The IRS allows individuals to dispute interest and penalties that they have been charged for several reasons. If a taxpayer falls into any of the categories outlined by the IRS’s broad definition of abatement, it is likely that the majority of the penalties can be wiped clean. The IRS requires that the individual filing for penalty abatement meets one of three reasons which are reasonable cause, administrative waivers or a mistake by the IRS.
If the taxpayer meets the requirements for penalty abatement they will be required to file several documents with the IRS to prove to the IRS that they do indeed meet the requirements. There are three ways a taxpayer can present their case to the IRS for abatement; verbal, written or through IRS form 843. No matter which way you choose you will be required to explain and detail out a good reason why you failed to pay the taxes owed.
The most common form of penalty abatement is through a written petition to the IRS. This petition should be written in the format of a formal reason requesting penalties to be abated while stating the reason. This is a sample petition letter of what is typically sent to the IRS when requesting this type of tax relief.
Taxpayers can use IRS Form 843 to claim a refund or ask for an abatement of certain types of tax related charges. Details & Instructions on using this form.
Understand more about how our partnered penalty abatement services works. Their team will gather the appropriate tax records and prove that penalties should be removed, based upon the IRS’s “Reasonable Cause” guidelines. This will reduce your overall tax debt and make your payments smaller.