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NOT LEGAL ADVICE. NOT TAX ADVICE.

Excite Tax is not a law firm, and no one at Excite Tax is an attorney.
These templates are general information. Sharing them is not legal advice or tax advice, and it creates no attorney-client relationship and no preparer-client relationship with Excite Tax.
Before you send anything, check the current IRS instructions for your notice or form; forms, deadlines and addresses change.
For free or low-cost help, contact a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/litc) or the Taxpayer Advocate Service (https://www.taxpayeradvocate.irs.gov/).
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FIRST-TIME PENALTY ABATEMENT REQUEST
From: https://excite-tax.vercel.app/templates/first-time-penalty-abatement-letter
Official sources were read on 2026-09-23; check them again before you use this template.
Replace every [BRACKETED] field. Delete any line that does not apply.

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[DATE]

[IRS ADDRESS — copy it exactly from your notice]

Re: Request for First Time Abate penalty relief
Taxpayer name: [BUSINESS OR INDIVIDUAL NAME, exactly as on the return]
Taxpayer identification number: [EIN or last four digits of SSN, as the notice shows it]
Tax form: [e.g. Form 1120-S, Form 1065, Form 941, Form 1040]
Tax period(s): [e.g. tax year 2024, or quarter ending 03/31/2025]
Notice or letter number: [e.g. CP14, CP2000, LT11 — top or bottom right corner] dated [NOTICE DATE]

To whom it may concern:

I am writing to request administrative penalty relief (First Time Abate) for the [FAILURE-TO-FILE / FAILURE-TO-PAY / FAILURE-TO-DEPOSIT] penalty of $[AMOUNT] assessed for [TAX PERIOD], as shown on the notice listed above.

For the three tax years (or 12 quarters) before this period, [BUSINESS NAME] filed this return type on time and was not assessed a penalty other than the estimated-tax penalty. [IF TRUE: A penalty assessed for [PERIOD] was later removed for reasonable cause.]

The return for [TAX PERIOD] was filed on [DATE FILED]. The tax due has been [paid in full on [DATE] / placed on a payment plan on [DATE]].

Please remove the penalty and the interest charged on it, and confirm the adjustment in writing to the address above.

Sincerely,

[SIGNATURE]
[PRINTED NAME], [TITLE — e.g. Owner, Managing Member, President]
[BUSINESS NAME]
[DAYTIME PHONE]

Enclosure: copy of the notice

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WHAT TO ATTACH
- A copy of the notice that shows the penalty (all pages).
- Nothing else is required for this request, according to the IRS; keep your filing and payment confirmations in case the IRS asks.

WHERE TO SEND IT (check the current official instructions)
- Send the letter or Form 843 to the address the Form 843 instructions specify, or call the toll-free number in the top right corner of the notice instead. Source: https://www.irs.gov/payments/administrative-penalty-relief
- For a request that answers an IRS notice, the Form 843 instructions say to mail it to the return address from which the notice was sent. Source: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i843

SOURCES
- IRS — Low Income Taxpayer Clinics: https://www.irs.gov/advocate/low-income-taxpayer-clinics (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- IRS — Instructions for Form 9465 (07/2024): https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i9465 (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- IRS — Administrative penalty relief: https://www.irs.gov/payments/administrative-penalty-relief (retrieved 2026-09-23)
- IRS — Instructions for Form 843 (12/2024): https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i843 (retrieved 2026-09-23)