Need to seek an IRS Penalty Abatement – Consider a Form 843

Calling or writing the IRS to get a penalty removed can be a frustrating process at best.

Consider using a Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, to seek penalty abatement. The form allows taxpayers to request the reduction or removal of penalties assessed by the IRS under certain circumstances.

Here’s how it works:

Penalty Abatement Requests: You can request abatement of penalties related to things like failure to file, failure to pay, or failure to deposit, among others. The IRS might grant penalty relief if you can show reasonable cause, such as a serious illness, natural disaster, or other circumstances beyond your control.

Reasonable Cause: When seeking abatement, you’ll need to provide a clear explanation of why the penalty should be removed, demonstrating that you had reasonable cause for not meeting your tax obligations on time.

Keep in mind that Form 843 is not used for requests related to:

• Refund of overpaid taxes (those are typically done with Form 1040X, for individual tax returns).
• Tax debt reduction (penalties are separate from the actual tax debt, which is addressed through other means).

Need help filing, see the IRS Forms and Publications or drop us a note.