A real family’s story · Simple tools, honest help
When his income dropped, the letters kept coming. We learned the IRS has a status for people who truly can’t pay, and we wrote down every step so you don’t have to figure it out alone.
CP14, CP501, CP504, Letter 1058. Each one sounds worse than the last, and it’s hard to tell which one actually matters.
Every notice gets a plain-English label, and the real deadline goes first: Letter 1058 gives you 30 days to act.
Your income minus the living costs the IRS allows. When nothing is left over, that is exactly what hardship status is for.
Your documents, the financial form and a call script, packed into one folder, so you can ask the IRS to pause collection.
There’s more than one way through this. Pick the one that sounds most like you right now.
Answer a few simple questions about your income and bills. In a few minutes you’ll see whether hardship status is worth pursuing. You don’t need to give your email to see your result.
Try it freeAfter rent, food and utilities, how much is usually left each month?
A step-by-step written guide with fill-in templates to ask the IRS to pause collections. Written for regular people, not accountants.
In [YEAR], my dad’s income dropped and the IRS balance he owed became impossible to pay. The letters and the fear of a levy took over our kitchen table.
What finally helped wasn’t an expensive “relief” company. It was understanding the rules and filling out the right paperwork, carefully.
— [Founder name], founder
Read our storyEvery paper to have in front of you before you call the IRS or fill out a form, on one printable page.
