It depends. It is possible to request abatement of certain federal penalties. The IRS may allow abatement for the following penalties, depending on facts and circumstances: 

· Information returns penalties, 

· Failure to file penalties 

· Failure to pay penalties 

· Accuracy related penalties 

· Failure to deposit penalties 

· Dishonored check penalties 

· Underpayment of estimated tax by individuals 

· Underpayment of estimated tax by corporations 

· and other penalties as applicable. 

The failure to file, failure to pay, and failure to deposit penalties may be removed once every three years under the first-time abatement program if the taxpayer has a clean history of compliance. 

Failure to file, failure to pay, accuracy related penalties, and information return penalties may also be abated under reasonable cause when circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control prevented compliance. Examples of reasonable cause include: 

· Serious illness 

· Death in the family 

· Natural disasters 

· Loss of records