How long does IRS Installment Agreement approval take? Form 9465 submitted 30+ days ago
Title: How long does IRS Installment Agreement approval take? Form 9465 submitted 30+ days ago 1 Hello everyone, I'm getting a bit anxious about my tax payment situation. I submitted Form 9465 (Installment Agreement Request) along with my tax return about a month ago. I specified on line 12 that I wanted to make monthly payments on the 15th of each month. It's been well over 30 days now, and I still haven't received any notification about whether my installment plan was approved or not. I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I just start making payments according to the plan I proposed, even though they haven't officially approved it yet? I'm also concerned about penalties - if I wait for their decision before making any payments, will I get hit with additional penalties for late payment? The amount I owe is about $7,800 and I really want to avoid making this situation worse. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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Ali Anderson
8 You're in a bit of a tricky spot, but here's what you should know. The IRS is currently experiencing significant backlogs in processing installment agreements. While they typically should respond within 30 days, it's not unusual right now to wait 45-60 days or even longer. That said, interest and penalties continue to accrue on your unpaid tax balance regardless of whether your installment agreement has been approved. Making payments before approval is actually a good idea - it reduces your overall balance and the associated penalties/interest. Just be sure to indicate your tax ID and tax year with any payment. If your installment agreement is eventually rejected for some reason, any payments you've made will still be applied to your balance. There's virtually no downside to starting payments early.
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Ali Anderson
•15 Thanks for the info! If I start making payments now before approval, should I follow exactly what I proposed on Form 9465? Like the exact amount and payment date? Or should I pay more if I can?
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Ali Anderson
•8 Yes, I would recommend following exactly what you proposed on Form 9465 - same amount and same payment date. This shows good faith and consistency with your proposed plan. If you can afford to pay more than what you proposed, that's always beneficial since it reduces your balance faster and minimizes the interest and penalties that continue to accrue. Just make sure you can sustain whatever payment amount you choose going forward.
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Ali Anderson
6 I was in a similar situation last year and found this amazing tool that saved me so much time and stress. I was waiting forever on my installment agreement and getting nowhere with the IRS. Then I found https://taxr.ai which analyzes your tax documents and gives you super clear guidance on next steps. I uploaded my Form 9465 copy and got insights on typical processing times based on my specific situation. It also gave me a personalized checklist of what to do while waiting for approval, including setting up payments to avoid additional penalties. The system even shows you how penalties and interest continue to accumulate if you wait vs. making payments now.
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Ali Anderson
•12 That sounds interesting. Does it actually connect with the IRS system to check your installment agreement status? Or is it just giving general advice?
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Ali Anderson
•19 I'm curious - how does it handle different tax situations? I filed a 9465 too but my situation involves self-employment taxes and I'm wondering if it would work for more complex cases.
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Ali Anderson
•6 It doesn't directly connect to IRS systems, but it analyzes your documents and provides specific guidance based on your situation. It tracks typical processing times and gives you a probability estimate of when you'll likely hear back. It handles pretty much all tax situations including self-employment. I initially used it for my W-2 income, but later uploaded some 1099 information when I started freelancing. It adjusted all the recommendations based on my combined tax situation. The tool is especially helpful for complex cases because it breaks down exactly what penalties apply to different parts of your tax debt.
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Ali Anderson
19 Just wanted to update everyone - I tried https://taxr.ai after reading about it here and it was incredibly helpful! I uploaded my Form 9465 copy and tax transcript, and it gave me a detailed breakdown of when I should expect to hear back based on current IRS processing times. The tool showed me exactly how much interest and penalties were accumulating daily and calculated how much I would save by making payments before approval. I've been making payments according to my proposed schedule for two weeks now, and yesterday I finally got my official approval letter from the IRS. The system was spot on with the timeline prediction. It also helped me set up payment reminders that sync with my calendar. Definitely recommend for anyone in limbo with an installment agreement!
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Ali Anderson
3 If you're still waiting to hear back about your installment agreement and getting frustrated with the IRS, I highly recommend trying Claimyr. I was in the exact same situation a few months ago - submitted Form 9465, waited well over 45 days with no response, couldn't get through on the phone. I was skeptical at first, but https://claimyr.com actually got me connected to a real IRS agent in about 20 minutes when I had been trying for days on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - it basically navigates the IRS phone tree for you and calls you back when an agent is on the line. The agent was able to look up my installment agreement status immediately and confirm it was still being processed.
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Ali Anderson
•22 How does this actually work? I've been calling the IRS for days and always get the "call volume too high" message and they hang up. Does this service somehow bypass that?
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Ali Anderson
•17 Sounds too good to be true. You're telling me this service can get through when the IRS literally hangs up on everyone else? I've tried calling at 7am sharp when they open and still couldn't get through.
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Ali Anderson
•3 The service basically keeps calling the IRS for you using their system that knows exactly when to call and which options to select. They navigate the entire phone menu system automatically. No, it doesn't "bypass" anything - it just automates the process of calling repeatedly at strategic times until it gets through. Then when it reaches a human agent, it connects you immediately. It's like having someone make hundreds of calls for you until one gets through, but it's all done by their system. I was connected in about 18 minutes when I had previously spent hours over multiple days trying to reach someone.
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Ali Anderson
17 I need to eat my words and apologize to whoever recommended Claimyr above. After my skeptical comment, I was still getting nowhere with the IRS on my installment agreement, so I decided to try it as a last resort. I'm completely shocked - I got connected to an actual IRS agent in about 15 minutes yesterday after trying for over a week on my own. The agent confirmed my installment agreement had actually been approved 3 weeks ago but the letter was still being processed to send out. They gave me my agreement ID number over the phone and confirmed I could start making payments immediately. They even helped me set up direct debit payments so I don't have to worry about sending checks. I would have continued waiting for weeks not knowing it was already approved if I hadn't been able to speak with someone. Definitely worth it for the peace of mind alone.
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Ali Anderson
5 Something people don't realize - you can actually check your installment agreement status online in some cases. Go to the IRS website and look for "View Your Tax Account." If you can create an account there (requires some verification), you might be able to see if your agreement has been processed. Also, definitely start making payments now! The failure-to-pay penalty is 0.5% of your unpaid taxes for each month, up to 25% of your unpaid taxes. Interest also accrues daily. Don't wait for approval to start reducing these costs.
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Ali Anderson
•11 I tried the online account thing but my installment agreement doesn't show up there. Is that normal? My account just shows my balance due but nothing about the pending agreement.
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Ali Anderson
•5 That's normal in many cases. The online account system doesn't always display pending installment agreements - it typically only shows approved ones. If you just see your balance due, that likely means your agreement is still being processed. If it's been more than 45 days, I'd recommend calling the IRS directly to check on the status. The number should be on your tax bill notice. The automated system sometimes can tell you if an installment agreement is pending without having to speak to a representative.
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Ali Anderson
14 Has anyone dealt with having an installment agreement request rejected? I'm worried mine might get rejected because I had a previous one that I defaulted on about 3 years ago. Just wondering what the process is like if they say no.
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Ali Anderson
•23 I had one rejected last year. They sent a letter explaining exactly why (in my case, I proposed too low of a monthly payment for my income level). They gave me 30 days to submit a new proposal with a higher payment amount.
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Ali Anderson
•14 Thanks for sharing your experience! That's actually reassuring to know they give you a chance to fix the issue rather than just a flat rejection. Did you end up submitting a new proposal with the higher amount they wanted?
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Ava Kim
I went through this exact same situation about 6 months ago! Submitted my Form 9465 and waited what felt like forever. Here's what I learned: First, definitely start making payments now according to your proposed schedule. The IRS continues charging penalties and interest while they process your request, so you're just costing yourself more money by waiting. Any payments you make will be credited to your account regardless. Second, the processing times are really unpredictable right now. Mine took about 7 weeks to get approved, but I've heard of people waiting 2-3 months. The $7,800 you owe should qualify for streamlined processing since it's under $50,000, but that doesn't seem to be speeding things up much lately. One thing that helped me was calling the Practitioner Priority Service line (if you have a tax professional) or trying to get through to the regular customer service line very early in the morning. They were able to at least confirm my request was in the system and being processed. Don't stress too much - the vast majority of installment agreement requests get approved as long as you proposed a reasonable payment amount based on your financial situation. Just keep making those payments!
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Sofia Morales
•This is really helpful, thank you! I'm glad to hear that most requests get approved. When you called to check on your status, did they give you any timeline estimate or just confirm it was being processed? I'm debating whether it's worth the hassle of trying to get through to them or if I should just keep waiting and making payments like you suggested.
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