I represent taxpayers in Gainesville and the state of Florida who have tax issues with the IRS and Florida Department of Revenue. Penalties for Failure to File, Failure to Pay, or Failure to Deposit can increase your tax bill by another 25%. There is a way to get these penalties reversed called the First Time Penalty Abatement or FTA for short.
To qualify, you must have the following covered:
- You must currently be in “compliance”, meaning that all your filings and have made and all your current year estimated and withholding taxes have been paid.
- Your record must not show previous penalty assessments for the past three tax years.
To request the penalty abatement, use the following procedures:
- If you have not paid the penalty, contact the IRS by phone and ask for the abatement or you can request it in writing by typing up a statement requesting the abatement.
- If you have paid the tax within the last three years, then file Form 843 requesting the money be returned.
The First Penalty Abatement is automatically approved if you meet the qualifications. However, there can be a glitch that you must deal with. The IRS uses an automated process called the “Reasonable Cause Assistant” (RCA for short) to determine if you qualify. Your chances that this software will return the right answer is about 50-50. This means you will have to work with the IRS employees to fix whatever record keeping problem is resulting in the wrong answer.
If you or someone you know has received a Notice of Intent to Levy or some other federal or state tax issue, please feel free to contact me at either (352) 317-5692 or email jim@backoffice2.net.
Gainesville, FL
Cell (352) 317-5692
Office (352) 376-9401
Fax (352) 376-9440
