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IRS form walk-through

Form 12153: The One Page That Can Stop a Levy

Form 12153 requests a Collection Due Process or Equivalent Hearing with the IRS Independent Office of Appeals after a lien filing or a final levy notice. Filed on time, it is the strongest pause button in collections: per the form itself, a timely request will prohibit levy action in most cases and suspends the 10-year collection statute until the determination is final. The deadline is the date on your CDP notice, generally 30 days, and it is unforgiving.

General information, not tax or legal advice. Deadlines and dollar figures below reflect what the IRS publishes and can change; the controlling dates are the ones printed on your own notice. ClearChoiceRadar is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.

The collection paperwork, mapped

  1. 9465Ask for a payment plan
  2. 433-FProve your finances
  3. 656Offer to settle
  4. 12153Appeal before levy or lien you are here

The deadline mechanics, precisely

Publication 1660 states the windows: a levy notice gives you until the 30th day after its date; a lien notice gives 30 days that begin after the 5 business day period following the filing, with the expiration date printed on the notice. The request must be sent to the address on the notice, the hearing address rather than the payment address, with a copy of the notice attached.

Miss the window and the fallback is an equivalent hearing, available for one year from the levy notice (plus 5 business days for lien notices). Same hearing, weaker armor: the form says it does not prohibit levy, does not suspend the collection statute, and its decision cannot be taken to Tax Court.

Filling the form's ten items

  1. Items 1 and 2: check the notice type, lien, levy, or both, and whether you want an equivalent hearing if late.

  2. Items 3 to 7: identity, phone, and the exact tax type and periods from your notice.

  3. Item 8: the reason, from not liable and innocent spouse (attach Form 8857) to hardship and lien withdrawal.

  4. Item 9: the collection alternative you propose, installment agreement, offer in compromise, or currently unable to pay, with a financial statement recommended for most alternatives.

The trade printed on the form

Protection now, time later

The suspension cuts both ways, and the form says so: the time collection is prohibited is added to the time remaining in the 10-year period. A CDP hearing is protection and leverage, not a way to run out the clock, and a levy hearing request does not stop a lien from being filed. Our CSED calculator models exactly this trade.

12153 questions

How long do I have to file Form 12153?

Until the date on your CDP notice: generally the 30th day after a final levy notice, or for lien notices, 30 days that start after the 5 business day post-filing period, with the exact date printed on the notice. Pub 1660 is the IRS's statement of both windows.

What if I missed the 30 days?

Check the equivalent hearing box: available for one year from the levy notice date, or one year plus 5 business days from a lien filing. You get the same Appeals hearing, but levy is not prohibited, the collection statute keeps running, and the decision cannot be appealed to Tax Court.

Does filing Form 12153 stop a levy?

A timely request prohibits levy action in most cases until Appeals' determination is final, per the form's own instructions. It does not prevent the filing of a tax lien, and the suspension time gets added back onto the 10-year collection statute.

What can I actually argue at a CDP hearing?

The form's menu: you are not liable, innocent spouse relief, bankruptcy discharge, misapplied payments, lien withdrawal, hardship, and collection alternatives like an installment agreement or offer in compromise. Appeals can also consider lien subordination, discharge, and release.

Sources: Form 12153 (Rev. 7-2022) PDF, Publication 1660: Collection Appeal Rights, IRS: Collection Due Process FAQs. The deadline that governs your case is the one printed on your notice.

Want help responding to a 12153?

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