General

Collection Financial Standards are used to help determine a taxpayer's ability to pay a delinquent tax liability.

Allowances for food, clothing and other items, known as the National Standards, apply nationwide except for Alaska and Hawaii, which have their own tables. Taxpayers are allowed the total National Standards amount for their family size and income level, without questioning amounts actually spent.

Maximum allowances for housing and utilities and transportation, known as the Local Standards, vary by location. Unlike the National Standards, the taxpayer is allowed the amount actually spent or the standard, whichever is less.

Food, Clothing and Other Items

National Standards for reasonable amounts have been established for five necessary expenses: food, housekeeping supplies, apparel and services, personal care products and services, and miscellaneous.

All standards except miscellaneous are derived from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES). The miscellaneous standard has been established by the IRS.

Alaska and Hawaii

Due to their unique geographic circumstances and higher cost of living, separate standards for food, clothing and other items have been established for Alaska and Hawaii .

Housing and Utilities

The housing and utilities standards are derived from Census and BLS data, and are provided by state down to the county level.

Transportation

The transportation standards consist of nationwide figures for monthly loan or lease payments referred to as ownership costs, and additional amounts for monthly operating costs broken down by Census Region and Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Public transportation is included under operating costs. A conversion chart has been provided with the standards which shows which IRS districts fall under each Census Region, as well as the counties included in each MSA. The ownership cost portion of the transportation standard, although it applies nationwide, is still considered part of the Local Standards.

The ownership costs provide maximum allowances for the lease or purchase of up to two automobiles if allowed as a necessary expense. The operating costs are derived from BLS data.

If a taxpayer has a car payment, the allowable ownership cost added to the allowable operating cost equals the allowable transportation expense. If a taxpayer has no car payment, or no car, only the operating costs portion of the transportation standard is used to come up with the allowable transportation expense.

Recent Revisions

The Local Standards for housing and utilities and transportation were revised on 01/01/04 to:

• add family size to the housing and utilities allowances (two or less, three, and four or more);
• base automobile ownership/leasing costs on the five-year average of new and used car financing data compiled by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors; and,
• reflect updated information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The revised Local Standards for housing and utilities and transportation are effective for financial analysis conducted on or after January 1, 2004.