Get IRS late-filing penalties waived with first-time abatement
The failure-to-file and failure-to-pay penalties are removed from your IRS account: you have pulled and read your account transcripts to prove a clean three-year record, confirmed your current-year return is filed and the balance is paid or on a payment plan, and made the waiver request either by phone with a script citing IRM 20.1.1.3.3.9 or in writing with Form 843. You verify the abatement posts to your transcript and have a documented escalation path if the IRS denies it.
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Who it's for
U.S. individual taxpayers and small-business owners who received a CP14, CP215, or similar balance-due notice in which the failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalty is a meaningful share of the bill, and who filed and paid on time for the three tax years before the penalty year. Skip this guide if a penalty already sits in those three prior years — you would need a reasonable-cause argument — or if your penalty stems from fraud or intentional disregard.
About this playbook
An IRS penalty notice can double what you owe, but taxpayers who filed and paid on time for the previous three years can often have late-filing and late-payment penalties erased entirely through First Time Abate — no tax professional needed. This guide takes you from the CP14 or CP215 sitting in your mailbox to a confirmed abatement on your account transcript: you will itemize the charges, pull and read your account transcripts to prove the clean three-year record, get your current filing and payment arrangement in order, and make the request with a phone script that cites the administrative waiver at IRM 20.1.1.3.3.9 or with a completed Form 843. It also covers the decision rule for choosing between the phone call and the form, what to record during the call, and how to verify and, if needed, escalate the result. It does not cover interest abatement, penalties from fraud or intentional disregard, or building a full reasonable-cause case beyond the fallback path.
What you'll do, step by step
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Phase 1: Identify the penalties on your notice
0/3Start from the notice itself: identify exactly which penalties were assessed, for which tax years, and by what date you must respond.
- 15 min
- 10 min
- 10 min
Phase 2: Prove the clean three-year record
3 stepsPhase 3: Get your account current
3 stepsPhase 4: Choose the route and prepare the request
3 stepsPhase 5: Make the request
3 stepsPhase 6: Verify the abatement and follow up
3 stepsDetails
What you need first
A CP14, CP215, or similar IRS penalty notice (or an IRS online account showing the penalty balance); your Social Security number or EIN and the adjusted gross income from your most recent return; a way to get your account transcripts (ID.me registration or a mailing address for Form 4506-T); your current-year return filed or ready to file; and funds to pay the tax and interest or the ability to set up an IRS payment plan.
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About the creator
I document paperwork, applications and dealing with public institutions in concrete steps — no jargon, no stages skipped.
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