Oftentimes, in Georgia, battles with the IRS tend to be perceived as expensive and, overall, time wasters. This is why, when it comes to IRS penalties, it can be somewhat daunting to even ask for some relief. The good news is that there are many ways to go about asking them to review your penalty and, in some cases, even remove it.
Most cases don’t involve lack of payment
Although there are over 150 penalties in the Internal Revenue Code, many of them are not because a person was able to pay or file their tax form. The majority of penalties that are sent out include a failure to pay the penalty and the failure to file a form on time.
Reasons why the IRS could remove your penalty
One of the things that the IRS will place a penalty on is specific authoritative exclusion or statutory exception. Tax law states that you can place this in your tax form if it’s for disaster relief or combat zone relief. Another includes an error on the part of the IRS. In very rare cases, the IRS will provide tax advice to individuals. However, if that advice is considered wrong and you receive a penalty for it, you may argue against the penalty’s removal.
Next is the argument of reasonable cause. This is very common, and it is used by both individuals and businesses to prove that they could not comply with certain tax requirements due to poor advice from their software or accountant. The way to get any penalties removed is to present evidence that your lack of payment or late-payment was due to willful neglect.
If you’re unaware or unsure how to handle this type of situation regarding the IRS, bringing in a tax law attorney may help diminish that burden and lead to a better outcome than you expected.