Form 843

Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, can be used to request a refund or abatement of certain taxes, interest, penalties, fees, and additions to tax.

In Drake Tax, Form 843 can be completed on the 843 screen. The 843 screen is available in the following packages:

• 1040

• 1041

• 1065

• 1120

• 1120-S

• 990

• 706

• 709

Form 843 cannot be e-filed. If Form 843 is included in a return, the presence of the form does not prevent the rest of the return from being e-filed, but Form 843 itself must be paper-filed according to IRS instructions.

A fillable PDF version of Form 843 is available from the IRS.gov website. For more information about Form 843, see the Form 843 instructions.

Administrative penalty relief

The IRS may grant administrative penalty relief under certain conditions. First Time Abate (FTA) has been the most common administrative penalty waiver and generally applies to taxpayers with a three-year history of timely compliance.

Taxpayers must contact the IRS to request FTA relief. The taxpayer can call the IRS at the toll-free number shown on the notice or letter, or send a written statement or Form 843 to the address specified in the Form 843 instructions.

Beginning in summer 2026, the IRS is replacing FTA with Automatic Exemption from Penalty (AEP) for eligible returns. AEP is automatic and does not require the taxpayer to contact the IRS or file Form 843. If the taxpayer qualifies, the IRS will not assess eligible penalties when the original return finishes processing and will send a notice explaining that relief was applied.

Penalties eligible for FTA or AEP relief include:

• Failure to file

• Failure to pay

• Failure to deposit

To qualify, the taxpayer must generally have timely filed the same return type for the prior three years, or 12 consecutive quarters, and must not have had an applicable penalty assessed unless the penalty was later abated for reasonable cause or IRS error. Additional requirements apply to business taxpayers.

AEP applies beginning with 2025 tax year returns and 2026 quarterly returns, and later periods. Eligible return series include:

• Forms 1040, 1065, and 1120

• Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, and 945

• Form CT-1

Taxpayers who do not qualify for administrative penalty relief may still request penalty relief based on reasonable cause.

For details, see the IRS Administrative Penalty Relief page.