reasonable cause


Court Rejects the ‘Taking All Necessary Steps’ Defense to Penalties

If you take all of the steps to prepare and remit a tax return to the IRS except for placing it in the mail, is this sufficient to avoid a failure to timely file penalty?  There is case law suggesting …..

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Form 2848 Must Specifically List Information Tax Returns

The IRS can generally disclose a taxpayer’s tax information with a representative that is designated by the taxpayer on a Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Designation of Representative.  This covers all forms included with the taxpayer’s tax return as …..

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Relying on an Attorney for a Tax Filing Deadline is Reasonable Cause

In Estate of Hake v. United States, No. 1:15-CV-1382 (M.D. Pa 2017), the court considered whether relying on an attorney for when a tax return had to be filed, rather than relying on the attorney to file the tax return, was reasonable cause. The case should make it easier to get failure-to-file penalties removed for […]

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Proof of Cash on Hand to Abate Failure to Pay Penalty

The failure to pay penalty is one of the most commonly assessed penalties. The penalty does not apply and can be abated or removed if the taxpayer can establish that the failure to pay is due to reasonable cause and not to willful neglect. In C1 Design Group, LLC v. United States, 1:15-cv-146-CWD (D. Ohio […]

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Court Revisits Reasonable Cause for Abating Penalties

The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that taxpayers cannot avoid penalties by blindly rely on tax advisors to file tax returns and make tax payments. These situations are unfortunate. The court in Specht v. United States, No. 15-3095 (6th Cir. 2016) highlights one way that taxpayers may be able to avoid the bright […]

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Facts Needed to Abate Penalties Based on Reasonable Cause

Taxpayers often contest penalties by arguing that their failures were due to reasonable cause. Many of these penalty abatement requests are resolved at the administrative level. The cases that end up being litigated typically do not have the best facts…


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