considered (IRS Tax Topic 202).
Does interest stop once I am on a payment plan?
No. The IRS says interest and some penalty charges keep being added until the balance is paid in full (IRS: payment plans).
Can you set up the payment plan for me?
Installment agreements are one of the firm's tax resolution services. Form 2848 is the form that authorizes a representative to act for you with the IRS (IRS: About Form 2848). To set up a payment plan for you, the IRS says that Form 2848 has to cover every tax period with a balance due, and the representative applies through a Tax Pro Account or offline. Some authority levels cannot set up a payment plan (IRS: Online Payment Agreement).
How much do you charge?
Individual tax returns start at $950. The firm has not published a fee for tax resolution work, so ask what the work would cost. The IRS's own setup fees for a long-term plan are $29 online or $107 by phone, mail or in person when you pay by direct debit, and $69 online or $178 otherwise, with lower or waived fees for some low-income individuals (IRS: payment plans).
Can we talk in Vietnamese?
Yes. Thuy Nguyen is bilingual in English and Vietnamese.
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Start with a 15-minute intro call
15 minutes to get to know you and see if working together makes sense.
- 1Pick a time.
- 2We talk for 15 minutes.
- 3We decide together whether to move forward.