Was your business assessed a civil penalty by the IRS?  If so, you may qualify for partial penalty abatement. 

Case study:  Business taxpayer was assessed a $27,000 civil penalty for failure to file information returns Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Social Security Administration.  Tom Ryder drafted a penalty abatement request and successfully negotiated reduction of the civil penalty to less than $1,400.

Business taxpayer operated for many years with no tax problems.  However, in 2015 the IRS proposed a civil penalty for failure to file year 2012 Forms W-2 and W-3 with the Social Security Administration.  The taxpayer was sure they had been sent in on time.  Nevertheless, the taxpayer resubmitted the allegedly missing forms to the fax number indicated within ten days and kept the fax confirmation statement to confirm the fax was submitted successfully. 

The IRS still assessed the taxpayer a $27,000 civil penalty despite the multiple information return submission.  The taxpayer received several collection notices and eventually a notice that the IRS intended to levy.  The taxpayer didn’t know where else to turn or what to do until they obtained the services of Mr. Ryder’s firm. 

Mr. Ryder filed an appeal of the intent to levy via the Collection Due Process (CDP) program.  Mr. Ryder also prepared a request for abatement of the civil penalty.  The IRS later returned the CDP request as being filed prematurely.  Although they had issued a notice of intent to levy, it wasn’t the final notice that would allow the taxpayer to submit a CDP request. 

Meanwhile, the IRS was working the penalty abatement request and eventually partially abated the civil penalty.  It took them over one year to make their determination, but fortunately it was decided in the taxpayer’s favor resulting in over $25,00 savings not to mention the peace of mind that comes from reducing the balance to a manageable level.