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Educational material based on a draft book, pending professional review. Not legal or tax advice. How we handle this
TaxRZR
Tool 4 · Chapter 8 · Ability to pay

What can you actually pay each month?

A private worksheet that applies the IRS Collection Financial Standards to your household: income, minus the allowable living expenses, equals the monthly figure the IRS usually starts from.

Fields marked required start blank. Other amounts start at zero.

01Household and income

Sets the medical out-of-pocket standard.

Gross, before personal withholding. Self-employment or rental income after necessary business or rental costs.

02Where you live

Rent or mortgage, property tax, homeowner or renter insurance, utilities, phone and internet. Capped at your county standard.

03Getting around

Up to two. A single taxpayer is normally allowed one; the IRS decides actual need.

With no vehicle, the national public transportation allowance applies automatically.

04Other necessary expenses

Separate from the out-of-pocket standard.

Do not count taxes already deducted from income, old tax-debt payments, or property taxes included in housing.

Necessary court-ordered payments, required child care, term life insurance and similar documented items not already counted above. Subject to IRS review. Ordinary debt payments and voluntary spending are not automatically allowable; special exceptions are not modeled.

Financial inputs stay in browser memory, never in the address bar or on our servers. Estimator entries clear when you leave or refresh. Applying an estimate transfers only the monthly amount; your existing calculator inputs stay in this tab until refresh.

No estimate yet

Complete the required fields. The result appears as you type.

  • Monthly income: enter a non-negative monthly amount up to $1 billion (the tool's numeric limit).
  • Actual housing and utilities: enter a non-negative monthly amount up to $1 billion (the tool's numeric limit).
  • Choose a state or territory and a county or county equivalent from the official housing table.
Use this number

Sends only the monthly figure to the cost-of-waiting calculator, in this tab's memory. Do not propose more than you can keep paying because of an estimate.

How this is calculated+
  • National standards for food, clothing, housekeeping and personal care apply automatically by household size, whatever you actually spend.
  • Out-of-pocket health care uses the national per-person amounts for those under 65 and 65 or older. Premiums are added separately at actual cost.
  • Housing and utilities are the lesser of your actual cost and the county standard for your family size.
  • Each needed vehicle uses your actual loan or lease payment up to the ownership cap (zero if paid off) and actual operating costs up to the regional standard. Without a vehicle, the national public transportation allowance applies.
  • Ability to pay is income minus allowable expenses, floored at zero. Expenses above the standards may be allowed with evidence.
  • Not modeled: assets and equity, Offer in Compromise eligibility, proration, the six-year rule, or documented deviations from the standards.
IRS sources and dates

Collection Financial Standards effective June 29, 2026; checked October 30, 2026 (US Eastern). Bundled snapshot, not a live IRS feed.

What this is and is not. General information adapted from Chapter 8: The Financial X-Ray, pending professional review. Not advice for your situation.
Where this comes from
Chapter 8: The Financial X-Ray
If you can pay over time
Requesting an installment agreement
If you cannot pay
Chapter 11: When You Truly Cannot Pay