This educational session is designed to introduce tax professionals to helping clients negotiate Installment Agreements and Penalty Abatement (PA). We’ll first go over understanding different taxpayer’s circumstances that might qualify for a penalty abatement. You’ll also learn about some of the most common penalties and how you can help your clients navigate them as well as negotiate installment agreements with the IRS. The first step in helping clients deal with potential penalties is understanding what they are, who they apply to, and why they exist in the first place.

Installment Agreements

An installment agreement is a payment plan that allows your client to pay off tax debt over time. The IRS can waive penalties for taxpayers who qualify for an installment agreement, but you will need to understand how to negotiate that on behalf of your client. We will discuss when a taxpayer qualifies for not collectible status, a partial pay installment agreement and strategies for getting the best results.

The strategies include understanding what it will take to qualify, such as showing that paying a tax bill in full would cause undue hardship or would prevent your client from meeting basic living expenses (such as food or shelter).

Penalty Abatements

Our course will help you understand how to negotiate for penalty abatements on behalf of your clients. If a taxpayer has a reasonable cause as described in the Internal Revenue Code for not complying with the tax law for timely filing or timely paying their tax it is possible to get a penalty removed.  The trick is explaining the circumstances in such a way that the IRS can agree with the request to remove the penalty.

Qualifying Circumstances

Taxpayers will depend on you to help them understand what it will take to meet one of these qualifying circumstances that are more likely to qualify for a penalty abatement. If your client has any of these conditions, you may want to look into whether they qualify for an installment agreement or penalty abatement.