---
title: "Prepare the facts for a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay addition"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/request-remission-of-the-general-interest-charge-or-a-failure-to-lodge-p/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A26-X20261018-3-US"
practice_area: "Taxation"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# Prepare the facts for a failure-to-file or failure-to-pay addition

> Build a month-by-month table of the failure and of the tax the return or the notice shows, and list the facts the client gives about why the return or the payment was late. Leave the reasonable-cause conclusion blank.

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/request-remission-of-the-general-interest-charge-or-a-failure-to-lodge-p/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Taxation](https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | Build a month-by-month table of the failure and of the tax the return or the notice shows, and list the facts the client gives about why the return or the payment was late. Leave the reasonable-cause conclusion blank. |
| What the lawyer must review | 26 U.S.C. § 6651: if a required return is not filed on the date prescribed, taking account of any extension, the addition is 5 percent of the tax required to be shown if the failure is not more than one month, plus 5 percent for each further month or part of a month, not exceeding 25 percent, unless the failure is due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect. Failure to pay the tax shown on the return draws 0.5 percent for each month or part of a month, not exceeding 25 percent, unless the same exception is shown. If a return under chapter 1 is filed more than 60 days after the prescribed date, the failure-to-file addition is not less than the lesser of $435 or 100 percent of the tax required to be shown. You decide whether reasonable cause, and the absence of willful neglect, are shown, and you check every sentence before a request is sent. Later subsections change the rate in stated cases. Open them before you use another rate. This is not an abatement of interest. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Request remission of the general interest charge or a failure-to-lodge penalty](https://ailawframework.com/practice/taxation/request-remission-of-the-general-interest-charge-or-a-failure-to-lodge-p.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: Build a month-by-month table of the failure and of the tax the return or the notice shows, and list the facts the client gives about why the return or the payment was late. Leave the reasonable-cause conclusion blank.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- Interest is a different statute. Do not treat this addition as interest, and do not state an interest figure.
- The $435 floor is the figure in the section for a chapter 1 return filed more than 60 days late. Confirm the current text before it is used.

## Sources

- [26 U.S.C. § 6651 (failure to file a return or to pay tax)](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6651) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [IRS Office of Professional Responsibility, Issue 2026-19, Introductory Guidelines for Responsible AI Use in Federal Tax Practice](https://www.irs.gov/pub/opr-taxpros/issue-number-2026-19-introductory-guidelines-for-responsible-ai-use-in-federal-tax-practice.pdf) (checked 2026-10-22)

## Forms and precedents for this task

| Form or precedent | Kind | AI level | Summary |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [ATO general interest charge remission application](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/form-ato-gic-remission-application.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the ATO general interest charge remission application. The how-to page says this form is the Excel file, and that it must be submitted in Excel format only. |
| [ATO shortfall interest charge remission application](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/form-ato-sic-remission-application.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the ATO shortfall interest charge remission application. The how-to page publishes it as a PDF, separate from the general interest charge workbook. |
| [ATO failure to lodge penalty remission application](https://ailawframework.com/precedents/taxation/form-ato-ftl-remission-application.md) | Form | Yellow | Link to the ATO failure to lodge penalty remission application. The how-to page publishes it as its own PDF. |

Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one.

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*