When a small business owner or a company doesn’t have the funds to pay a big tax bill, an installment payment plan with the IRS can be an option.

Many tax advisers and the IRS itself recommend that any individual or business who can’t pay their taxes consider other alternatives — borrowing from a bank, family or friends, for example. But owners whose companies don’t have lines of credit and who can’t dip into personal savings may decide the IRS is the best route.

Some owners might be inclined not to file their income tax returns if they can’t pay, but that’s a big mistake . The government’s penalty for failure to file can be as much as 25 percent of unpaid taxes, and that’s on top of late payment penalties and interest. And, if an owner or business hasn’t filed all their returns, they can’t enter a payment plan.

On its website, www.irs.gov , the agency advises all taxpayers to pay as much as they can. If they want to apply for a payment plan, they should visit www.irs.gov/payments/online-payment-agreement-application , the web page that explains payment plan options and requirements. Among them:

— Businesses (and owners, if they’re seeking a plan as an individual taxpayer) can apply for short-term plans, which means paying their full bill within 120 days. Otherwise, they can ask for long-term plans. There are fees for long-term plans; the fees can be reduced if payments are made by direct debit.

— A business can apply online if it owes less than $25,000 in tax, penalties and interest combined. Individual owners can apply for a long-term plan online if they owe $50,000 or less in tax, penalties and interest combined. An owner can individually apply online for a short-term plan if the amount owed is less than $100,000. There’s a link to the application at www.irs.gov/payments/online-payment-agreement-application .

— Owners or businesses that can’t apply online must complete IRS Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request. It can be downloaded from the IRS website.

— If owners are severely strapped, they may be able to work out agreements to reduce their indebtedness to the IRS. But, suggests Scott Berger, an accountant with Kaufman Rossin in Boca Raton, Florida, “save that for when really need it.”

(AP)