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1.
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Abatement of any or all interest may be made by the IRS on
any tax deficiency. |
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2.
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The tax deficiency may be attributable in whole or in part
to either
any "unreasonable error" by an IRS officer or employee or any
"unreasonable
delay" by an IRS officer or employee. |
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3.
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The IRS officer or employee must be acting in his/her
official capacity. |
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4.
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The deficiency can pertain to any tax on income, estate,
gift, generation-skipping, and certain excise taxes. Abatement of
interest for employment taxes or other excise taxes is not available. |
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5.
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The error or dilatory performance by the IRS officer or
employee may
pertain to any ministerial or managerial act. |
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6.
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A ministerial act is a procedural or mechancial act, not
involving the exercise of judgement or discretion, that occurs during
the processing
of a taxpayer's case after all prerequisites (for example, conferences
and review by supervisors) have taken place. A decision concerning the
proper application of federal tax law (or other federal or state law)
is
not a ministerial act. |
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7.
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Abatement will not be applied if the error or delay can be
attributed to the taxpayer involved. |
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8.
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The IRS must abate the assessment of all interest on any
erroneous tax refund until the date the IRS demands repayment unless:
- The
taxpayer or a related party has in any way caused the erroneous refund,
or
- The
erroneous refund exceeds $50,000
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9.
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A reduction of interest must be made on Form 843, Claim
for Refund and Request for Abatement. The Form 843 may be filed
with the IRS Service Center where the taxpayer filed the tax return
that was affected by the the ministerial error or delay. Generally, a
taxpayer should file a separate Form 843 for each tax period and each
type of tax. |
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10.
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Failure for the the IRS to lower interest may be reviewed by
the Tax
Court. The action must be brought within 180 days after the IRS mails
its final decision. |
