Tax Relief Blog

A client recently sent me an email asking me to review his request to the IRS for penalty relief.  The first thing I notices is that his written request was for penalties covering two separate tax years.

The first piece of advice I gave him was to submit a separate request for each year.  Send them about a week or two apart.  And, mail each request via US Mail Certified Receipt. 

Separate requests will give him a better chance at penalty relief.  If the requests are together in the same written document, the IRS employee reviewing his request will immediately think that he has messed up more than once and his reasoning for the penalty accrual will be less believable.  A single request for penalty relief on a single year looks better.  Similarly, sending them a week or so apart will help to ensure a different IRS employee reviews each request. 

And, always send information and documents to the IRS certified receipt so that you can track your shipment, prove you sent it and prove that is was received.