The pandemic created a spectacular mess of ordinary life, and taxes did not exactly escape the chaos. If you paid certain IRS penalties tied to your 2020 or 2021 taxes, you may qualify to get that money back through automatic penalty relief the IRS announced after the worst of the disruption had passed.
Not every pandemic-era tax penalty qualifies, and it certainly does not mean the IRS will send a check simply because the calendar once contained the word 2020. The relief comes with specific rules about the tax year, type of penalty, tax amount, and IRS notices, so checking the details matters before counting that refund money as found cash.
The IRS Gave Some Pandemic Penalties a Second Look
The IRS created special relief for certain taxpayers who faced failure-to-pay penalties for tax years 2020 and 2021. Under Notice 2024-7, the agency agreed to waive eligible penalties and refund or credit penalties that taxpayers had already paid.
The automatic relief generally covers individuals, businesses, estates, trusts and certain tax-exempt organizations that filed qualifying returns and had assessed tax below $100,000 for the applicable year. For individuals, qualifying returns generally include Form 1040-series returns, while certain businesses and organizations qualify through other specified forms.
The timing of the IRS notice also matters, because the automatic relief targeted taxpayers who received an initial balance-due notice, generally a CP14 or CP161, between February 5, 2022, and December 7, 2023. The IRS designed the program around taxpayers who entered the collection process after the agency temporarily paused certain collection notices during the pandemic.
If a taxpayer already paid the eligible penalty, the IRS can apply the money toward another outstanding federal tax liability or issue a refund when no other balance remains. In other words, a taxpayer who already handed over the money did not necessarily lose the chance to benefit from the relief.
Not Every Pandemic-Era Penalty Qualifies
Here comes the fine print, because taxes always seem to keep a tiny trapdoor hidden beneath the carpet. The 2020 and 2021 automatic relief primarily addresses certain failure-to-pay penalties, not every penalty that appeared on an IRS account during those years.
The IRS also offered separate relief under Notice 2022-36 for certain failure-to-file penalties involving eligible 2019 and 2020 returns filed by September 30, 2022. That program also allowed eligible penalties that taxpayers had already paid to receive refunds or credits, but the filing deadline for that particular relief has long since passed. That means a taxpayer should not lump every old IRS charge into one big “COVID penalty” bucket. A failure-to-file penalty, failure-to-pay penalty, estimated-tax penalty, and other IRS charges can follow different rules, and the notice attached to the charge can reveal exactly what happened.
There are also exclusions from the automatic 2020 and 2021 relief, including situations involving assessed tax of $100,000 or more and certain cases involving fraud, accepted offers in compromise, closing agreements or court-determined penalties. Taxpayers outside the automatic program may still qualify for other forms of penalty relief, including reasonable-cause relief or the First-Time Abate program, depending on their circumstances.
So, before celebrating over a hypothetical IRS windfall, identify the exact penalty first. A five-minute review of the tax account can prevent a lot of unnecessary optimism.
How to Check Whether the IRS Owes You
The easiest starting point involves the taxpayer’s IRS Online Account and tax records. The IRS says taxpayers can review account information and transcripts to see details connected to the penalty relief, which can help determine whether the agency already adjusted the account.
Look for an IRS notice or account entry showing an adjustment, refund or credit connected with the affected tax year. If another federal tax balance exists, the IRS may apply the money to that balance instead of sending a separate check, so a missing check does not automatically mean the relief disappeared.
A taxpayer who changed addresses should pay particular attention to the mailing information on file. The IRS notes that taxpayers may need to update their address to receive refunds or notices, and the agency generally mails a refund when the taxpayer did not request direct deposit on the original return.
If the account does not make sense, the next step involves contacting the IRS or reviewing the original penalty notice rather than guessing. Keep copies of the return, IRS notices, payment records and account information handy, especially when a taxpayer needs to challenge a penalty that falls outside the automatic program.
And there is one reassuring detail: eligible taxpayers did not need to submit a special application for the automatic 2020 and 2021 relief. The IRS handled that relief automatically, although taxpayers still need to pay attention to later notices and respond to unrelated tax issues when required.
The Old Tax Bill Could Still Have One More Surprise
For anyone who paid an eligible pandemic-era penalty, checking the IRS account could uncover money that never felt like a refund because the agency used it as a credit. That makes this less of a “wait for a mysterious check” situation and more of an account-reconciliation exercise. The IRS specifically says it can credit previously paid penalties toward another outstanding tax liability or issue a refund when appropriate.
The bigger lesson involves keeping old tax records even after the annual filing frenzy fades. Tax problems can linger for years, and an old IRS notice can suddenly become important when the agency changes how it handles a particular penalty. If the automatic relief does not cover the penalty, that does not necessarily end the conversation. The IRS allows certain taxpayers to request penalty relief based on reasonable cause, and taxpayers may qualify for First-Time Abate in appropriate circumstances.
In short, a pandemic-era IRS penalty deserves a second glance before it gets forgotten in the filing cabinet forever. If an eligible penalty already drained money from the household budget, the IRS may have an adjustment waiting that puts at least some of it back where it belongs.
Did you pay an IRS penalty during the pandemic and later discover that you qualified for penalty relief, or did the IRS automatically refund or credit the money? Share what happened in the comments.
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Brandon Marcus is a writer who has been sharing the written word since a very young age. His interests include sports, history, pop culture, and so much more. When he isn’t writing, he spends his time jogging, drinking coffee, or attempting to read a long book he may never complete.