The Nature of IRS Penalties

In general, people feel uneasy when confronted withcancellation of some or all of your IRS tax penalties if
possible IRS penalties like the payment of back taxes.you can prove that there was no deliberate negligence
Unbeknownst to them, there are actually guidelines andand intention of defrauding the IRS on your part. When
procedures that will help them contend these issues.this happens, it is called an IRS abatement of penalties.
These include negotiations and setting up of installmentThe IRS actually makes as up to $15 billion, on the
plans, all directed at eventually dismissing probableaverage, on collection from penalties alone. On top of
penalties and back taxes.the fact that the IRS earns a considerable amount of
To review, taxpayers may be obliged to incure IRSmoney from this, the fact is, this is too heavy a load
penalties in circumstances like not filing tax returns,for the taxpayers.
incorrectly filing of taxes, misleading the IRS and notWhat makes circumstances worse for many people is
paying quarterly taxes. For information on thethat when a penalty is given to them, that amount gets
complete list of penalties, including the processes onadded to the total amount of tax debt. As a result, the
penalty abatement and assessment, you may refer tonew larger sum becomes the basis of the interest.
the Penalty Handbook. It becomes clear then thatThe interest that the IRS charges on any tax debts is
aside from the periodic collection of taxes, thegenerally quite large with levels as high as 25%. Over
government also earns through the interests collecteda very short period of time, this can actually double or
from delinquent taxpayers.even triple the total amount of debt, making it
The government provided taxpayers with severalsignificantly more difficult for the taxpayer to settle the
courses of action and made the process of dismissingentire amount.
tax levies relatively easy because it wants to be sureWhen you receive an IRS notice stating a possible
that penalties assessment is done in the right manner.problem resulting from some tax dues, you can
Compared to the outrageous battle it once was, theactually respond and request from them a cancellation
process is now friendlier.of these penalties. This action indicates the beginning of
Taxpayers are educated with the basics of interests,the penalties abatement process, which is a right all
levies and penalties abatement when they make timetaxpayers can take. If proven that you did not willfully
to browse through the IRS Penalties Handbook. Withdefraud the IRS, the "good faith exception clause" in
this set of information, the risks of being penalized arethe provisions of IRS penalties can actually be used. In
significantly decreased.summary, despite the fact that IRS penalties pose a
One of the primary advantages of the IRS Penaltythreat to you and your assets, their effects can be
Policy Statement is that IRS penalties are technicallyneutralized, if not altogether eliminated, through the use
no longer automatic. You may, in fact, qualify for aof legal alternatives.