Friday, November 21, 2008

IRS Penalty Waiver

Dealing with the IRS most always is a difficult and challenging thing. Often times clients want to know if penalties and interest can be waived on their IRS tax debt. For the vast majority the answer to this question is “No.” If I was a taxpayer and had fallen behind on getting my taxes filed I would ask the IRS to abate (remove) the penalties from the first tax year I fell behind. Knowing what I know after working in the tax resolution business I know the IRS has the ability to do this. The stipulation is that you must have a history of compliance (filing on time) prior to this. You have to ask for it however.
As for the other unfiled years that follow it is highly unlikely that the IRS will willingly remove the penalties for those years unless the taxpayer had a condition that prevented them from filing such as a hardship, act of God, was the victim of a financial crime or relied on a tax professional to get their tax matters under control, etc., in which case it may be best to contact a professional tax resolution firm.

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