Which statement correctly describes the guaranteed installment agreement that the IRS must grant to an eligible individual under IRC Section 6159?
- AThe IRS must accept it for an individual whose aggregate income tax liability, excluding penalties and interest, is 10,000 dollars or less and who agrees to full payment within three years, having met the other statutory conditions. Correct
- BThe IRS must accept it for any taxpayer whose assessed balance is 50,000 dollars or less and who agrees to pay the full amount over a period that may extend up to seventy-two months from the date of acceptance.
- CThe IRS must accept it for an individual owing 10,000 dollars or less only after the taxpayer submits a complete Form 433-A collection information statement disclosing income, expenses, and equity in assets.
- DThe IRS must accept it for an individual owing 10,000 dollars or less, but only where the taxpayer pledges equity in real property as security for the deferred income tax balance.
Why A is correct: A guaranteed agreement is mandatory when the assessed income tax owed apart from penalties and interest is 10,000 dollars or less, the taxpayer agrees to pay in full within three years, and the other conditions such as recent compliance are satisfied, which states the rule precisely.
Why B is wrong: The 50,000 dollar figure and the seventy-two month term describe the streamlined agreement, not the guaranteed one, so borrowing those parameters confuses the two categories and misstates the guaranteed rule.
Why C is wrong: Requiring a full financial disclosure sounds prudent for any agreement, but the guaranteed agreement specifically does not call for a Form 433 financial statement, so adding that condition contradicts what makes the agreement guaranteed.
Why D is wrong: Security for a balance feels like a reasonable safeguard, yet the guaranteed agreement requires no pledge of collateral, so conditioning it on secured property invents a requirement the statute does not impose.