Offer in Compromise

Form 13711 OIC Appeal: How to Appeal a Rejected Offer in Compromise (2026)

By Angeline Balsitis, EA · Reviewed by Melissa Ly, Chief Tax Officer · Updated February 20, 2026 · Editorial Standards

Why your Offer in Compromise got rejected

An Offer in Compromise (OIC) is a deal to settle your tax debt for less than the full amount. When the IRS rejects one, it usually isn't personal — it's math. The examiner calculated what they believe you can pay, called your "reasonable collection potential," and decided your offer was lower than that number.

The most common reasons an OIC gets rejected are:

• The IRS valued your assets higher than you did — home equity, a vehicle, a retirement account, or business equipment.
• They allowed fewer monthly expenses than you claimed, often by applying the standard living-expense limits instead of your actual costs.
• Missing or unsigned documents — pay stubs, bank statements, or a piece of your Offer in Compromise application.
• You weren't current — an unfiled return or a missed estimated tax payment automatically disqualifies an offer.

Here's the good news: most of these are exactly the things an appeal can fix. A rejection is a starting point for a conversation, not a locked door.

What Form 13711 actually does

Form 13711 is your Request for Appeal of Offer in Compromise. It moves your case out of the unit that said no and into the IRS Independent Office of Appeals — a separate group whose job is to take a neutral second look (you can read about it on the IRS Appeals page).

The form asks you to list each item you disagree with and explain why, point by point. So if the examiner valued your car at $18,000 but it's actually worth $9,000 with body damage, you say so and attach proof. If they allowed $700 a month for housing but your rent is $1,400, you show the lease. Appeals reviews those specific disagreements — not your whole life over again.

You can download the form and instructions from the official About Form 13711 page.

What happens if you don't appeal in time

The 30-day deadline is the part people regret missing. Here's how the timeline unfolds once a rejection letter arrives:

1. Day 0 — rejection letter dated. Your 30-day clock starts on this date.
2. Days 1–30 — appeal window. File Form 13711 and collection stays paused while Appeals reviews your case.
3. Day 31 — offer closes. If nothing is filed, the rejection becomes final and the hold on collection lifts.
4. Weeks later — collection resumes. The IRS can return to its normal notice sequence on the full balance, including levies on bank accounts and wages.

Interest keeps adding up the whole time, and the 10-year collection clock keeps running. But the difference between filing on day 28 and day 32 is the difference between an open appeal and a closed case.

Your options after an OIC rejection

Appealing on Form 13711 is one path, but it isn't the only one. Which fits depends on why you were rejected:

• Appeal with Form 13711 — best when you think the examiner's numbers are wrong, missed real expenses, or overvalued your assets. It keeps your original offer date and is usually faster than starting over.
• Submit a new, higher offer — if the IRS's calculation was basically right, a fresh offer closer to their number may have a real chance. This means a new application and fee.
• Switch to a payment plan — if a lump-sum settlement just isn't realistic, a monthly installment agreement or a partial payment installment agreement may be a better fit. See our breakdown of an IRS payment plan vs. offer in compromise to compare.
• Currently Not Collectible status — if paying anything would cause real hardship, Currently Not Collectible status can pause collection while your situation recovers.

Be careful of anyone who promised to settle your debt for "pennies on the dollar" before they ever looked at your finances. The IRS runs the actual numbers — and a rejection often means those promises were never grounded in your real situation.

How to file a Form 13711 OIC appeal, step by step

1. Find the date on your rejection letter. Mark 30 days out. That is your hard deadline.
2. Get the examiner's worksheet. The rejection should explain how the IRS calculated what you can pay. If you don't have it, call the contact on the letter and request the income/expense and asset calculations.
3. List each disagreement. On Form 13711, write out every item you dispute — each asset value, each expense the IRS reduced — and the dollar amount and reason for each.
4. Attach your proof. Appraisals, repair estimates, leases, medical bills, pay stubs, and bank statements that back up your numbers. Documents win appeals; opinions don't.
5. Confirm you're compliant. All required returns filed and current-year estimated payments or withholding on track. An appeal can stall instantly over an unfiled return.
6. Send it the trackable way. Mail to the address on your rejection letter using certified mail with return receipt, and keep a full copy. The postmark protects your deadline.

A quick worked example

Say you offered $6,000 and the IRS rejected it, calculating you could pay $14,000. Reading the worksheet, you find two errors: they valued your 2014 truck at $12,000 (it's worth $5,000 with a bad transmission), and they cut your monthly expenses by $400 because they used the standard housing limit instead of your actual rent.

On Form 13711 you list both items, attach a repair estimate and your lease, and show that correcting them drops the IRS's number from $14,000 to around $7,000 — much closer to your offer. That's the kind of specific, documented disagreement an appeals officer can act on. It doesn't guarantee acceptance, but it puts a real number on the table instead of a flat "no."

Form 13711 OIC appeal questions, answered

This guide is general information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation. Eligibility for IRS programs depends on individual facts and circumstances; no outcome is guaranteed.

Related: compare an IRS payment plan vs. offer in compromise, learn about a Form 12153 CDP hearing if collection has escalated, or browse all guides. If the IRS process feels stuck, the Taxpayer Advocate Service may be able to help.