Reasonable Collection Potential (RCP)
The IRS's assessment of what it could collect from you. It drives what an offer in compromise needs to be worth — but the IRS decides it, and no calculator settles it.
Full Definition
Reasonable Collection Potential is the IRS's view of what it could realistically collect. It matters because it governs what an offer in compromise has to be worth to be worth considering.
The IRS describes the standard in its own words rather than as a formula: it says it generally approves an offer in compromise when the amount offered represents the most it can expect to collect within a reasonable period of time. The inputs it names are your ability to pay, income, expenses, and asset equity. The offer amount itself is worked out on the Collection Information Statement — Form 433-A (OIC) for individuals or 433-B (OIC) for businesses — which is submitted with the offer.
What this page will not do is give you a number. RCP is the IRS's determination on your full financial position, and any figure produced without that position in front of it is an estimate rather than a threshold.
What to do next
Work through Form 433-A (OIC) or 433-B (OIC), which is where the offer amount is actually calculated. The IRS also publishes a pre-qualifier tool for a preliminary view.
What this page does not say
- The previous version of this page described an RCP formula — realizable asset value plus future income multiplied by a factor — and stated the IRS typically will not accept an offer below it. Neither is on the IRS offer-in-compromise page. Both were removed rather than kept unsourced, and the acceptance generalisation in particular had no denominator behind it.
Sources
- Offer in compromise — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-20
- Form 656-B, Offer in Compromise Booklet (Rev. 4-2026) — Internal Revenue Service, retrieved 2026-08-20
Last reviewed 2026-08-20 by Tax Resolution Clarity editorial.
Sourced to primary IRS materials and editorially reviewed. Not reviewed by a tax professional. Not tax advice.
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Where to go next
The IRS publishes the rules this page describes. Your own notice governs your dates.