Tax Relief Tactics: Mastering IRS Penalties, Fines and Interest Abatement
Phil is a senior associate at Withers Bergmen LLP (Withers Worldwide). Phil’s practice is focused on domestic and international tax controversy. Phil has spoken on various tax topics and at various forums, including the American Bar Association, New York County Lawyers' Association, IRS Nationwide Virtual Tax Forum, CPA Academy, and NYU Tax Controversy Forum.
Gray Proctor, Vanderbilt ’07, practices tax controversy as counsel at Kostelanetz LLP’s Atlanta office. He is board-certified as an expert in civil appellate matters by the Florida Bar Association. He is also admitted to practice in Georgia, as well as the Tax Court and federal Circuit Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits.
2 hour CLE
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Program Summary
Session I - Correcting Noncompliance and IRS Penalty Relief – Phillip J. Colasanto
This session will focus on correcting taxpayer noncompliance and how to deal with several of the most common penalties asserted by the IRS. First, the session will discuss taxpayer noncompliance and the options for taxpayers who want to come into compliance, including discussion regarding the Streamline Foreign Procedure and Voluntary Disclosure Practice. The session will also cover penalties, including accuracy-related penalties, civil fraud penalties, and the most common international penalties. The session will discuss the assessment of these penalties and how best to combat them.
Key topics to be discussed:
- Correcting prior noncompliance
- Understanding IRS penalties
- Penalty abatement procedures
Session II - Penalty Defense: Reasonable Cause, Penalty Abatement, and Interest Abatement – Gray Proctor
Session II will focus on reasonable cause, a key defense that applies to most tax penalties. It will cover the elements and limits of the defense, the role of disclosure and level of certainty in mitigating penalties, and considerations unique to specific penalties, from failure to file to gross valuation misstatements. Additionally, we will describe how recent Supreme Court cases enable practitioners to challenge unfavorable regulations and demand a jury trial on penalties without prepaying and filing a refund suit.
Key topics to be discussed:
- Reasonable cause: The heartland penalty defense
- Loper Bright and challenges to unfavorable regulatory definitions of “reasonable cause”
- Jarkesy and the constitutional role of juries in tax penalties
This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.
Closed-captioning available
Speakers
Phillip J. Colasanto | Withers Bergman LLP
Phil is a senior associate at Withers Bergmen LLP (Withers Worldwide). Phil’s practice is focused on domestic and international tax controversy. He has represented clients before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. district court, U.S. Court of Appeals, and various state courts. He has represented clients from audit through trial and, if necessary, at the appellate level.
Phil has spoken on various tax topics and at various forums, including the American Bar Association, New York County Lawyers’ Association, IRS Nationwide Virtual Tax Forum, CPA Academy, and NYU Tax Controversy Forum. He has also published several tax-related articles, which have been published by Tax Notes, Bloomberg BNA, Journal of Tax Practice and Procedure, EA Journal, and The Practical Lawyer. In addition to his publication and speaking engagement, he is heavily involved with the American Bar Association, where he is the Chair of the Tax Collections Bankruptcy and Workouts Committee.
Phil is a former American Bar Association John S. Nolan Fellow (2019 2020). He also provides pro bono service for taxpayers and was awarded the New York County Lawyers’ Association Pro Bono Award in 2022.
Gray Proctor | Kostelanetz LLP
Gray Proctor, Vanderbilt ’07, practices tax controversy as counsel at Kostelanetz LLP’s Atlanta office. He is board-certified as an expert in civil appellate matters by the Florida Bar Association. He is also admitted to practice in Georgia, as well as the Tax Court and federal Circuit Courts of Appeals for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuits.
Agenda
Session I – Correcting Noncompliance and IRS Penalty Relief | 2:00pm – 3:00pm
- Correcting prior noncompliance
- Taxpayer noncompliance
- Options for correcting noncompliance
- Strategies for improving taxpayer compliance
- Understanding IRS penalties
- IRS penalties
- Failure to file penalty
- Failure to pay penalty
- Accuracy-related penalties
- Underpayment of estimated taxes
- Civil fraud penalty
- International penalties
- Calculation methods for penalties and interest
- IRS penalties
- Penalty abatement procedures
- Criteria for first-time abatement
- Reasonable cause arguments
- Procedural arguments
- Documentation and evidence for successful abatement requests
Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm
Session II – Penalty Defense: Reasonable Cause + A Few More | 3:10pm – 4:10pm
- Reasonable cause: The heartland penalty defense
- Loper Bright and challenges to unfavorable regulatory definitions of “reasonable cause”
- Jarkesy and the constitutional role of juries in tax penalties
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