What Is Form 843: Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement?

What Is Form 843: Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement?

I'm here to explain Form 843, which is a multipurpose tax document from the Internal Revenue Service. You use it to claim a refund for certain assessed taxes or to request abatement of interest or penalties that the IRS applied in error.

Key Takeaways

Let me break down the essentials: Form 843 lets you claim a refund of certain assessed taxes or request abatement of interest or penalties from IRS errors. You have to file it within two years from when you paid the taxes or three years from when you filed the return, whichever comes later. Remember, you'll need a separate form for each type of tax or fee and for each tax year.

What Is Form 843 Used For?

You can use Form 843 to ask the IRS for abatement of taxes other than income taxes, such as estate or gift taxes. It's also for interest or penalties caused by IRS errors, delays, or incorrect written advice. Additionally, you might seek a refund of Social Security or Medicare taxes that were withheld in error, especially if your employer won't adjust the over-collection.

Who Can File Form 843?

You can file Form 843 for several reasons, like if your employer withheld too much income, Social Security, or Medicare tax from your paycheck and refuses to adjust it. Your authorized representative can file it on your behalf too. Another common scenario is when the IRS makes an error or causes a delay, leading to wrongful assessments of interest, penalties, or additions to tax that you don't owe. In those cases, file the form to request that the IRS correct the mistakes. Generally, submit a separate Form 843 for each type of tax or fee and for each tax year.

Important Note

Be careful: if the IRS thinks you're claiming an excessive refund amount, they can impose a penalty equal to 20% of the excessive portion.

How to File Form 843

When filing Form 843, provide your basic information: name, address, Social Security number, tax period, tax type, and return type. Include a statement explaining the facts and why you're entitled to a refund or abatement. For penalty abatements, enter the Internal Revenue Code section number of the penalty on Line 4—you'll find this on the IRS notice you received. Then, in Section 5a, select your reason: interest assessed due to IRS errors or delays, erroneous written information from the IRS, or reasonable cause or another reason besides erroneous advice.

In Section 7, explain your request in detail, supporting it with evidence and computations. Attach extra pages if needed. You can download Form 843 from the IRS website. File it within two years from the date you paid the taxes or three years from the date the return was filed, whichever is later.

Special Considerations for Form 843

If the IRS denies your claim with a statutory notice of claim disallowance, or if six months pass without action, you can petition the U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. You also have the option to file a protective claim before the statute of limitations expires to preserve your right to a refund. Protective claims carry the same legal weight as regular claims.