05/26/2026
Delinquent federal tax debt doesn't automatically disqualify a borrower on FHA.
Here's what FHA allows: a valid IRS repayment agreement where the borrower has made at least 3 scheduled monthly payments on time. That's it.
The debt gets resolved without a full payoff.
Three things that matter here:
1️⃣ The borrower can't prepay to hit the 3-month mark. They need three actual monthly payments on schedule.
2️⃣ The monthly payment under the IRS agreement goes into the DTI.
3️⃣ If there's already a tax lien attached to the subject property, that lien still has to be paid off and released at closing. The payment plan addresses the debt... not a property lien already filed.
Send us a scenario if you've got one sitting in your pipeline. I'll get it priced out and we can see if there's a path forward.
This material is intended exclusively for mortgage professionals and is not authorized for consumer use or distribution. Standard underwriting terms and conditions apply, and loan approval is subject to qualification.