Form 433-B – Business IRS Guide, Requirements & How to File

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A business that owes federal tax and a sole proprietor who owes it do not fill out the same collection form, and choosing wrong sends the whole packet back. Form 433-B is the Collection Information Statement for businesses, used by partnerships, corporations, and multi-member LLCs to show assets, liabilities, income, and expenses while the IRS decides how to collect. Individuals, sole proprietors, and single-member LLCs use 433-A or 433-F instead.

Form 433-B is a 6-page, 5-section disclosure. Section 5 monthly income may be averaged over the prior 3, 6, 9, or 12 months of typical operations, which smooths out a lumpy book. For an Offer in Compromise the business uses Form 433-B (OIC), not the standard form; during that OIC analysis the IRS generally values many non-cash assets at quick sale value, often about 80% of fair market value, minus certain liens.

Key Takeaways

• Form 433-B is the IRS Collection Information Statement for businesses, used to show assets, liabilities, income, and expenses when the IRS is deciding how to collect. It applies to corporations, partnerships, S corporations, exempt organizations, and LLCs taxed as entities.
• Use Form 433-B for payment plans and collection evaluations. If you are proposing an Offer in Compromise for a business, use Form 433-B (OIC), not the standard 433-B. The OIC form was updated in 2025, while the standard 433-B remains the 2019 revision.
• The IRS generally values many non-cash assets at quick sale value, often about 80% of fair market value during OIC analysis, minus certain liens. That 80% figure appears in the IRS manual and drives offer math.
• Individuals, sole proprietors, and single-member LLCs use Form 433-A or 433-F, not 433-B. 433-F is commonly used by ACS for individuals and is not used for OICs.
• You typically submit 433-B and attachments by mail or fax to the IRS unit handling your case or to a revenue officer. The IRS allows faxed submissions for 433-series forms in many collection interactions.
• If you are in an open bankruptcy, the IRS will not process an OIC. Different rules apply while bankruptcy is active.

What is Form 433-B?

Form 433-B is the business-facing Collection Information Statement. It is how your company tells the IRS what it owns, what it owes, how it earns, and what it spends. The IRS uses it to judge ability to pay and to choose a path, for example a payment plan, a temporary delay, or a deeper review for a business Offer in Compromise, which instead uses the 433-B (OIC) version. The current accessible IRS listing shows the standard 433-B is still the February 2019 revision, while the 433-B (OIC) was refreshed in 2025. The form's age does not exempt virtual currency disclosure: the 2019 revision already names Bitcoin, Ripple, and Litecoin in the investments lines (19a-19c) and requires crypto wallets, exchanges, and digital currency exchanges to be listed in payment processor lines 5a-5b.

You will include identification data, ownership and officer information, bank accounts, receivables, inventory, equipment, property, and a monthly income and expense view. If you are pursuing an OIC, the examiner will compute reasonable collection potential using quick sale value concepts and future income rules. For individuals, the IRS now supports filing OICs inside the Individual Online Account. For businesses, you still prepare the 433-B (OIC) package with Form 656 per the booklet.

If you want a smooth review, think like a reviewer. Every number on the form should tie to something. Bank statements, a current P&L, a balance sheet, loan schedules, and an AR aging are the minimum set.

When a Business Should Use Form 433-B

Use 433-B when your entity, for example a corporation, partnership, S corporation, exempt organization, or an LLC taxed as an entity, cannot fully pay federal business taxes and the IRS needs a complete financial picture to decide next steps. This is routine in payment plan cases, field collection cases, trust fund issues, and as part of packaging a business Offer in Compromise using the 433-B (OIC).

If you are in an offers track, remember a few fundamentals:

• You cannot submit or process an OIC during open bankruptcy. Eligibility screens for that up front.
• OIC valuation relies on quick sale value for many assets, not full retail pricing, generally around 80% of FMV, then reduced by senior liens. Do not guess, back valuations with support.
• For individuals, the IRS explains that you may file and pay for an OIC through your Online Account. Businesses still follow the package-by-mail route described in the 656-B booklet.

Business vs. Individual, and the Other 433 Forms

Match the form to the taxpayer:

• 433-B, business entities.
• 433-A, individuals and sole proprietors.
• 433-F, the shorter individual statement used by ACS and campuses, not for OICs.

If you propose an Offer in Compromise for a business, use 433-B (OIC) with Form 656. The IRS keeps these OIC packets current and provides the official booklet with instructions and addresses.

Quick Comparison

Form	Who uses it	Primary use	Notes
433-B	Business entities	Payment plans and collection evaluations	Current revision listed as Feb 2019.
433-B (OIC)	Business entities with OIC	Offer in Compromise analysis	Updated in 2025, used with Form 656-B.
433-A	Individuals and sole proprietors	Payment plans and collection evaluations	Pair with 433-D after approval if using direct debit.
433-F	Individuals, often via ACS	Streamlined financials for collection	Not used for OICs.

Required Documents and Attachments

Before you type a single number, assemble the support that proves every line on 433-B. At minimum, gather:

• Three to six months of bank statements for all business accounts.
• A current profit and loss statement and balance sheet, or the most recent filed business return, so income, expenses, receivables, inventory, and equity tie out.
• Loan and credit statements, with balances, interest rates, payment terms, and any collateral.
• Accounts receivable aging (line 18 wants every contract listed separately, including contracts that have been awarded but not yet started, plus all federal, state, and local government grants and contracts), inventory details, and a list of equipment and vehicles (the vehicle section covers boats, RVs, motorcycles, trailers, and mobile homes, not just road-licensed cars and trucks) with fair values and debts.
• Copies of any leases, merchant statements, payroll tax records, and EFTPS deposit proof if employment taxes are involved.

Submitting by fax or mail is common. The IRS permits faxed submissions for 433-series forms in many post-filing interactions, and mail to the designated processing site or to your revenue officer remains standard routing. Follow the directions you are given on the notice or by the assigned employee.

Small note on OIC valuation, because it drives documentation. For OIC cases, the IRS uses quick sale value to approximate what assets would fetch under pressure in roughly 90 days. The manual says this is normally 80% of FMV, then you subtract certain senior liens to arrive at equity. Back up your values with appraisals, dealer quotes, or credible third-party data.

Section-by-Section Walkthrough of Form 433-B

You will see slightly different layouts between the standard 433-B and the 433-B (OIC). The core data is the same, the OIC variant asks for more valuation detail. The standard 433-B stays a 2019 revision on the IRS site, and the OIC version is current.

Section 1, Business Information

• Legal name, EIN, address, entity type, payroll data, number of employees, and payment processing details. Double check your gross monthly payroll against payroll records and deposits. If you are an employer requesting OIC consideration, the IRS checks that deposits for the current and prior two quarters were made.

Pro tip: Match your merchant totals to bank deposits for the same period. If the IRS computers see higher deposits than reported gross receipts, you will get questions.

Section 2, Owners, Officers, and Key People

• List all principals, foreign and domestic, with titles, home addresses, ownership percentages, compensation, and who makes federal tax deposits. The Section 2 header explicitly covers foreign owners, so non-U.S. partners, officers, LLC members, and major shareholders cannot be omitted. Keep it precise. If a former officer still has signing authority on a bank account, clean that up before submission.

Section 3, Background Questions

• Lawsuits, every prior bankruptcy filing (not just open cases), asset transfers in the prior 10 years for less than full value (not the 3-year statute window many firms assume), independent contractor use, and significant income changes. Answer yes or no and attach proof for any yes. If you are in active bankruptcy, stop OIC work and follow bankruptcy procedures.

When in doubt, disclose with documentation. Surprises slow cases. Documentation speeds them up.

Section 4, Business Assets and Liabilities

• Cash and bank accounts, accounts receivable, inventory, real property, vehicles, equipment, investments, credit lines, and secured debts, both foreign and domestic. Section 4 is titled 'Business Asset and Liability Information (Foreign and Domestic),' so overseas accounts, non-U.S. real property, and foreign subsidiary assets cannot be left off. If you are preparing the OIC version, compute equity the way the IRS will, using quick sale value and subtracting the right liens. The IRS describes the quick sale standard in its manual, and Appeals references the same concept.
• Reconcile bank balances to statements, tie AR aging totals to the balance sheet, and connect each loan to its collateral. These small tie-outs save hours in review.

Section 5, Monthly Income and Expenses

• State whether you use cash or accrual accounting, then show average monthly receipts and necessary business expenses drawn from a 3, 6, 9, or 12 month lookback (the form lets you pick whichever period best reflects typical operations, so seasonal businesses are not stuck with a forced 12-month average or a single recent month). If you provide a current P&L, examiners may use that in place of re-keying the income and expense section. The IRS manual allows business financial statements as a substitute in analysis.
• Keep the period consistent with your attached statements. If you show three months on the form, attach three months in the packet. Consistency builds trust.

Tips for Accurate, Defensible Reporting

Accuracy is not about perfection, it is about verifiable numbers.

• Reconcile deposits to sales on your P&L, including merchant processors and ACH receipts.
• Tie the AR aging to the balance sheet, then to the total you report on 433-B.
• Support asset values with third-party data, not guesswork. For OIC math, quick sale value is normally 80% of FMV, then reduced by certain liens to get equity.
• Flag related-party transactions and any recent asset dispositions. If an examiner thinks the business moved assets to avoid payment, the review slows and may harden.

If you pivot from payment plan to OIC, remember the OIC program’s architecture. You submit Form 656, plus the correct 433-B (OIC), you include the fee and initial payment unless a waiver applies, and the IRS weighs asset equity and future income to decide. The official OIC page, the booklet, and the Internal Revenue Manual describe this process and timing.

Quick gut check before you send: could a stranger take your packet and trace every number to a bank, a ledger, a contract, or a statement in under five minutes? If not, tighten it.

What Happens After You File

Once your packet reaches the IRS, an employee validates the basics and may request clarifications. If you are working with a revenue officer, expect targeted questions about deposits, payroll, and receivables. If you mailed an OIC, the Centralized OIC units process it, and if they can process it, you will get an acknowledgment and possibly a request for additional information. While an OIC is being considered, the IRS suspends most enforced collection, but it can still file a lien, and the two-year deemed-acceptance clock runs from the date COIC receives the offer.

For payment plans, you may be asked to authorize direct debit with Form 433-D after approval. The IRS maintains 433-D as the current Installment Agreement form and uses it widely once a plan is set.

Timelines vary by case type, documentation quality, and staffing. Clean, consistent packets move faster. Incomplete packets circle back with questions.

Where Disciplined Help Fits, Without Losing Control

If your firm’s bottleneck is not finding cases, it is preparing clean 433 files and responding to IRS follow-ups while your tax team is slammed, you are not alone. Many firms stall because delivery, not demand, becomes the ceiling. The practical fix is structure, not heroics.

• Standard operating procedures for 433 series work.
• A named workpaper set for assets, liabilities, and income tie-outs.
• A review checklist that catches missing statements before submission.
• A simple SLA on turnaround and a tracker your whole team can see.

If you decide to add offshore capacity, treat it as an operational system, not resume collection. A trained team plugged into your tools, templates, and review flow can prepare 433-B packets that cut partner review time, rather than add noise. This is where a partner like Accountably can help, because the emphasis is on documented workflow, SOP-driven workpapers, and layered review, not temporary staffing. Mentioned briefly here because it is relevant to delivery, not to sell you anything.

Final Checklist You Can Use Today

• Reconcile every number to a statement, ledger, or schedule.
• Include bank statements, a current P&L and balance sheet, AR aging, and loan details.
• For OIC, apply quick sale value and support it with third-party data.
• Use the correct form, 433-B for entities, 433-B (OIC) for business offers.
• Submit by the method the IRS requests, usually mail or fax, and keep a full copy.
• Plan time for questions. Clean packets get fewer of them.

Short on prep capacity during peak months, not short on cases? Build a repeatable 433 workflow with clear SOPs, templated workpapers, and a two-step review. If you need hands to run that playbook, consider structured offshore delivery that works inside your systems, not beside them.

Professional Help and Sources

A seasoned CPA, EA, or tax attorney can save you time by aligning your 433-B with the exact documents the IRS expects, and by framing any OIC according to the IRS’s valuation standards. The IRS’s public pages and manuals below are the most reliable starting point for rules and forms:

• IRS Offer in Compromise overview and eligibility, with bankruptcy restriction and filing options.
• Current OIC packet components and form listings.
• Quick sale value and net realizable equity in the Internal Revenue Manual.
• 433-F usage and limits, and business statements as substitutes in analysis.
• Fax and mail practices for 433-series submissions, plus internal routing for mailed 433-B.

Common Mistakes We See Every Season

Form 433-B rejections almost always trace back to a small set of avoidable disclosure errors. Here are the patterns my team flags before a submission ever leaves the firm.

Reusable Checklists

These checklists are copy-paste ready for your engagement SOP. The page tracks each box in your browser, so you can leave and come back without losing progress.

Keep 433-B Season From Stalling

Form 433-B work doesn't follow a tidy quarterly calendar. It arrives when the IRS Automated Collection System or a revenue officer asks for it, usually with a fixed response window measured in weeks. The form runs 6 pages across 5 sections and pulls disclosures from every corner of the business: bank accounts, receivables, investments, real property, vehicles, intangibles, liabilities, and a Section 5 income-and-expense statement (per Form 433-B, Rev. February 2019, IRS Catalog Number 16649P).

What stalls these engagements isn't analysis. It's evidence gathering. Section 4 alone covers up to 3 bank accounts, 5 receivables, 2 investments, 2 credit lines, 4 real properties, 4 vehicles, 4 equipment items, 3 intangibles, and 2 liabilities, each requiring a current statement or schedule. When firms treat 433-B like another form rather than a documentation project, the IRS response clock runs out before the packet is ready.

• Standardize Section 4 attachment naming so reviewers can match every line item to its supporting document on first read
• Run the 10-year Line 12 asset-transfer review against the GL and board minutes the moment the engagement opens, not at the end
• Treat Section 5 income and expense disclosure as a separate workpaper with an explicit accounting-method note and a defined 3-, 6-, 9-, or 12-month window
• Pre-route the certification signature path (Officer, General Partner, or authorized LLC Member) so the final PDF doesn't sit waiting on the wrong signer
• Build a virtual-currency intake question into the kickoff call so crypto wallets and exchanges land on Lines 5a-5b and 19 from day one

This is the work that benefits from structured offshore delivery: trained preparers handling schedule-by-schedule documentation, a senior review layer catching duplicate-liability and blank-field issues before submission, and turnaround SLAs that match the IRS response clock. Our tax services are built for exactly this kind of disclosure-heavy collection work.

FAQs

What exactly is IRS Form 433-B used for?

It is the business Collection Information Statement the IRS uses to decide how your company will resolve unpaid federal taxes. You disclose assets, liabilities, income, and expenses, then the IRS evaluates payment plans, temporary delay, or, if you submit the OIC variant, settlement options. The IRS’s collection and OIC pages describe these uses and link the correct forms.

How is 433-B different from 433-A and 433-F?

433-B is for entities. 433-A is for individuals and sole proprietors. 433-F is the shorter individual financial statement used by ACS and the campuses, and it is not used for OICs. The IRS manual spells out when 433-F can be used and its limitations.

When should I use 433-B (OIC) instead of the regular 433-B?

Use 433-B (OIC) when you are submitting a business Offer in Compromise with Form 656. The OIC form is updated more often and asks for valuation details that align with quick sale value and offer math. The IRS lists the current OIC forms and the official booklet online.

How does the IRS value my business assets for an OIC?

For offer purposes, many non-cash assets are valued at quick sale value, which is the price a motivated seller could get in about 90 days, generally 80% of FMV, less certain liens, to arrive at net realizable equity. The IRS explains this in the Internal Revenue Manual.

Can I submit 433-B online?

There is no universal e-file portal for the standard 433-B. In practice, you submit by mail or fax to the unit handling your case or to your revenue officer. IRS policy allows faxed submissions for many 433-series forms in post-filing interactions, and internal routing rules show mailed 433-B forms going to the appropriate service centers. Follow the instructions on your notice.

Can I file an OIC if I am in bankruptcy?

No. If you are in an open bankruptcy proceeding, the IRS will not process an OIC. Resolve the bankruptcy first, then revisit offers if appropriate. This rule appears in the IRS’s OIC eligibility criteria.