IRS introduces new automatic penalty relief process

Aug. 10, 2026

The new process automatically provides relief if you have a history of filing and paying your taxes on time. This applies to eligible tax year 2025, 2026 quarterly returns, and future tax periods. 

Under AEP, you qualify if you’ve filed and paid your taxes on time for the past 3 years or 12 consecutive quarters for quarterly returns. If eligible, you'll automatically receive relief from common penalties like failure-to-file, failure-to-pay and failure-to-deposit. The IRS will automatically apply AEP to eligible tax returns and send you a confirmation notice.

If you don't qualify for AEP, you can request penalty relief based on reasonable cause. See Penalty relief for reasonable cause for more information.