Hacienda Payment Plans and How to Request One in SURI

Owing money to the Departamento de Hacienda (Puerto Rico's Treasury Department, "Hacienda") is not unusual: a return with a balance due that you could not cover, a deficiency (deficiencia) confirmed after an audit, or late IVU (sales and use tax) at a small business. What makes a big difference is how you respond. A payment plan stops collection from escalating and, if you stick to it, can reduce what you end up paying.

Section 1001.01(l) of the Código de Rentas Internas (Internal Revenue Code of Puerto Rico) of 2011, part of the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, says every taxpayer has the right to pay the tax they owe and, if they cannot pay it in full on time, to enter a payment plan.

Which debts can be included

According to Hacienda's Payment Plans page, the Secretary can authorize plans for any tax under the Code, including:

• Income tax for individuals, corporations, pass-through entities and other entities.
• Withholding at the source (what an employer or withholding agent withheld and had to deposit).
• Sales and use tax (IVU).
• Excise taxes, and estate and gift taxes.

The debt must be assessed, meaning officially determined and pending collection. If you are still disputing a notice of deficiency, first finish or withdraw that process. For certain IVU administrative fines, Hacienda requires that the debt not be in an administrative hearing.

One requirement repeats in all of Hacienda's publications: being current on filing your returns. If you are missing any, file it before you request the plan.

How to request it

In SURI, if you owe $50,000 or less

Hacienda describes these steps on its Payment Plans page:

1. Log in to SURI (Hacienda's online system) with your username and password.
2. In the "Quisiera" (I would like to) section, select "Más Opciones" (More Options).
3. Under "Solicitudes" (Requests), select "Solicitar un plan de pago" (Request a payment plan).
4. SURI shows you your total balance due and calculates the minimum down payment (initial payment) and the minimum monthly payment.
5. Complete the required information and submit the request. According to Hacienda, the plan is approved when you finish.

For these plans of up to $50,000, Hacienda says you do not have to submit documents.

By phone or in person, for any amount

You can set up a plan by calling Hacienda Responde at (787) 620-2323, or by visiting your Collection District office (Distrito de Cobro). In those cases, the procedures in Carta Circular de Rentas Internas (CC RI, Internal Revenue Circular Letter) 17-05 and its amendments, CC RI 18-09 and CC RI 21-15, apply.

The terms Hacienda published

CC RI 17-05, from March 2017, created the "Taxpayer Rehabilitation Program" (Programa de Rehabilitación del Contribuyente) and is still cited on Hacienda's payment plans page. For income tax debts, it sets these plans based on the principal owed (the tax, without interest, surcharges or penalties):

For IVU and withholding debts, the terms are stricter. For example, with a principal of up to $10,000, CC RI 17-05 requires a 10% down payment and full payment within 12 months. In addition, if your monthly IVU is more than $2,000, you must deposit it in weekly installments through SURI, and if your annual sales are more than $125,000, you must keep a fiscal terminal. CC RI 18-09 summarizes those terms in a table for IVU debts of up to $50,000.

In all cases, monthly payments are made only by direct debit from your bank account. The down payment SURI calculates is the one that governs your case. Use the table as a reference.

Regular plans (more than $50,000 or special cases)

If your debt is more than $50,000, or if you handle it at the Collection District, Hacienda evaluates your financial capacity. CC RI 17-05 asks for, among other things:

• The Statement of Financial Condition for Individuals (Form SC 3325) or for Businesses or Corporations (Form SC 3326), with supporting documents.
• The last two statements for all your bank or investment accounts, in Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
• A copy of the debt certification.
• Account information for the direct debit, and your employer's information if you are a wage earner.
• If someone else represents you, Form SC 2745, Poder y Declaración de Representación (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative).

Hacienda does not accept incomplete applications. For regular plans, it can require payment collateral, such as a bond or a mortgage, which becomes a lien in favor of the government until you pay.

If the debtor is a corporation or LLC, CC RI 18-09 requires a corporate resolution authorizing the agreement and Form SC 6049, signed by directors and officers, in which they acknowledge the personal penalty under Section 6080.02 of the Code for those who fail to turn over taxes withheld or collected.

What happens if you default

CC RI 17-05 and CC RI 18-09 are clear. If you miss a monthly payment, or if you do not file or pay a tax that comes due after you sign the plan, Hacienda can:

• End the agreement and collect the balance plus the fines and penalties it had waived.
• Enforce the collateral or go to a levy (embargo) without further notice.
• Begin assessing the personal penalty under Section 6080.02, in IVU or withholding cases involving entities.
• Report the debt to credit agencies and to the federal debt offset program (U.S. Treasury Offset Program).

If you see a problem coming, for example a job loss, contact Hacienda before you miss the payment. In 2018, after Hurricane María, Hacienda allowed existing plans to be modified through CC RI 18-09. That kind of relief depends on specific publications.

A payment plan is not the same as an offer in compromise

A payment plan is for paying the full amount in installments. An offer in compromise (oferta y compromiso de pago) is something else: Section 6051.08 of the Code authorizes the Secretary to accept less than the full amount, after analyzing your financial situation. Boletín Informativo 99-03 (Informative Bulletin 99-03) says Hacienda considers it when a levy would not collect more than what you are offering, or when there is doubt about whether the debt is valid. Submitting an offer interrupts the statute of limitations on the debts included.

That same 1999 bulletin mentions that, to obtain a plan, the taxpayer waives the statute of limitations on the debts included until they are paid in full. We explain this in tax debts and the statute of limitations.

787TAX is an independent guide. It is not Puerto Rico's Departamento de Hacienda, the CRIM or the IRS. This page is general information, not tax or legal advice. Example figures are hypothetical. Found an error? Tell us.