Penalty Relief

You may qualify for relief from penalties if you made an effort to comply with the requirements of the law, but were unable to meet your tax obligations, due to circumstances beyond your control.

If you received a notice, be sure to check that the information in your notice is correct. If you can resolve an issue in your notice, a penalty might not be applicable.

Penalties Eligible for Relief

Penalties eligible for penalty relief include:

• Failing to file a tax return
• Failing to pay on time
• Failing to deposit certain taxes as required
• Other penalties as applicable.

Types of Penalty Relief

The following types of penalty relief are offered by the IRS:

• Reasonable Cause
• Administrative Waiver and First Time Penalty Abatement
• Statutory Exception

Penalty Appeal Online Tool

If you received a notice or letter stating we didn’t grant your request for penalty relief, you may want to use the Penalty Appeal Online Self-help Tool.

Is Interest Relief Available?

The IRS doesn’t abate interest for reasonable cause or as first-time relief. Interest is charged by law and will continue until your account is fully paid.

If any of your penalties are reduced, we will automatically reduce the related interest. See our Interest Overview page for additional interest information.