IRS Is Working on Relief for Penalties From Timely Filed Forms

The IRS’s Large Business and International Division is considering relief for taxpayers who mail certain forms on time and still get an automatic penalty notice, an IRS official said Monday.

As the Internal Revenue Service ramps up its transformation efforts to go paperless, many documents—such as Form 5471, related to foreign corporations—still must be mailed to the agency.

This causes headaches for taxpayers who mail on time, but whose forms don’t get to the IRS until after the deadline, triggering a civil penalty notice.

• Automatic penalties for Form 5471 is “something we are well aware of,” IRS Deputy Commissioner Doug ...