Can I Get My IRS Penalties Abated?

As a professional tax resolution specialist a very frequent question I hear is, “Can I get my IRS penalties abated?” And the answer is always the same which is, “It depends.” It depends on the individual circumstances of each person who owes taxes and also owes penalties. In order for the IRS to remove penalties they have to have a very good reason. The IRS applies penalties to give taxpayers an incentive to pay their taxes on time.

There are instances where taxpayers truly have very good reasons to have their penalties abated. The key to getting the penalties is to 1) know what the rules are regarding penalty abatement, 2) properly documenting the reasons that lead to the penalties and finally 3) presenting your case to the IRS and requesting they abate (remove) the penalties. Often times a tax professional is the most qualified person to handle this procedure and a taxpayer would do well to consider this option.

The qualifications for penalty abatement are stringent and can be hard to document but can be well worth the effort. Recently the IRS implemented a first time penalty abatement program to help taxpayers who have gotten into trouble with the IRS for the first time. Again a tax professional can be very helpful in this area.