IRS · United States

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Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement

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JustFill helps you complete Form 843, but it does not file the form with the IRS and cannot grant a refund or abatement — the IRS alone decides your claim.JustFill is not affiliated with IRS. This is an independent third-party tool to help you complete Form 843. Always download the current blank form from the official source and verify your completed copy before signing or submitting. Official Form 843 from IRS

Quick answer

IRS Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement, asks the IRS to refund or cancel certain taxes, penalties, fees, and interest — most commonly penalty abatement for reasonable cause or interest caused by IRS errors. Taxpayers or their authorized representatives complete and mail it. JustFill fills Form 843 online so you can download a clean, ready-to-sign PDF.

Form
Form 843
Issued by
IRS
Country
United States
Cost to fill
Free

What is Form 843?

Form 843 is the IRS form for asking the government to give money back or cancel an amount it charged you — a "claim for refund" or "request for abatement." It covers penalties and additions to tax (most often abated for reasonable cause), interest caused by IRS errors or delays, certain excise and employment taxes, and excess Social Security, Medicare, or RRTA tax withheld by an employer that won't correct it. It cannot be used to claim an income tax refund (that's Form 1040-X) or an employer's FICA correction (Form 941-X). The current version is the December 2024 revision, a two-page form, and you generally must file a separate Form 843 for each tax period and each type of tax or fee.

Download the Form 843 form PDF — free

The current Form 843 (Rev. December 2024) is a free two-page PDF from the IRS. Download it from the official page at irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-843, or open it in JustFill and fill it in your browser without installing anything.

Get the official Form 843 PDF from IRS

Who fills out Form 843?

  • Individual taxpayers requesting abatement of IRS penalties for reasonable cause — for example, a late-filing or late-payment penalty after illness, disaster, or bad advice
  • Taxpayers asking the IRS to remove interest that accrued because of IRS errors or delays (section 6404(e))
  • Employees claiming a refund of excess or wrongly withheld Social Security, Medicare, or RRTA tax when the employer won't correct it — common for F-1/J-1 visa holders
  • Businesses, estates, and trusts seeking refund or abatement of certain employment, excise, estate, or gift tax penalties and fees
  • Authorized representatives (CPAs, enrolled agents, attorneys) filing on a taxpayer's behalf with Form 2848 attached

Field-by-field breakdown

What each section of Form 843 asks for. JustFill’s AI will detect these fields automatically when you upload the PDF — review the breakdown below so you know what to enter.

Reason-for-filing checkboxes (top of page 1)

Boxes grouped under Tax, Penalty, Interest, and Other. Check the one that matches your situation — e.g. abatement of a penalty for reasonable cause, interest due to IRS error or delay under section 6404(e)(1), refund of excess Social Security/Medicare/RRTA tax your employer won't adjust, or Trust Fund Recovery Penalty under section 6672.

Name, SSN, and address block

Name and SSN of the person requesting the refund or abatement, spouse's name and SSN if the claim relates to a joint return, current mailing address (with foreign-address spaces), EIN for businesses, the name and address shown on the original return if different, and a daytime phone number.

Line 1 — Tax period or fee year

Beginning and ending dates (MM/DD/YYYY) of the period your claim covers. The IRS requires a separate Form 843 for each tax period or fee year.

Lines 2–3 — Amount and payment dates

Line 2 is the dollar amount you want refunded or abated. Line 3 has spaces (a–l) for the date of each payment you're asking to get back, if you already paid.

Line 4 — Type of tax or fee

Checkboxes for Employment, Estate, Gift, Excise, Income, Fee, or Civil penalty. Check only one box unless a special-situation exception in the instructions applies.

Line 5 — Type of return filed

Checkboxes for the return your claim relates to: 706, 709, 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, 990-PF, 1040, 1120, 4720, CT-2, the Branded Prescription Drug Fee, or Other.

Line 6 — Penalty code section

If the claim involves a penalty, the Internal Revenue Code section the penalty is based on — you'll usually find it on the IRS notice that charged the penalty.

Line 7 — Reason for the request

Checkboxes: (a) interest was assessed as a result of IRS errors or delays, (b) a penalty resulted from erroneous written advice from the IRS, (c) reasonable cause or another reason allowed under the law, or (d) none of the above.

Line 8 — Explanation and computation

A free-text area to explain why the claim should be allowed and show how you computed the amount on line 2. Attach additional sheets and supporting evidence if you need more space — this is where the claim is won or lost.

Signature and paid preparer section

Signed under penalties of perjury. Both spouses sign for joint-return claims, a corporate officer signs (with title) for corporations, a fiduciary signs for estates and trusts. There are boxes for IRS Identity Protection PINs and a Paid Preparer Use Only block with PTIN and firm details.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • 1Using Form 843 for an income tax refund — overpaid income tax goes on Form 1040-X, and an employer's FICA or withholding correction goes on Form 941-X; the IRS will reject an 843 filed for these
  • 2Combining several tax periods or tax types on one form — the IRS generally requires a separate Form 843 for each tax period or fee year and each type of tax or fee, with only narrow exceptions listed in the instructions
  • 3Leaving line 8 vague — "please remove the penalty" without facts, dates, and a computation of the line-2 amount is the most common reason claims stall or get denied
  • 4Missing the deadline — a refund claim generally must be filed within 3 years of filing the return or 2 years of paying the tax, whichever is later
  • 5Forgetting required signatures or attachments — both spouses must sign for a joint-return claim, and a representative filing for you must attach Form 2848

How JustFill helps you complete Form 843

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Frequently asked questions

There is no general IRS e-file option for Form 843 — outside a narrow IRS online-account option for certain specific claims, you complete it, sign it, and mail it. If you're responding to an IRS notice, send it to the address on the notice; otherwise use the address rules in the Form 843 instructions. JustFill fills the PDF for you online, then you print, sign, and mail it yourself.
Generally you must file a claim for credit or refund within 3 years from the date you filed the original return or 2 years from the date you paid the tax, whichever is later. Claims filed after that window are usually barred, so check the rule for your specific situation in the Form 843 instructions.
No. Filing Form 843 with the IRS is free — you only pay postage. Consider certified mail with a return receipt so you can prove the date you filed, which matters for the refund statute of limitations.
Not always. If you qualify for the IRS first-time abatement administrative waiver, you can often request it by calling the number on your penalty notice, without filing anything. Form 843 is the written route — used for reasonable-cause requests you want documented and for refunds of penalties you already paid.
It depends on why you're filing. If you're responding to an IRS notice, mail it to the address on that notice. Estate/gift tax claims and branded prescription drug fee claims have dedicated addresses. Otherwise, send it to the service center where you'd file a current-year return for the tax involved — the full table is on the IRS "Where to file (for Form 843)" page.
Yes. If an employer withheld Social Security, Medicare, or RRTA tax in error or over the limit — common for nonresident students on F-1/J-1 visas — and won't correct it, you file Form 843 to claim the refund from the IRS. Attach the supporting documents the IRS asks for: a statement from your employer, a copy of your Form W-2, and Form 8316 if you're a nonresident alien on an F, J, or M visa.

Official source: Form 843 on IRS’s website

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