If you cannot pay your basic living expenses, you cannot pay the IRS. The IRS recognizes this with currently not collectible status, which places an account in a status where active collection stops while the debt stays on the books.
How it works
You document your income, expenses, and assets on IRS collection information forms. The IRS compares your expenses against its allowable standards. If the math shows no ability to pay, the account can be placed in this status.
The collection clock keeps running
The 10-year collection period under IRC 6502 does not stop just because an account is not being actively collected. That matters, and it is the law working as written.
It can be revisited
If your income rises, the IRS can take the account out of this status and resume collection. Plan for that possibility from day one.
General information only, not legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and IRS procedures change; the sources cited were reviewed on the date shown above.