IRS Form 843: Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement

IRS Form 843 is the written request you submit when you believe a penalty or interest charge on your tax account should be removed — or when you’ve been charged incorrectly and want a refund.

The IRS assesses billions of dollars in penalties each year, but it also has programs to remove them when a taxpayer had a legitimate reason for failing to meet a requirement. Form 843 is the paper mechanism for making that request formally, creating a paper trail and starting the official abatement review process.

Who Should File Form 843

Form 843 is the right tool when you want to:

• Request penalty abatement for reasonable cause — for example, a serious illness, natural disaster, death in the family, or reliance on professional advice that turned out to be wrong.
• Request First-Time Penalty Abatement (FTA) — if you have a clean compliance history (no penalties in the three prior years), the IRS will typically remove a single year’s failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalty without requiring you to prove a hardship.
• Request abatement based on IRS error — if the IRS provided incorrect written advice that you relied on and it resulted in a penalty.
• Claim a refund of overpaid interest — if the IRS charged interest on a period when it was at fault for a delay.

Note: Form 843 is not the form to use if you are disputing the underlying tax amount. For that, you would file an amended return (Form 1040-X) or file a petition with the Tax Court.

How to Complete Form 843

Lines 1–2 — Identity. Your name, address, and SSN (or EIN if this is a business penalty). If the penalty applies to a joint return, include both spouses.

Line 3 — Tax Type and Period. Be specific. Write “income tax” and the exact year, or “employment tax” and the specific quarter. If you are requesting abatement for multiple periods, file a separate Form 843 for each — or list all periods clearly in the explanation section.

Line 4 — Amount. Enter the specific dollar amount from your IRS notice. Don’t estimate — use the exact penalty and interest figures shown on the CP2000, CP2501, or other notice you received.

Line 5a — Reason Code. This is the most important selection on the form. Code A covers most reasonable cause scenarios. Code D is used for First-Time Abatement (the IRS doesn’t have a dedicated code for FTA, so you use D and reference it explicitly in your explanation). Code C applies when you are citing an IRS error.

Line 7 — Explanation. Write a clear narrative. Describe what happened, when it happened, and what you did to address it as soon as you were able. Vague explanations fail. Specific, chronological narratives with supporting evidence succeed.

Where to Submit

Do not mail Form 843 to your local IRS office. Send it to the IRS campus that handles the tax type in question — this address is typically printed on the penalty notice you received. If you cannot find the address, the IRS website has a campus mailing list by state and tax type.

Allow 6–12 weeks for a response. The IRS will send a letter either approving the abatement, partially approving it, or denying it with an explanation.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using Form 843 to dispute the tax itself. This form is for penalties and interest only. File an amended return if you believe the underlying tax amount is wrong.
• Missing the deadline. Penalty abatement requests are subject to the refund statute of limitations — the later of 2 years from when you paid the penalty or 3 years from when you filed the return. Use whichever gives you more time.
• Vague explanations on line 7. “I couldn’t pay” is not reasonable cause. Specific circumstances with documentation are what move abatement requests forward.
• Forgetting to attach evidence. A written explanation alone often isn’t enough. Include any documents that corroborate your claim.
• Requesting abatement on an unpaid balance. The IRS rarely abates penalties on accounts with outstanding balances. Pay or arrange payment first, then request abatement.

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