Estimate your total IRS tax debt including failure-to-pay and failure-to-file penalties plus interest over time.
Educational estimate. IRS interest rates change quarterly; consult a tax professional.
We apply the failure-to-pay penalty (0.5%/month, max 25%), the much larger failure-to-file penalty (5%/month) if you didn't file, and interest (~8%/year) to your balance.
IRS debt grows from three sources: the failure-to-pay penalty (0.5% of the balance per month), the failure-to-file penalty (a brutal 5% per month if you didn’t file at all), and interest that compounds daily. The single most important move is to file on time even when you can’t pay — it cuts your penalty exposure tenfold. This tool shows roughly how those charges build so the number stops being a mystery.
Failure-to-pay is 0.5%/month; failure-to-file is 5%/month — both capped at 25%.
A rate that changes quarterly, recently around 8% per year, compounded daily.
Filing avoids the 5%/month failure-to-file penalty — far worse than not paying.
No — it's an estimate; the IRS computes the official figure.