SSN - Request for Waiver

Request for Waiver for Reasonable Cause

This is a letter designed to be sent from any prospective "employer" to the Secretary of the Treasury to request a waiver of the penalty for missing information on a standard W-Form; "Request for Taxpayer Identification and Certification" So here is an example of one such wording.

To: Internal Revenue Service

Secretary of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Dear Secretary,

Because a requirement exists for me (the Employer), to request information for filing with the IRS. I have supplied Form W-9 to the contractor in question and was unable to acquire the information requested. For purposes of this chapter, a request is defined as follows:

"A request is any request for testimony of an IRS officer, employee or contractor or for production of IRS records or information, oral or written, by any person, which is not a demand."

This was due to the fact that the contractor refused to fill out the Form W-9 or supply any information on the form, including, but not limited to, a proper SSN. In fact the form was returned blank and unsigned. As this failure to acquire this information is by no fault of my own, there is an obvious reasonable cause as to the failure, according to:

Section 301.6724-1(c)(6)(i) of the regulations - Reasonable Cause

Reasonable cause.

The penalty set forth in this section shall not apply if it is established to the satisfaction of the Service that the failure to file the notification within the prescribed time was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. An affirmative showing of reasonable cause must be made in the form of a written statement that sets forth all the facts alleged as reasonable cause for the failure to file the notification on time and that contains a declaration by the taxpayer that the statement is made under the penalties of perjury.

This statement must be filed with the service center in which the notification was required to be filed. The taxpayer must file this statement with the notice required under section 905(c) and the regulations thereunder or section 404A(g)(2) and the regulations thereunder. If the taxpayer exercised ordinary business care and prudence and was nevertheless unable to file the notification within the prescribed time, then the delay will be considered to be due to reasonable cause and not willful neglect.

As I have complied with the codes applicable to this inquiry and have made all proper and timely "solicitations" recommended by the IRS codes, I contend that I have acted in a responsible manner, to whit;

(e) Acting in a responsible manner - special rules for missing TINs -

(1) In general. A filer that is seeking a waiver for reasonable cause under paragraph (c)(6) of this section will satisfy paragraph (d)(2) of this section with respect to establishing that a failure to include a TIN or an information return resulted from the failure of the payee to provide information to the filer (i.e., a missing TIN) only if the filer makes the initial and, if required, the annual solicitations described in this paragraph (e) (required solicitations). For purposes of this section, a number is treated as a “missing TIN” if the number does not contain nine digits or includes one or more alpha characters (a character or symbol other than an Arabic numeral) as one of the nine digits. A solicitation means a request by the filer for the payee to furnish a correct TIN. See paragraph (f) of this section for the rules that a filer must follow to establish that the filer acted in a responsible manner with respect to providing incorrect TINs on information returns.

(i) Initial solicitation. An initial solicitation for a payee's correct TIN must be made at the time an account is opened. The term “account” includes accounts, relationships, and other transactions. However, a filer is not required to make an initial solicitation under this paragraph (e)(1)(i) with respect to a new account if the filer has the payee's TIN and uses that TIN for all accounts of the payee. For example, see § 31.3406(h)-3(a) of this chapter. Further, a filer is not required to make an initial solicitation under this paragraph (e)(1)(i) with respect to accounts for which the filer filed an information return subject to paragraph (h) of this section. For purposes of this section, the initial solicitation requirement is deemed to have been met with respect to accounts opened after December 31, 1989, and on or before April 22, 1991. If the account is opened in person, the initial solicitation may be made by oral or written request, such as on an account creation document. If the account is opened by mail, telephone, or other electronic means, the TIN may be requested through such communications. If the account is opened by the payee's completing and mailing an application furnished by the filer that requests the payee's TIN, the initial solicitation requirement is considered met. If a TIN is not received as a result of an initial solicitation, the filer may be required to make additional solicitations (“annual solicitations”).

(ii) First annual solicitation. Except as provided in paragraph (e)(1)(vi) of this section, a filer must undertake an annual solicitation if a TIN is not received as a result of an initial solicitation (or if the filer was not required to make an initial solicitation under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section and the filer has not received a payee's TIN). The first annual solicitation must be made on or before December 31 of the year in which the account is opened (for accounts opened before December) or January 31 of the following year (for accounts opened in the preceding December) (“annual solicitation period”).

I hereby request a waiver of the penalty for missing or inaccurate information on any and all forms in reference to this account, as per paragraph (a)(1) of § 301.6724-1 relating to waiver of penalty, as follows"

301.6721-1 Failure to file correct information returns.

(a) Imposition of penalty -

(1) General rule. A penalty of $50 is imposed for each information return (as defined in section 6724(d)(1) and paragraph (g) of this section) with respect to which a failure (as defined in section 6721(a)(2) and paragraph (a)(2) of this section) occurs. No more than one penalty will be imposed under this paragraph (a)(1) with respect to a single information return even though there may be more than one failure with respect to such return.

Since the requirements for reasonable cause have clearly been met by me and the failure is clearly due to negligence on the part of the contractor, I have established reasonable cause for a waiver of the penalty of $50.00 per solicitation.

Thank you for your time and consideration of my "Request for Waiver".

Under penalty of perjury, I swear these statements are true and correct, to the best of my knowledge.

Constitutional Studies

SSN - Request for Waiver

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