Form 6118

(Rev. July 2018)

Department of the Treasury 

Internal Revenue Service 

Claim for Refund of Tax Return 

Preparer and Promoter Penalties

▶ For Penalties Assessed Under IRC Sections 6694, 6695, 6700, and 6701.

▶ Go to www.irs.gov/Form6118 for the latest information.

OMB No. 1545-0240

Print or Type

Name of preparer or promoter

Address to which statement(s) of notice and demand were mailed

City, town or post office, state, and ZIP code

Address of preparer shown on return(s) for which penalties were assessed (if different from above)

Identifying number 

See instructions.

IRS office that sent statement(s)

Type of Penalty. Enter letter in column (c) below.

A Understatements due to unreasonable positions—section 6694(a)

B Willful or reckless conduct (intentional disregard of rules and 

regulations)—section 6694(b)

C Failure to furnish copy of return or claim for refund to taxpayer— 

section 6695(a)

D Failure to sign return or claim for refund—section 6695(b)

E Failure to furnish identifying number—section 6695(c)

F Failure to retain copy or list—section 6695(d)

G Failure to file a record of return preparers—section 6695(e)(1)

H Failure to include an item in the required record of return preparers—

section 6695(e)(2)

I Negotiation of check—section 6695(f)

J Failure to exercise due diligence in determining eligibility for and the 

amount of certain tax credits and/or eligibility to file as head of 

household—section 6695(g)

K Promoting abusive tax shelters, etc.—section 6700

L Aiding and abetting understatement of tax liability—section 6701

M Other (specify) (see instructions)

Identification of Penalties. Enter the information from your statement.

(a) 

Statement document

locator number (DLN)

(b) 

Date of

statement

(c) 

Type of

penalty

(d) 

Name(s) of taxpayer(s)

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

(e) 

Taxpayer’s identification

number

(f) 

Form

number

(g) 

Tax 

year

(h) 

Amount

assessed

(i) 

Amount 

paid

(j) 

Date paid

(mo., day, yr.)

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

Amount of Claim. Enter the total of column (i), lines 1 through 12 . . . . . . ▶

Sign 

Here

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this claim, including accompanying schedules and statements, and to the best of my knowledge and 

belief, it is true, correct, and complete.

▲

Signature ▲Date

For Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice, see back of form. Cat. No. 24415J Form 6118 (Rev. 7-2018)
Form 6118 (Rev. 7-2018) Page 2

General Instructions

Section references are to the Internal Revenue Code unless 

otherwise noted.

Future Developments

For the latest information about developments related to Form 6118 

and its instructions, such as legislation enacted after they were 

published, go to www.irs.gov/Form6118.

What’s new. For tax years beginning after 2017, the penalty under 

section 6695(g) (type J) has been expanded to include failure to 

exercise due diligence in determining eligibility for a taxpayer to file 

as head of household. 

Purpose of Form

Use Form 6118 if you are a tax return preparer or a promoter and 

want to claim a refund of preparer or promoter penalties you paid 

but that you believe were incorrectly charged.

Claims for More Than One Penalty

If you are claiming a refund for more than one of the penalties listed, 

you may be able to combine some of the penalties on one Form 

6118. Follow the chart below for combining the penalties. See Type 

of Penalty on the form for the list of penalties.

IF you were billed... THEN combine penalties...

on the same statement G and H only.

on the same statement or 

separate statements and the 

penalties were imposed by the 

same IRS office or service 

center

C, D, E, and F only. 

Note: Be sure to group the 

penalties from each statement 

together.

You cannot combine the following.

• Penalties from different IRS offices or service centers. See Where 

and When To File below.

• Penalties A, B, I, J, K, L, and M. You must file a separate Form 

6118 for each of these even if you were charged for two or more of 

the same type.

• Penalties K and L. You must file a separate Form 6118 for each of 

these even if you were charged with both. Only columns (b), (c), and 

(g) through (j) need to be completed for penalties under sections 

6700 and 6701.

Where and When To File

File Form 6118 with the IRS service center or IRS office that sent 

you the statement(s). If you were assessed a penalty under section 

6700, 6701, or 6694, you may file a claim for refund upon paying 

15% of the penalty if you do so within 30 days from the date of 

notice and demand. Otherwise, your claim under sections 6700 and 

6701 must be filed within 2 years from the date you paid the penalty 

in full. Your claim under sections 6694 and 6695 must be filed within 

3 years from the date you paid the penalty in full.

Specific Instructions

Identifying Number

If you are self-employed or employed by another preparer or promoter, 

enter your social security number. If you are the employer of other 

preparers or promoters, enter your employer identification number.

Type of Penalty

For item M (other penalties), enter the name of the penalty and the 

corresponding Internal Revenue Code section.

Additional Information

You may want to attach a copy of the penalty statements to your 

claim. In addition to completing the form, you must give your reasons 

for claiming a refund for each penalty listed. Identify each penalty by 

its line number and write your explanation in the space below.

For additional information about refunds of preparer penalties, 

see Regulations section 1.6696-1.

Privacy Act and Paperwork Reduction Act Notice. We ask for the 

information on this form to carry out the Internal Revenue laws of 

the United States. Subtitle F, Procedure and Administration, allows 

for additions to tax, additional amounts, and assessable penalties. 

This form is used by return preparers to make a claim for refund of 

any overpaid penalty amount. Section 6696 requires the return 

preparer to provide the requested information including his or her 

taxpayer identification number (SSN or EIN) within the prescribed 

time for filing a claim for refund.

You are not required to provide the information requested on a 

form that is subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act unless the form 

displays a valid OMB control number. Books or records relating to a 

form or its instructions must be retained as long as their contents may 

become material in the administration of any Internal Revenue law.

Generally, tax returns and return information are confidential, as 

required by section 6103. However, section 6103 allows or requires 

the IRS to disclose or give the information shown on your tax return 

to others as described in the Code. For example, we may disclose 

your tax information to the Department of Justice for civil and 

criminal litigation, and to cities, states, the District of Columbia, and 

U.S. commonwealths and possessions for use in administering their 

tax laws. We may also disclose this information to other countries 

under a tax treaty, to federal and state agencies to enforce federal 

nontax criminal laws, or to federal law enforcement and intelligence 

agencies to combat terrorism.

The time needed to complete and file this form will vary 

depending on individual circumstances. The estimated average time 

is: Recordkeeping, 6 min.; Learning about the law or the form,

19 min.; Preparing the form, 22 min.; and Copying, assembling, 

and sending the form to the IRS, 20 min.

If you have comments concerning the accuracy of these time 

estimates or suggestions for making Form 6118 simpler, we would 

be happy to hear from you. You can send us comments from 

www.irs.gov/FormComments. Or you can write to Internal Revenue 

Service, Tax Forms and Publications Division, 1111 Constitution 

Ave. NW, IR-6526, Washington, DC 20224. Do not send this form to 

this address. Instead, see Where and When To File, earlier.

Reasons for claiming refund. Attach additional sheets if more space is needed. Write your name and identifying number on each sheet.