Cancel IRS / FTB / SBE / EDD Tax Penalties
Removal of Penalties and Interest.
Penalties can often be removed if you have “reasonable cause” for the situation that caused the penalty to be imposed. Reasonable cause is a legal term of art which basically requires that the triggering event for the penalty was not your fault. Some departments will remove penalties quite liberally if the appropriate information is submitted to them. In some cases, penalties will be removed where technically a taxpayer does not qualify. In other cases, a hardline stance will be present. Different departments within the IRS, Franchise Tax Board, State Board of Equalization and Employment Development Department are more liberal than others in those same departments in granting such requests. If you submit a request based on circumstances that do not qualify for removal of the penalty, it is difficult thereafter to submit a new request and have it granted. Requests should be carefully analyzed and presented correctly the first time, in a manner that will convince the agency immediately that your circumstances constitute reasonable cause.
Interest is usually difficult or impossible to cancel. A qualified tax attorney should be consulted on this issue.