First-time abatement: the 60-second check

Three clean years, returns filed, tax arranged — and the penalty comes off because you asked. Run the checker, then make the request the right way.

Covers FTF, FTP, FTDClean-3-years testPhone first, paper alwaysRegenerates after 3 years

The abatement you qualify for by having been boring

First-time abatement is an administrative waiver, not mercy: three clean prior years + current filing compliance + tax paid or arranged = penalty removed, no story required. The IRS grants it mechanically when asked and almost never volunteers it. It covers failure to file, failure to pay and failure to deposit — one tax period per request — and the criteria below are the whole test.

First-time abatement eligibility checker

Four questions, sixty seconds. This mirrors the IRS's own FTA criteria — it can't see your transcript, so the verdict is a strong signal, not a guarantee.

1. Which penalty are you trying to remove?

2. Prior 3 years: any penalties on your account? (other than an estimated-tax penalty; a penalty removed for reasonable cause doesn't count against you — one removed by a previous FTA does)

No — clean three years
Yes — there were penalties
Not sure

3. Are all required returns filed (or on a valid extension)?

Yes
No — something's unfiled

4. Is the tax itself paid — or on an active payment plan?

Yes, paid or arranged
No, balance unarranged

Your result will appear here.

Using it well

Spend it on the biggest year — multiple bad years? FTA applies once per lookback — aim it at the largest penalty and argue reasonable cause on the rest.
It regenerates — three new clean years after an FTA and it's available again — it's a waiver with a cooldown, not a lifetime token.
Phone grants still deserve paper — confirmation letters (CP21-series) close the loop; no letter in 30 days means follow up.
Entities have it too — 1120-S and 1065 late-filing penalties are FTA-eligible on the entity's own account — the highest-value FTA nobody requests.

Related penalty guides

Reasonable causeThe arguments that work when FTA doesn't fit Form 843 guideThe written request: format, lines, where to send Failure to file penaltyThe biggest number FTA erases S corp penaltyThe entity-level FTA play Late S corp electionThe missing-election problem behind many CP162s All IRS penaltiesThe full penalty map, with a relief path for each

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Frequently asked questions

Which penalties does first-time abatement cover?

Exactly three: failure to file, failure to pay, and failure to deposit. Estimated-tax, accuracy-related and information-return penalties are outside FTA and have their own relief paths.

What does a 'clean' three years mean?

No penalties (other than an estimated-tax penalty) assessed on the prior three years' accounts — and a penalty previously removed for reasonable cause doesn't spoil it, but one removed by an earlier FTA does. Small assessed-and-removed items can confuse the computer; transcripts settle it.

Do I request it by phone or in writing?

Phone is fastest — agents can apply it during the call for many assessments. Follow up in writing regardless: the written request creates the record for appeal if the oral answer was wrong, and some amounts exceed phone authority anyway.

Should I use FTA or reasonable cause if I have both?

Lead with reasonable cause when the facts are strong — if it's granted, your FTA stays banked for a year with no story. The IRS's own computer applies FTA first when you qualify, so if you want reasonable cause considered, say so explicitly.

Does FTA remove interest?

Interest that accrued on the abated penalty comes off automatically with it. Interest on the underlying tax stays — only payment stops that meter.

Related IRS notices

IRS Letter 5747CVerify Identity In Person IRS CP2000Proposed Changes — Income Mismatch IRS Letter 566Audit Selected — Send Documents IRS CP71CAnnual Balance Reminder All IRS noticesEvery notice explained, with deadlines Remove IRS penaltiesFirst-time abatement & reasonable cause (Form 843)