If you owe back taxes, you’ve likely already heard that the IRS has 10 years to collect what you owe. This general rule is true, but like every part of tax law, it does have some nuance. The 10-year window starts on the assessment date, not the date that you filed the return.

Additionally, there are many situations that can pause the clock and push the Collection Statute Expiration Date back. The last day the agency can collect is called the Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED), and it can be important to know this date and understand how it affects your options.

Learn more about how long the IRS really has to collect your tax debt and what actions may result in a longer collection window. Get more personalized assistance with your tax needs by calling the Law Offices of Stephen B. Kass at 212-843-0050.

Key Takeaways

• The IRS generally has ten years from the date of assessment to collect a tax liability.
• The 10-year clock may be suspended by events like bankruptcy, CDP hearings, and pending relief applications.
• Reviewing your IRS account transcript can help you better understand how much time the IRS has to collect what you owe.
• As you get closer to the end of the collection window, expect collection efforts to ramp up.

What the IRS Collection Statute of Limitations Means

The collection statute of limitations is how long the IRS has to collect what you owe before the tax debt expires. In most cases, the IRS has 10 years from the date of assessment to collect, whether it’s via voluntary payment or enforced collection actions.

The expiration date for a tax debt is the Collection Statute Expiration Date, often shortened to CSED. Each tax assessment has its own CSED, and sometimes, a single tax period may have multiple CSEDs due to different assessment dates.

How the 10-Year Collection Statute Expiration Date is Determined

Figuring out when your tax debt expires can be fairly straightforward in most cases. First, you just have to identify the assessment date for the debt in question. Once you know that, you generally just add 10 years to that date to see how long the IRS has.

From there, you can adjust for any situations that suspended the running of the 10-year period. Actions that stop the collections are called tolling events – when the tolling event ends, the clock starts again, and the CSED is pushed back accordingly. In most cases, the extension is the same as the length of the tolling period, but in some cases, the IRS adds extra time.

Where to Find Your CSED

You can find your CSED by signing into your IRS online account and looking at your transcripts. Alternatively, call the IRS and ask for your CSEDs, or mail in a transcript request. A tax attorney can also help you get these dates.

How to Spot Errors

Unfortunately, the IRS often makes errors with CSED calculations. Use the process above to estimate your CSEDs. If you think they’re wrong, reach out to the IRS – or even better, hire a tax attorney to help you.

Why the Collection Clock Starts on the Assessment Date

There’s a lot of confusion around this topic, and it’s where many misunderstandings start. Your filing date is when you submit your tax return, but the assessment date is when the IRS officially records the tax liability. The 10-year window starts on the assessment date, not the filing date.

Other assessments may happen due to adjustments, audits, or Substitutes for Returns. In these cases, the IRS will send you a notice with appeal rights, and if you don’t respond by the deadline, the taxes will be assessed then. If you appeal, the assessment happens at the end of the appeal process.

This can affect your collection window in a variety of ways:

• If you file late, the assessment will be significantly later than the original return due date.
• If you mail a return, delayed processing can move the assessment date back much further than when you filed.
• If the IRS reviews your returns, for example, to check eligibility for a credit, that can also lead to assessment delays.
• If the IRS audits you and then assesses additional tax, the new assessment has its own separate 10-year clock.
• If there’s a Substitute for Return, the assessment date is likely much different than what you expect.
• If you amend your return, tax debt resulting from that amended return has its own CSED.

Taxpayers who misunderstand tolling events and how the CSED is calculated may believe they have much less time left of their collection window than they actually have.

Common Actions That Pause or Extend the Collection Period

Your collection window can be suspended or extended, which are generally recognized as two separate actions. When the collection period is suspended, the IRS is legally prohibited from collecting tax by garnishing wages or levying assets. An extension is when the IRS adds extra time to the collection period.

How Different Actions Affect the Timeline

If you’ve pursued different relief options and you’re unsure how they may affect your collection timeline, we’ll break down how each of these situations may impact your CSED.

Offer in Compromise

When you submit an offer in compromise application and the IRS accepts it for processing, the IRS is temporarily prohibited from levying your assets for as long as your application is pending. Should they reject the offer in compromise, levy is still prohibited for 30 days after the rejection. If you appeal a rejection within 30 days, the IRS still cannot levy while your appeal is pending.

Your collection window is suspended for the entirety of the time that the IRS cannot levy. This can significantly extend your CSED, since OIC applications may take upwards of a year or more to process.

Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a common tolling event. The IRS’s collection rights are suspended from the day you file until the bankruptcy concludes, whether it’s by dismissal, discharge, or closure. Generally, the IRS gets an additional six months to collect after the bankruptcy is processed.

Collection Due Process Hearing

When the IRS receives your CDP hearing request, the CSED is suspended. From then until you withdraw your request or they make a final determination, the CSED remains suspended. If you have fewer than 90 days left until your CSED upon receiving a final determination, the CSED is automatically extended to 90 days after the final determination.

Innocent Spouse Relief Request

Your CSED is suspended from the day you request innocent spouse relief until you file a waiver or the 90-day period in which you can petition the Tax Court expires. Should you petition the Tax Court, your CSED is suspended until the Court makes its final decision. In both cases, the CSED is extended 60 days. During this time, the CSED is not extended for your spouse or former spouse.

Installment Agreement Request

The CSED is suspended when you apply for an installment agreement and while the IRS reviews your application. The CSED may be extended by 30 days if you withdraw your application, the IRS proposes terminating your installment agreement, or the IRS rejects your installment agreement request. The CSED is also suspended during the appeal process if you appeal their decision.

Serving in Combat Zones

If you serve in the Armed Forces and are sent to a combat zone, the CSED is suspended for the entire time you are in the combat zone, plus an additional 270 days after you return.

IRS Assessment Statute Vs the Collection Statute

Although these phrases sound similar, they are distinctly different:

• Assessment statute: how long the IRS has to assess additional tax. In most cases, this is three years. The window increases to six for significant income understatement, and the IRS has unlimited time to assess additional tax in cases of fraud.
• Collection statute: how long the IRS has to collect once the tax has already been assessed. This is typically 10 years, although the tolling events discussed above can extend that timeframe.

The assessment deadline means that the IRS cannot audit or adjust your return once the statute period ends.

What to Expect When Your CSED is Near

Taxpayers sometimes wonder if they can slide under the radar when it comes to the CSED, but that is rarely the case. Often, when the IRS is near the end of its collection window, it escalates collection activity and resorts to levies.

However, in some cases, tax debt does expire. If you’re near the CSED, a tax attorney can let you know the best steps for your situation. Unfortunately, working with an experienced tax relief company can put you at risk – for example, they might extend the collection period by requesting an offer in compromise on a tax debt that’s close to expiring, whereas an experienced tax resolution attorney knows when to just let time take its course.

Payment and Relief Options for IRS Tax Debt

There are several options that you may want to explore to pay or get relief from your tax debts.

• Installment agreement: Set up monthly payments, and the IRS will stop all collection activity as long as you stay current on your arrangement.
• Currently not collectible: Prove you cannot afford to pay anything, and the IRS will mark your account as CNC and stop collections until your financial situation improves. If you stay on CNC status until the CSED, any remaining tax debt will expire.
• Offer in compromise: Give the IRS detailed financial information and make an offer to settle for less than owed. The IRS will typically approve the offer if it represents the most you can afford to pay based on your income and assets, but rejection rates are high, so consider working with a tax attorney.

Remember, applying for these programs affects your CSED. Meeting with a tax attorney first can help you make the smartest choice for your situation.

When It’s Time to Talk to a Tax Attorney

Consider reaching out to a tax attorney if you:

• Can’t afford to pay what you owe and want to know the best options.
• Have multiple years of tax debt with their own CSEDs.
• Are near the CSED for one or more assessments.
• Want help so you don’t unintentionally extend the CSED.
• Are facing more aggressive enforcement actions.
• Think the IRS has miscalculated your CSED.
• Have received IRS levy notices about tax debt that should have expired.

It’s time to talk to a tax professional. Failing to address this situation quickly could result in levies that claim your wages, savings, and other assets.

The team at the Law Offices of Stephen B. Kass can pull your tax transcripts, explain the exact timeline for your tax collection windows, and develop a plan that protects your finances and your tax compliance. Get the relief from tax debt you deserve.

Call us at 212-843-0050 or send us a message online now.

Frequently Asked Questions

I filed my tax return nine years ago—I’m close to the end of the collection window, right?

Perhaps, but not necessarily. You could have about one year left until the collection window closes—or you could have much longer if you have requested an offer in compromise, filed for innocent spouse relief, requested a CDP hearing, or took any other actions that extended the CSED.

Does filing an offer in compromise request extend the collection window?

Yes. The collection window is paused while the OIC is pending, plus an additional 30 days if the IRS rejects your application. This can significantly lengthen the collection window, since the OIC application process often takes six to 18 months, or more if you appeal a rejection.

I filed for bankruptcy between filing my taxes and now. What does that mean for the collection window?

Bankruptcy suspends the collection window while the case is pending and for six months after the end of your case.

Sources:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6331

https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/tax-terms/collection-statute-expiration-date-csed/

https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/news/tax-tips/understanding-your-collection-statute-expirationdate/2025/09/

https://www.astps.org/wp-content/uploads/TollingPresentation.pdf