California State Taxes

800-689-4776: FTB Payment Plan, Form 3567 and Online Setup

By Angeline Balsitis, EA · Reviewed by Melissa Ly, Chief Tax Officer · Published August 27, 2025 · Updated October 5, 2026 · Editorial Standards

The envelope is from Sacramento, and the Franchise Tax Board is telling you it intends to take money from your paycheck or bank account. You rent, there's no $48,000 sitting in savings, and the state wants an answer before the date on that notice. The fix is more routine than the letter sounds. The FTB approves monthly payment plans every day, and an approved plan is usually what switches the levy machine off.

This guide covers what 800-689-4776 is and when to call it, what Form FTB 3567 is and how to fill it out, who qualifies for the online plan under the $25,000 / 60-month rule, what it costs, what keeps accruing, what happens on default, and how a California plan interacts with an IRS plan. Every California figure below was checked against ftb.ca.gov and Form FTB 3567 (rev. 02-2024) on October 5, 2026.

What is 800-689-4776? The FTB installment agreement and collections line

800-689-4776 is the Franchise Tax Board's phone line for installment agreements and personal income tax collections. It is the number printed on Form FTB 3567 and on the FTB's payment plan page for applying by phone, checking on a mailed or phoned-in request after 30 days, and for anyone who cannot use the online application because a wage garnishment, bank levy or existing plan is already on the account. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific, weekdays, except state holidays. Callers with hearing or speaking limitations use California Relay Service at 711 or 800-735-2929.

Call it when a levy notice carries a date, when the online application turns you away, or when a mailed request has gone 30 days without an answer. For a plain balance under $25,000 with nothing in collections, the online application is faster than the hold queue. Businesses use a different line, 888-635-0494, and get shorter terms.

Franchise Tax Board Form 3567: what it is and how to fill it out

Form FTB 3567 is the Installment Agreement Request, the paper way to ask the FTB for a payment plan. The current revision is 02-2024. Page 1 lists the conditions you are agreeing to, page 2 explains how to apply and what happens after, and page 3 is the only page you sign and mail. Do not attach it to a tax return, and do not send it at all if you already have a plan or a garnishment or levy on the account; the form itself tells those taxpayers to call 800-689-4776.

Filling it out takes about ten minutes:

1. Print your name and Social Security number or FTB ID exactly as they appear on your California return. For a joint balance, list your spouse or registered domestic partner in the same order as the return.
2. Enter your address and phone numbers.
3. Box 1: the monthly payment you will make. The FTB asks for the largest payment you can manage, because interest and penalties keep accruing until the balance is paid.
4. Box 2: the day of the month for the withdrawal, no later than the 28th. Pick a date after your paycheck clears. If you choose a later date the FTB withdraws on the 28th, and leaving it blank delays processing.
5. Sign and date the request. Your signature certifies you have read the conditions on page 1.
6. Complete the EFT authorization: bank name and address, routing number, account number, and whether it is checking or savings. It must be a regular checking or savings account. Do not send a voided check or use a deposit slip for the numbers.
7. Mail page 3 to Franchise Tax Board, PO Box 2952, Sacramento CA 95812-2952. Expect written notice within 30 days; if none arrives, call 800-689-4776.

Two other FTB forms get confused with it. FTB 3561 is the financial statement, which the FTB can request before approving a plan over $25,000 or longer than 60 months. FTB 3557 is the business entity form for reviving a suspended corporation or LLC, which is a different problem entirely. If you want to know what a given payment and interest rate do to your payoff, run the numbers in our FTB payment plan calculator before you write a figure in Box 1.

FTB online payment plan: who qualifies under the $25,000 / 60-month rule

The FTB's online payment plan is open to individuals who owe $25,000 or less, can pay the balance within 60 months, and have filed their California income tax returns for the past five years. Meet those three tests and approval is close to routine, though the FTB says processing can take up to 90 days and that a typical plan runs three to five years. You can also apply by calling 800-689-4776 or by mailing Form FTB 3567. The online path is limited to newly assessed balances, and it is closed to anyone who already has an installment agreement, an earnings withholding order, an order to withhold on a bank account, or another collection order. Those taxpayers call instead, and may be asked for a financial statement.

Approval comes with conditions the FTB enforces strictly:

• Payments run by automatic bank withdrawal. FTB installment agreements are paid by electronic funds withdrawal from your checking or savings account, on a date you pick no later than the 28th. There is no "mail a check each month" version to fall behind on.
• A $34 setup fee is added to your balance rather than charged up front.
• Interest keeps accruing on the unpaid balance for the life of the plan. The FTB rate for personal income tax is 7% for July 1 through December 31, 2026. The plan stops enforcement, not the meter.
• Your state refunds get intercepted and applied to the debt every year until it's gone, and they don't count as your monthly payment.
• You must stay compliant going forward. A late return or a new unpaid balance in a future year can default the agreement. The form also has you confirm your DE 4 and W-4 withholding will cover next year's state tax, and make estimated payments if you have non-wage income.
• The FTB can still record a state tax lien as a condition of the plan (Government Code Sections 7170-7173), which becomes public record and can affect your credit.
• Plans over $25,000 or past 60 months get periodic review. The FTB checks that you are still meeting the terms.

Owe more than $25,000, or need longer than 60 months? A plan is still possible. It just moves from "automatic" to "negotiated," built on the financial statement covered in the options section below. Business entities are a different track entirely: a business plan costs $50, typically runs 12 months or less, is capped at $25,000 for the limited online option, and otherwise goes through 888-635-0494. The business IRS installment agreement rules don't carry over to the state either.

One scope note that trips up a lot of Californians: the FTB only collects income tax. If you owe sales tax, that's a CDTFA payment plan; payroll tax debt runs through an EDD payment plan. Each agency has its own rules, and a plan with one does nothing to stop the others.

“A payment plan is an agreement with the IRS to pay the taxes you owe within an extended timeframe. You should request a payment plan if you believe you will be able to pay your taxes in full within the extended time frame.”

, Payment plans; installment agreements (IRS.gov)

What happens if you don't set one up

An unresolved FTB balance moves through an automated collection sequence that ends in wage garnishment and bank levies, and California's version moves with less warning than the IRS's. The stages run in this order:

1. Balance due and demand notices. The FTB bills you, and penalties and interest accrue from the original due date.
2. Collection fees get added. Once the account moves into active collections, the FTB tacks its cost-recovery fees onto the balance. You now owe more for having waited.
3. A state tax lien is recorded. Filed with the county recorder, it attaches to property you own now or acquire later and is fully public record.
4. Final intent-to-levy notice. This letter carries a printed deadline. After it, the FTB doesn't need your permission or a court order to take money.
5. Orders to Withhold and wage garnishment. An Order to Withhold freezes and takes funds from your bank account, and an FTB bank levy moves on a far shorter hold than the IRS's 21-day version. An Earnings Withholding Order for Taxes goes to your employer and takes a slice of every paycheck until the debt is paid. See how much can FTB garnish.
6. Long-tail enforcement. Refund intercepts continue every year. The state's largest debtors face publication on the Top 500 list with professional and driver's license suspension attached.

And unlike the IRS, waiting the state out is a two-decade proposition: California has 20 years to collect under R&TC §19255. The full breakdown is in our guide to California's 20-year collection statute. A renter isn't insulated, either. No house means no lien target on real estate, but paychecks and bank accounts are exactly what the FTB's automated levies reach first.

FTB levy notice in hand?

Get your FTB notice reviewed free before the date printed on it passes. An experienced tax professional will tell you whether a payment plan, hardship status, or an offer is the right move for your balance, with no pressure and no obligation.

Get My Free Case Review Call (888) 825-7779

What keeps accruing on an FTB plan, and what happens if you default

An approved plan stops enforced collection. It does not stop interest, and it does not remove penalties already on the account. The FTB's personal income tax interest rate is 7% for July 1 through December 31, 2026, the same figure the IRS charges individuals for the quarter beginning October 1, 2026. Penalties that were assessed before the plan stay in the balance, and a dishonored payment adds its own penalty. The FTB keeps every state refund you are owed and applies it to the balance; that does not count as a monthly payment. It can also send the account to the federal Treasury Offset Program, which takes your federal refund and may add an offset fee, and it can intercept money due to you from other state agencies.

Default works on a 30-day clock. If you break any term (a bounced withdrawal, a late return, a new unpaid balance), the FTB mails a notice of intent to terminate the agreement 30 days before it ends and states the reason. Once terminated, the full remaining balance is back in collections and liens, garnishment and bank levies can resume. The FTB also reviews larger and longer plans periodically. If a request is rejected outright, you have 30 days from the rejection date to ask in writing for an independent administrative review at the Executive and Advocate Services address above; miss that window and collection can resume.

Your options for an FTB balance, compared

A payment plan is the most common resolution for FTB debt. But it isn't the only one, and above $25,000, it isn't even the automatic one. Here's the full menu:

Which door you walk through mostly depends on the size of the balance:

Say you owe the FTB $48,300: a worked example

Say you owe the FTB $48,300 across two tax years, you rent, and a levy notice just arrived. Here's the realistic math, with hypothetical numbers, shown so you can run your own in the FTB payment plan calculator:

• Streamlined plan: not available. $48,300 is nearly double the $25,000 line, so the online 60-month plan is off the table as-is.
• Financial-statement plan: you complete FTB 3561 with your income, rent, and necessary expenses. Suppose the review shows $950/month available after essentials. $48,300 ÷ $950 ≈ 51 months of principal alone, and because interest keeps accruing, the real payoff runs somewhat longer than that.
• The pay-down move: paying the balance down by $23,300, to $25,000, would unlock the streamlined plan at $25,000 ÷ 60 ≈ $417/month, no financial review. Most renters facing a levy can't produce $23,300, but if a family loan or asset sale is possible, this converts a negotiated case into a routine one.
• If $950/month doesn't exist: when the 3561 shows nothing left after necessities, hardship status, not a plan you'll default on, is the honest answer. And if your assets and future income can't cover $48,300 within the collection period, an offer in compromise is worth pricing out before signing up for years of payments.

The levy piece matters most: requesting the plan before the date on the intent-to-levy notice is what generally keeps the Order to Withhold from ever reaching your bank. After that date, you're negotiating for a release instead of preventing a seizure, which is a much weaker position.

How to set up an FTB payment plan, step by step

1. Confirm every required return is filed. The FTB will not approve a payment plan with missing returns. If you've received a Demand to File, resolve it first. File the actual return even if the FTB already estimated a balance for you.
2. Check the $25,000 / 60-month test. Owe $25,000 or less and able to pay within 60 months? You likely qualify for the streamlined plan. Owe more? Gather pay stubs, rent, and bank statements now; you'll need them for FTB 3561.
3. Apply online at ftb.ca.gov, call 800-689-4776, or mail Form FTB 3567. The online application takes minutes for a newly assessed balance with nothing in collections. If an intent-to-levy notice is in play, or a levy or garnishment is already on the account, call instead; a phone request gets a hold on enforcement noted faster than a mailed form.
4. Set up the automatic bank withdrawal. FTB plans are paid by electronic funds withdrawal from your bank account. Pick a withdrawal date, no later than the 28th, that lands after your paycheck clears, and note the $34 fee the FTB adds to your balance.
5. Stay current going forward. File and pay every future California return on time and keep enough in the account for each withdrawal. A new balance in a later year can default the entire agreement.

FTB payment plan vs. IRS payment plan: the differences that cost money

California's installment agreement is tighter than the federal one on almost every dimension. A $30,000 balance that fits the IRS's online plan does not fit the FTB's. The two agencies do not talk to each other about your plan: an IRS installment agreement does nothing to pause FTB collection, and an FTB plan does nothing for the IRS. If you owe both, you need two plans, and each agency counts the other's payment as a living expense only if you tell it to. Our step-by-step on the IRS payment plan online covers the federal side, and the IRS payment plan calculator prices it. The federal figures below come from irs.gov as of October 5, 2026:

The practical takeaway: the same dollar owed to the state demands a higher monthly payment (60 months vs. 72), survives twice as long on the books, and hits the streamlined ceiling at half the balance. That's a big part of why practitioners consider the FTB the harsher collector, and why the state balance often deserves attention first when money is limited.

When you can handle this yourself

If you owe the FTB $25,000 or less, your returns are filed, and the balance is correct, set up the plan yourself. The online application is simple, the phone line is free, and no firm should charge you for it.

Experienced help changes outcomes in a narrower set of situations: a levy or garnishment already in motion, a balance over $25,000 where the FTB 3561 presentation determines your payment for years, unfiled California returns (especially where the FTB estimated your income and inflated the balance), simultaneous IRS and FTB debt that needs sequencing, or a financial picture weak enough that hardship status or an offer beats any plan. In those cases the question is whether the plan you'd get on your own is the right resolution at the right number.

Terms on your FTB notice, decoded

• Installment agreement: the FTB's official name for a payment plan; monthly automatic withdrawals until the balance, penalties, and interest are paid.
• FTB 3567: the paper Installment Agreement Request form (rev. 02-2024); the mail-in alternative to applying online or calling 800-689-4776.
• FTB 3561: the financial statement the FTB uses to set payments on balances over $25,000 or terms beyond 60 months.
• Earnings Withholding Order for Taxes (EWOT): the FTB's wage garnishment order, sent to your employer and continuous until released or paid.
• Order to Withhold: the FTB's bank levy; it freezes funds in your account and sends them to the state after a short hold.
• Collection cost recovery fee: a fee the FTB adds to your balance when the account enters active collections, on top of penalties and interest.
• R&TC §19255: the California statute giving the FTB 20 years to collect, twice the federal window.

FTB payment plan questions, answered

Your next 24 hours

1. Find the date and total balance on your most recent FTB notice. If it's an intent-to-levy notice, that printed date, not some general grace period, is your clock.
2. Gather three things: your last California return, the notice itself, and a recent pay stub or income record. That's everything the online application or FTB 3561 will ask for.
3. Get a free case review before that notice date passes. Use the 2-minute form or call (888) 825-7779. An experienced tax professional will confirm whether a plan, hardship status, or an offer is the right resolution at your balance, before the FTB decides for you.

Want a monthly figure before you call? Run your balance through the California FTB payment plan calculator and bring the number to the phone.

Primary sources: the FTB payment plans page, Form FTB 3567 (rev. 02-2024) and the FTB interest rate table, all checked October 5, 2026. The federal comparison figures come from IRS.gov payment plans and IRS news release IR-2026-98.

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 guides: FTB Penalty Abatement & Reasonable Cause in California · FTB Refund & Lottery Intercept: Why California Took Your Refund · FTB Suspended Corporation or LLC: How to Revive It · California State Tax Lien (FTB Lien): How to Release or Withdraw It · FTB Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayers List: How to Get Off It