<prompt> Human: i was little reckless with my spendingunderstanding of finances in my early 20s and am trying to clean things up. im 29 and have always made payments mostly on time towards student loans, which i currently have none of, credit cards, etc. my credit is surprisingly not terrible. i have around 4k in credit card debt spread across 3 different cards. 1 is interest free for another 12 months, one has about 14 interest rate, and the other is at about 23. i also owe around 8,500 in federal taxes. ive been working pretty successfully at paying off my cc debt by putting the most towards the card with the highest interest rate, working it down with the plan to then move on to the card with the next highest interest. while i think ive managed to figure out the best way to pay down my cc debt feel free to correct me if im wrong, i cannot for the life of me wrap my head around my federal tax debt and the interest and penalties associated with it. ive had payment plans with the IRS in the past but essentially stopped making payments because at one time or another i couldnt afford them. at some point i kind of just figured that the interest penalties on my taxes amounted to less than the interest rate on my credit cards, so i should focus on my cc debt first. this was not an educated guess, but rather a guess born out of not wanting to crunch the numbers or really even knowing how to. i cant really afford to put money towards both my credit card debt and my federal tax debt. rather, i feel like if i split up what i can afford 300 max per month ill essentially just be paying off interest on both and getting nowhere on either. im game to figure out a plan and stick to it, i just dont really know where to start. am i by some miracle doing the right thing financially? help!EDIT: wow ladies and gents, thank you so so much! i did not expect so many responses and i genuinely appreciate all of the thoughtful breakdowns and suggestions. im going to call the IRS and see if i can get back on an installment plan and look into getting a card i can transfer my higher interest debt to so i can pay it off relatively interest free. thank you thank you thank you!!  <response>: Federal taxes. Youll likely pay more in interest and penalty than you will interest on your credit card. Interest is 3 currently and penalty is generally charged at 0.5 per month - up to 25 of original tax owed. Also if you have not setup a payment plan with the IRS, you need to do so asap to avoid levies on your income sources or bank accounts; theyre only required by law to warn you of this once every 180-days either verbally or in writing. You can generally set up an installment agreement on their website at. 