First-Time Penalty Abatement

The IRS First-Time Penalty Abatement waives certain penalties for individual and business taxpayers.

The First-Time Penalty Abatement (FTA) is an administrative waiver, created by the IRS, to remove certain penalties for taxpayers with a compliant tax-paying history.  

What FTA Covers:

For individual taxpayers, the FTA waives:

• Failure to file, and
• Failure to pay penalties. 

For business and payroll taxpayers, the FTA waives:

• Failure to file, 
• Failure to pay penalties, and
• Failure to deposit.

S corporation and partnership late-filing penalties also qualify for FTA.

FTA Considerations:

• An FTA only qualifies on a single tax year.
• An individual must not have received a "significant amount" of penalties on the same type of tax return in the last three years and must be compliant with all filing/payment requirements.