What Do You Do When Slapped With IRS Penalties?

The IRS is certainly not known for its mercies. For their defaulter, penalties could be heavy and, apparently, unavoidable. There is a long list of reasons for which IRS can penalize taxpayers and most people have no option but to cough up whatever penalties have been imposed. Though this seems to be the general situation, there are people who disagree. Experts maintain that when the taxpayers challenge the IRS for the imposed penalties, about 40% of the penalties are abated. So that means, the IRS penalties are not as justified as they seem on official paper.

But the IRS expects that too. In many cases, the IRS is dead sure that its penalties will meet up with a challenge and the total sum due to the taxpayer would come out to be quite less. Yet, the IRS does slap people with heavy penalties with their first few notices. Why do they do that, then? The answer is quite obvious – to get the defaulting taxpayers’ attention.

That means, there are ways to wriggle out of having to pay heavy penalties to the IRS when the notices come. But before that, it is important to know on what grounds the IRS can impose penalties on taxpaying people. Here is a list of the most common reasons why IRS imposes penalties:-

Not filing returns Late filing of returns Late payment of dues Underpaying the due amounts Over-evaluating incomes Hiding gift and property taxes Frauds

In most cases, you can simply avoid the IRS penalties by hiring a professional to do the job for you. But sometimes, you might find yourself faced with a penalty to pay without any apparent cause. That is when you can take some immediate measures to avoid having to pay unreasonable penalties.

If you have filed a return and the IRS still sends you a notice that you have not filed returns – this happens mostly in the case of payroll taxes – then all you have to do to substantiate your position is to fax them a copy of the returns you have filed. Even if they claim you have filed late, when actually you did so in time, you have to just produce a copy of the returns with their date and stamp of acceptance on it. This is a very simple thing to do, but many people still pay the penalties thinking that they cannot argue against the mighty IRS.

If you find that the IRS is penalizing you for underpaying your taxes, all you have to do is show them another copy of your returns. In most cases, there are errors due to which wrong figures get inputted into the IRS system. If you are sure you haven’t underpaid, then you can argue your case with the IRS and let them know there has been a mistake.

You must remember that you can hope to avoid IRS penalties only if you are in the right. If you have really defaulted, then there is no way out. But, if the IRS is making a mistake in penalizing you, then you must take all measures to protect yourself. It is best to take a chartered professional accountant’s help, who would help you prepare your case and even argue it out with the IRS if needed. The IRS is more responsive to CPAs than to regular citizens when it comes to matters concerning faults with their penalties.