Is The IRS Piling On Debt?

We might be in spring, but when the IRS knocks on your door, it can feel like you’re in the middle of a bad horror movie in October. Before you know it, there are jump scares at every turn, and you start to lose yourself in a maze of paperwork, hearings, and payment deadlines. But with a seasoned tax professional by your side, you can turn the tables on the IRS and start slashing your way through the penalties. Here are just a few ways you can accomplish this.

If you’re up to date with filing, including this year’s taxes, and you have a clean history with the IRS, you fall within “current compliance.” As a result, the IRS may agree to wave any first-time penalty you would normally receive from them. But in most cases, this applies to personal income back taxes, and you can only use this penalty abatement option once. If your situation is outside of personal income taxes, and you don’t have a clean history with the IRS, then you need to explore reasonable cause arguments for getting rid of penalty.

Reasonable Causes

There are several “reasonable cause” arguments, including unavoidable absence (death and severe illness), IRS mistake, natural disaster, unable to obtain records, erroneous advice or reliance, ignorance of tax laws, reasonable cause/ordinary business care, and undue economic hardship.

If you qualify, you can use any one of these arguments using a written request to remove the penalty. Along with your written request, you must also have all the supporting documentation to validate your claims. Your request must meet all IRS policy and procedure requirements to prevent it from being rejected. All these exceptions to penalties have strict guidelines, so having an IRS expert guiding you through the process is imperative. The timing of your reason must correlate with the years involved with your tax penalties, as well. Your request must meet all IRS policy and procedure requirements to prevent it from being ultimately denied.

Contact Us

Get your copy of “10 Ways to Remove IRS Penalties” at LandmarkTaxGroup.com/Penalty. If you have any questions or concerns regarding your own IRS situation, let us know as soon as you can at (949) 260-4770 or help@landmarktaxgroup.com.

Don’t let the IRS create nightmares for you this spring.