If you cannot repay your tax debt in full, the IRS can agree to let you pay it off regularly in monthly payments.

The IRS may be a problematic and impersonal entity to work with, but it is also extremely logical and reasonable. The agency realizes that it just cannot take money that doesn’t exist. By letting taxpayers pay down debt over time as a form of tax resolution, this can often be the simplest and best way for the agency to raise all the money it is owed