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Tax Debt Help in Florida: IRS Options and Free Clinics

By the Tax Relief Answers editors · Sources checked November 3, 2026 · How we check

The short answer

Florida does not impose a personal income tax, according to the Florida Department of Revenue, so an individual's tax debt is almost always owed to the IRS. The federal options apply: an IRS payment plan, which individuals owing $50,000 or less can request online, an Offer in Compromise, or hardship status. IRS Publication 4134 (Rev. 1-2026) lists 8 Low Income Taxpayer Clinics in Florida, from Gainesville to Miami, that can help for free if you qualify.

Federal vs state: who to contact for what

If the debt is federal

The IRS options, in rough order of cost:

• Payment plan. Individuals who owe $50,000 or less in combined tax, penalties and interest, with all returns filed, can apply online. A short-term plan (up to 180 days) has no setup fee, and a long-term plan paid by direct debit costs $29 online as of October 2026, per the IRS payment plans page. See our IRS payment plan page.
• Offer in Compromise. Settles the debt for less when the IRS agrees you cannot pay in full. The fee is $205 plus an initial payment, waived for people under the income chart in Form 656-B. See our Offer in Compromise page.
• Currently Not Collectible status. Pauses collection if paying would leave you unable to cover basic living expenses. See Currently Not Collectible status.
• Penalty relief. First-time abatement can remove failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties for people with a clean prior 3 years. See first-time penalty abatement.

You can request each of these directly from the IRS.

If the debt is owed to the Florida Department of Revenue

The Department of Revenue collects business taxes such as sales and use tax, reemployment tax and corporate income tax. Its tax collection process page explains what happens when a return or payment is late:

• A Notice of Delinquency means a return was not filed; a Notice of Amount Due is a bill. Penalties and interest keep growing until the tax is paid.
• If the debt stays unpaid for 90 days, the Department adds a 10% administrative collection processing fee, and the account may be sent to a private collection agency.
• Unresolved debts can lead to liens, frozen bank accounts and revoked sales tax registrations or licenses.

If you cannot pay in full, the Department says to call or visit a local service center and request a stipulated time payment agreement. You will need financial documents showing you cannot pay in full, and the Department says to be prepared to pay at least 25% down and the full balance within a year. For other questions, call Taxpayer Assistance at 850-488-6800.

Free Low Income Taxpayer Clinics in Florida

Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) are independent organizations that receive IRS grants and represent people with the IRS for free or a small fee. They generally serve people with income at or below 250% of the federal poverty guidelines (for 2026, $39,900 for one person and $82,500 for a family of four) and amounts in dispute usually under $50,000, per the Taxpayer Advocate Service LITC page. LITCs handle federal tax problems, not Department of Revenue debts.

These are the Florida clinics in IRS Publication 4134, Rev. 1-2026. The city is the main office.

Publication 4134 also lists UMEUS in Orlando as a Taxpayer Education Clinic, which teaches taxpayer rights to people who speak English as a second language. The LITC page has the current clinic search tool.

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