Tampa Penalty Abatement Attorney

Tampa Penalty Abatement Lawyer

Gathering tax penalties in addition to late tax payments can worsen an already difficult financial situation. If you are a taxpayer with tax debt that you can’t pay back due to significant penalties and interest, there may be options to remove these penalties from your tax debt. It’s important to take action sooner rather than later, and a irs tax attorney in Tampa can help you look over options for payment plans, settlements, and penalty abatement.

Penalty Abatement and Debt Liability Attorneys

When you put off addressing your tax liability, it will only grow. If you still haven’t submitted a late tax return, you will continue to accrue penalties. Those penalties and the missed payment will also accrue interest. At Tax Smith Tax Attorneys, we understand how overwhelming this situation can be, and we want to help you navigate it.

Our firm has collective decades of tax code experience, including resolving tax liabilities through erasing or limiting penalties and interest. When you bring your tax debt situation to us, we will review your unique financial circumstances and the cause of the initial issue with your taxes to determine what options you have for settling or mitigating your liability. Tax Smith Tax Attorneys provides comprehensive and compassionate legal care for individuals, families, and businesses dealing with tax issues.

Understanding How Penalty Abatement Works

There are several IRS (Internal Revenue Service) penalties that you may face if you incorrectly file your tax return information, file your taxes late, underpay your taxes, or fail to pay them at all. When you do not pay your taxes, you owe back taxes to the IRS, and you also owe penalties. These penalties and owed taxes will accrue interest, leading to a significant debt if you do not address it. The longer you wait to pay back or address these debts, the more of an issue they will become.

In Tampa, the most efficient way to address tax liabilities like this is to pay back all your liabilities, including the initial tax payment, penalties, and interest. This is not financially possible for every person, however, and certain penalties are no fault of the taxpayer. If the penalty you received was caused by factors outside your control, penalty abatement may benefit you. Penalty abatement may apply to penalties such as:

• Failure to file
• Failure to pay
• Accuracy-related penalties
• Information return penalties

Some penalties are one-time, while others will continue to affect you on a regular basis if you fail to correct them.

Penalty abatement enables you to remove some or all of these penalties and the interest from those penalties, meaning you only owe the back taxes and their interest. This can mitigate how much you owe the IRS. While you still must pay back your taxes, penalty abatement can make this amount much more manageable.

Penalty Abatement and Reasonable Cause

In order to be considered for penalty abatement, you must either qualify for a first-time penalty abatement or have a reasonable cause that prevented you from filing your taxes on time, acquiring the necessary documentation, or another relevant issue that incited the penalty.

What this reasonable cause is will vary from case to case and may apply to one tax filing year or multiple. An illness or death in the family is an example of a reasonable cause that may make you eligible for penalty abatement.

If you believe that you qualify for penalty abatement due to a reasonable cause, you should talk with a skilled tax attorney. They can review your situation and determine if you qualify for a penalty abatement or if other options for tax debt settlements apply to you.

FAQs About Tampa, FL Penalty Abatement Law

What Is a Reasonable Cause for Penalty Abatement?

A reasonable cause for penalty abatement will vary based on your unique circumstances but is not guaranteed. Some potential reasonable causes could include:

• Being unable to secure the right documentation due to disasters or disturbances
• Suffering from incapacitation or a severe illness
• Being unavoidably absent, such as being in prison or in rehabilitation
• Losing a close loved one
• Receiving inaccurate information from an IRS agent or a tax professional

The reasonable cause will also depend on which type of penalty you receive, such as a penalty for a late payment or a penalty for lack of supporting documentation.

How Do I Request an IRS Penalty Abatement?

You can request an IRS penalty abatement by calling the IRS or submitting the relevant form. You will have to show proof of your reasonable cause. For example, if you are requesting penalty abatement for filing your returns on time, you must show what prevented you from filing on time, such as by including documentation of natural disasters or providing hospital records. Requesting an IRS penalty abatement is much easier with the help and advice of an attorney.

How Do You Write a Penalty Abatement Request Letter?

When you write a penalty abatement request letter or make a call for penalty abatement, you should have certain information gathered and presented. This information includes:

• The penalty you received notice of and would like to have abated
• An explanation of the reasonable cause that led to the penalty and why it was outside your control
• Supporting evidence and documentation to prove your claims

An attorney can help you gather the important information and format the letter correctly.

What Is the IRS First Time Penalty Abatement?

An IRS first-time penalty abatement is an option for relief from a penalty for taxpayers if it is their first tax penalty. Penalties such as failure to file, failure to pay, or failure to deposit are penalties that are eligible for first-time abatement. If you have a good history of compliance with your taxes prior to this penalty, you could qualify for this relief, which would erase the penalty and any interest it has gathered.

Find the Right Attorney to Resolve and Address Your Tax Debt

There are many unexpected life circumstances that can prevent you from filing your taxes on time or filing them accurately. These errors or complications outside of your control should not put you in long-term financial strain. At Tax Smith Tax Attorneys, we can help you address a tax debt liability and resolve as much as possible. Contact our firm today.