Please sir, can I have some more?

by Kelly on November 14th, 2006

As previously reported, the IRS appears to be on a fee raising binge… And they’ve struck again!

According to the IRS, as of the first of the year (January 1, 2007) fees for installment agreements will increase as follows:

The fee for new direct debit installment agreements, where payments are deducted directly from a taxpayer’s bank account, will increase from $43 to $52.
The fee for other new installment agreements will increase from $43 to $105.
The fee to restructure an existing or reinstate a defaulted installment agreement will increase from $24 to $45.

These fees will also apply to the online payment agreements.

Averaged together, this represents an increase of nearly $12 per agreement. You think that doesn’t add up? Last year, taxpayers reached agreement on 2.8 million payment plans. At an average increase of $12 per plan, that adds up to $33.6 million - which is the total cost of the entire Housing and Urban Development budget for the fiscal year 2007.