Local Tax Relief

Tax Relief in Bakersfield, California: Your 2026 Guide to IRS and FTB Help

By Angeline Balsitis, EA · Reviewed by Melissa Ly, Chief Tax Officer · Updated June 22, 2026 · Editorial Standards

Facing the IRS, the FTB, or both in Bakersfield?

Send us your notices. An experienced tax professional will explain exactly where you stand with each agency and what your options are — free, confidential, and no pressure.

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

If you live in Bakersfield and you owe back taxes, you're carrying a worry that a lot of Kern County families know well. The oil fields, the farms, the trucking routes along Highway 99, and the small businesses downtown all run on hard work — and when money gets tight, the tax bill is often the thing that slips. The good news: tax relief in Bakersfield is real and achievable, but it's more complicated here than in most of the country, because you're dealing with two tax authorities at once.

What tax relief actually means for Bakersfield residents

"Tax relief" is not a magic eraser. It's a set of legal programs that change how you pay what you owe — or, in some cases, reduce the total. For a Bakersfield household, that usually looks like one of these:

• A payment plan that spreads the balance into affordable monthly amounts so collection stops.
• Hardship status (the IRS calls it Currently Not Collectible) that pauses collection when paying anything would leave you unable to cover rent, food, or utilities.
• Penalty relief that removes failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties when you have a clean history or a reasonable cause.
• A settlement — an Offer in Compromise — when your income and assets genuinely can't cover the debt.

Be skeptical of any ad promising to wipe out your debt for "pennies on the dollar." Anyone promising to settle your taxes for a fraction of the balance before they've looked at your finances is selling you something. Real relief starts with the numbers.

The Bakersfield and California tax landscape: two agencies, not one

Most online tax-relief advice only talks about the IRS. In California, that's only half the picture. Here's who can come after a Bakersfield taxpayer.

The IRS — and the local Taxpayer Assistance Center

The IRS handles your federal income tax. Bakersfield is served by a local IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, but it works by appointment only and locations and hours change. Don't drive over and hope — find the current office and book through the official IRS local office locator. The IRS also has a 10-year collection statute, meaning it generally has 10 years from the date a tax is assessed to collect it.

The California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) — and why it's tougher

California has one of the highest state income tax rates in the country, and the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) collects it. The FTB is unusually aggressive compared with most state agencies — and in some ways harder to deal with than the IRS. It can:

• Issue an Order to Withhold — a one-time bank levy that sweeps your account, often without a court judgment.
• Issue an Earnings Withholding Order to garnish your wages directly through your employer.
• Suspend your driver's license or a professional license (contractor, nursing, real estate, and more) for unpaid tax.
• Collect for 20 years — double the IRS's 10-year window. A California tax debt can follow you twice as long.

If you've gotten a confusing letter, our FTB notice decoder explains what each one means, and how much the FTB can garnish walks through the wage rules.

CDTFA and EDD — for business owners

If you run a business in Bakersfield, two more agencies may be involved. The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) handles sales and use tax — a common problem for restaurants and retailers. The Employment Development Department (EDD) handles state payroll taxes. Both can hold owners and certain responsible employees personally liable, so business tax debt is rarely "just the company's problem."

Which to handle first: how California rules change your IRS strategy

When you owe both the IRS and the FTB, the order you tackle them in matters. Here's how we think about it.

Usually, stabilize the fastest threat first. Because the FTB can levy bank accounts and garnish wages quickly — sometimes faster than the IRS — a live FTB collection action often needs attention before anything else. If a paycheck or bank account is about to be hit, that's the emergency.

Then solve both balances together, not separately. This is the mistake people make on their own: they set up an IRS payment plan that eats their whole budget, then have nothing left when the FTB demands its own monthly payment. Both agencies look at the same income and living expenses. A workable plan accounts for both at once, so one agency's agreement doesn't collapse the other.

Our deeper guide on FTB vs. IRS: which to handle first and our overview of California tax debt relief go further into building a strategy that covers both.

Remember the clocks are different. The IRS debt may age out in 10 years; the California debt can hang on for 20. That changes which balance is worth settling versus simply waiting out, and it's a key reason to get an experienced tax professional to map your timeline before you commit to a plan.

Common situations we help Bakersfield residents with

• An FTB bank levy or wage garnishment. Money disappearing from your account or paycheck. We work to get collection released and a manageable arrangement in place.
• Unfiled returns. Several missed years — common after a job loss, illness, or a 1099 surprise. You generally can't settle a debt until all returns are filed, so this comes first. See our help on our tax relief services.
• Can't pay the balance at all. When paying would create real hardship, Currently Not Collectible status can pause IRS collection while you recover.
• A balance you can afford over time. An IRS payment plan (and a matching FTB plan) can resolve the debt in monthly steps. Federal balances under about $50,000 often qualify for a streamlined agreement.
• Genuinely can't cover the debt. An Offer in Compromise may let you settle for less than the full balance — but only when the math truly supports it.
• Self-employed and behind. Farm-labor contractors, truckers, oilfield service crews, and gig workers in Kern County often fall behind on estimated taxes. We help catch you up and stop the cycle.

If your spouse owes: community property in California

California is a community-property state. That means income earned and many debts taken on during a marriage are generally shared between both spouses — which can pull you into a tax problem that started with your partner. Two different protections may help:

• Innocent-spouse relief may apply when a joint return understated tax because of something your spouse did — unreported income or improper deductions you didn't know about. It can release you from that part of the debt.
• Injured-spouse relief is different. It's for when your share of a refund is taken to pay your spouse's separate debt (like back child support or their own pre-marriage tax). You file to recover your portion.

Community-property rules make these claims more nuanced in California than in other states, so it's worth having an experienced tax professional review the facts before you file.

How to take the first step

1. Gather every notice from the IRS and from the FTB, CDTFA, or EDD. Put them in date order.
2. Check your balances at your IRS online account and your FTB MyFTB account so you know the real numbers.
3. Find any unfiled years. Nothing can be settled until your returns are filed.
4. Deal with any active levy or garnishment now — that's the emergency.
5. Get a professional review before committing to any plan, so your IRS and California strategies fit together instead of fighting each other.

Bakersfield tax relief 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 guides: Tax Relief in Fresno: IRS & State Tax Help for Fresno Residents · Tax Relief in Los Angeles: IRS & State Tax Help for Los Angeles Residents · Tax Relief in Oakland: IRS & State Tax Help for Oakland Residents · Tax Relief in Riverside: IRS & State Tax Help for Riverside Residents · Tax Relief in Sacramento: IRS & State Tax Help for Sacramento Residents