For a 972CG or CP215 that penalizes late, paper or erroneous returns rather than TINs: the event, the mitigating factor, and the responsible-manner showing. Read it below, copy the text, print it, or download the .docx for your letterhead.
Template from tincompliance.com. For a Notice 972CG (or a CP215 penalty notice) that proposes IRC 6721 penalties for information returns filed late or with errors other than a missing or incorrect TIN. The TIN-specific statement is a separate template. Reasonable cause under Treas. Reg. 301.6724-1 requires showing both an event beyond the filer's control (or a significant mitigating factor) and that the filer acted in a responsible manner before and after. Keep to the facts and attach evidence.
[Company legal name]
EIN: [00-0000000]
[Address]
[Date]
Internal Revenue Service
[Address shown on the notice]
Re: Notice [972CG / CP215] dated [notice date] — Proposed penalty under IRC §6721 for tax year [year], Forms [1099-NEC / 1099-MISC / W-2 / other]
Request for waiver of penalty for reasonable cause under IRC §6724(a) and Treas. Reg. §301.6724-1
Dear Sir or Madam:
[Company] respectfully requests that the penalty of $[amount] proposed in the above notice for [number] information returns [filed after the due date / filed with incorrect information / filed on paper when electronic filing was required] be waived for reasonable cause.
The returns were due [date] and were filed on [date], [number] days late. [Or: The returns filed on [date] contained [describe the error] on [number] forms, corrected on [date].] [State plainly what caused it: e.g. the e-file transmission on [date] was rejected by [FIRE / IRIS] for [reason] and the rejection notice was not received until [date]; the third-party filing service engaged on [date] failed to transmit; a system migration on [date] corrupted the payee file; the responsible employee was on unexpected medical leave from [date]; the business premises were affected by [named disaster] on [date].]
Under Treas. Reg. §301.6724-1(b) and (c), [choose and delete the rest]: [This was the first information-return failure in [Company]'s filing history; the company has filed [number] returns on time for each of the preceding [number] years (§301.6724-1(b)(1)).] [The failure resulted from the actions of an agent, [filing service], to whom the company reasonably delegated filing and whom it monitored, as shown in Exhibit B (§301.6724-1(c)(5)).] [The failure resulted from [fire / casualty / natural disaster] on [date], documented in Exhibit C (§301.6724-1(c)(2)).] [The failure resulted from the unavailability of the IRS filing system on [dates], documented in Exhibit C (§301.6724-1(c)(4)).]
Before the failure, [Company] [describe the ordinary process: prepared the returns by [date], reconciled them to the general ledger, obtained the TCC and tested the transmission on [date], calendared the due date, assigned a backup preparer]. On discovering the failure on [date], [Company] [filed the returns within [number] days / filed corrected returns within [number] days / furnished corrected statements to payees on [date]], and has since [describe the control added: e.g. moved filing to two weeks before the due date, added a second-person check of the acknowledgment file, replaced the filing service].
For these reasons, [Company] requests that the proposed penalty of $[amount] be waived in full. [If the notice covers several tiers, address each: the [number] returns filed within 30 days of the due date should in any event be assessed at the lower tier.] We will provide any further information the Service requires.
Enclosures: Exhibit A — the notice and the list of returns; Exhibit B — filing records (transmission logs, acknowledgments, rejection notices, correspondence with the filing agent); Exhibit C — evidence of the event (system notices, disaster declaration, medical documentation as appropriate); Exhibit D — the corrected returns and dates furnished.
Declaration
Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this statement, including accompanying documents, and to the best of my knowledge and belief it is true, correct and complete.
______________________________
[Name], [Title]
[Company]
[Phone] · [Email]
A general-purpose starting point, not legal advice. Your facts, and your counsel, control what you send.