I frequently get asked, "Can I get the penalties and interest reduced on all these taxes? Because I can pay the tax, but these penalties and interest are killing me." Well, the answer to that is maybe, but there's a legal requirement that you have to meet. There has to be good cause for why those penalties were incurred. "Good cause" could be that you had all the records destroyed in a fire or flood, and you had to recreate them, which caused you to be late. You might have had a professional that you hired to do these things, and that professional absconded with your records. It may be that you had medical issues that prevented you from filing on time, and maybe you were in the hospital, and there was nobody else that could handle this paperwork for you. So, we look at each situation very carefully to see if you can fit into one of these "good cause" categories. Just the fact that I knew I was going to and therefore I didn't file usually won't get you out of paying the penalties. If the IRS does agree to abate, that is reduce some of the penalties, the interest associated with those penalties will also be reduced. Otherwise, the IRS does not abate interest.
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Video instructions and help with filling out and completing Why Form 843 Reduced
