LT24

An LT24 is oddly good news in a stern envelope: the IRS received your payment-plan proposal and wants to complete it — it just needs more information first. The plan isn't rejected; it's unfinished.

“We got your installment-agreement proposal but can't set it up yet. Send a completed Form 9465 or call with your income and expense information by the date on the notice — otherwise the account goes back into the collection stream, where liens and wage or bank levies become possible.”

This is a use-it-or-lose-it date for the payment plan itself. Completing the application by the printed date keeps collection paused; missing it can send the account back toward enforced collection.

• The notice, with the date and the address in its Additional Information section
• A completed picture of monthly income and expenses — the exact thing the IRS says it needs
• Form 9465 if applying by mail
• Details of the original proposal you sent

• Assembling the financial disclosure so the plan is approved on the first pass
• Sizing the monthly payment so it holds up — a defaulted plan is worse than a slower one
• Making the call with the IRS so nothing is quoted wrong
• Checking whether a different resolution (offer in compromise, hardship) fits better before committing