IRS Letter 4440: Equivalent Hearing Decision on Interest Abatement

Letter 4440, Equivalent Hearing and Interest Abatement, closes an Equivalent Hearing in which you also asked the IRS to abate interest under IRC Section 6404. Equivalent Hearings follow a late Collection Due Process request, and most of their decisions cannot be reviewed by a court. Interest abatement is one of the exceptions identified in IRM 8.22.4.3.

Your Petition Right

Letter 4440 states the timeframe to petition the Tax Court on the interest abatement issue. IRC Section 6404(h) allows 180 days from the final determination not to abate. The collection decisions in the same letter are generally not reviewable.

Is the Claim Worth Pursuing?

Interest abatement under IRC Section 6404(e) requires an unreasonable error or delay by an IRS employee in performing a ministerial or managerial act. Long processing times alone usually do not qualify, and delays you contributed to never do. Before filing, identify the specific IRS act that went wrong, the dates, and the amount of interest that accrued because of it. Small claims may not justify litigation. Large ones often do.

If you received Letter 4440, call us at (813) 229-7100.