09/24/2026
First Time Abate is on its way out. So, what’s replacing it?
The IRS is phasing out First Time Abate (FTA) and introducing the Automatic Exemption from Penalty (AEP) program, a shift designed to automatically provide penalty relief to eligible taxpayers with a clean compliance history.
For taxpayers, that could mean easier access to relief. For tax professionals, it means new processes, new considerations, and an important question: Did the IRS apply the relief correctly?
Our latest Substack breaks down what’s changing, what practitioners should be doing now, and why reasonable cause still deserves attention.
Read the full article: https://halllundstedt.substack.com/p/the-irs-kills-first-time-abate-heres