You can still qualify, but you’ll need to pay down your balance to $50,000 first. This might sound impossible, but there are strategies to make this work. Sometimes penalty abatement alone can bring your balance under the threshold. Other times, partial payments combined with penalty relief get you there. The $50,000 limit applies to your total tax debt including penalties and interest, not just the original tax owed. Even if you can’t get under $50,000 immediately, other Fresh Start options might still apply. Currently Not Collectible status doesn’t have a debt limit, and neither does penalty abatement for reasonable cause.