You know, it didn't even occur to me to try that. I'll give it a go tomorrow.

It's called a "first time abatement": https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...

General penalty relief: https://www.irs.gov/payments/penalty-relief

I just went through this for an honest mistake as well, though I didn't qualify for a first time abatement. It took months to get a response as well.

Prepare to wait on hold for hours, probably trying for multiple days. They are woefully behind.

I believe your best chance is dialing in right when they open, before the call queues build up. Also the folks answering the calls are in a better mood then, and you're more likely to get the outcome you're looking for.

It's too bad they're so far behind now. It used to be fairly painless to reach a human at the IRS, and they are usually pretty helpful. Kind of the opposite of what a lot of people expect.

Worked as a temp for the IRS equivalent in my country. The degree of understanding and professionalism was unexpected. We were just overworked, mostly because the systems were really not up to date and had a few directives that were a bit inhumane (first time asking for a delay=> ok in all cases, no explanation needed. 4th time=> NOK in all cases, expect interests.). For people who couldn't afford the taxes, we had really knowledgeable people taking a lot of time finding ways of rebating taxes, people who could make 10x working as taxes lawyers and making a better job at it than actual lawyer (in my skewed perspective, don't quote me on that).