======================================================================== 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/). ======================================================================== REASONABLE-CAUSE PENALTY ABATEMENT REQUEST From: https://excite-tax.vercel.app/templates/reasonable-cause-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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [DATE] [IRS ADDRESS — copy it exactly from your notice] Re: Request for penalty relief — reasonable cause 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 requesting removal of the [PENALTY NAME] of $[AMOUNT] assessed for [TAX PERIOD] because the late [filing / payment / deposit] was due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect. What happened and when: [Describe the event in plain terms, with dates. Example: "On [DATE], a fire at [LOCATION] destroyed the business records needed to prepare the return."] How it prevented timely filing or payment: [Explain the direct link between the event and the missed deadline. Example: "The return was due [DUE DATE]. Replacement bank statements did not arrive until [DATE]."] What I did to comply: [List the steps taken and their dates. Example: "I requested replacement records on [DATE], filed the return on [DATE], and paid the balance on [DATE]."] Before this period, [BUSINESS NAME] [describe the compliance history, e.g. "filed and paid on time for [NUMBER] years"]. The enclosed documents support these dates. Please remove the penalty and the related interest and confirm in writing. Sincerely, [SIGNATURE] [PRINTED NAME], [TITLE — e.g. Owner, Managing Member, President] [BUSINESS NAME] [DAYTIME PHONE] Enclosures: copy of the notice; [LIST EACH SUPPORTING DOCUMENT] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT TO ATTACH - A copy of the notice that shows the penalty. - Documents that fix the dates: hospital or court records, a doctor’s letter with start and end dates, disaster or insurance records, correspondence, receipts. - Form 843, completed and signed, if you are making the request on the form rather than by letter. WHERE TO SEND IT (check the current official instructions) - The IRS asks for documents such as hospital or court records, or a doctor’s letter with start and end dates. Source: https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause - 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 - Otherwise, a penalty request goes to the service center where you would file a current-year return for that tax. 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 — Penalty relief for reasonable cause: https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief-for-reasonable-cause (retrieved 2026-09-23) - IRS — Instructions for Form 843 (12/2024): https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i843 (retrieved 2026-09-23)