Form 2751 Proposed Assessment of the Trust Fund

What is IRS Form 2751?

IRS form 2751, Proposed Assessment of Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (TFRP) is attached to the last page of Letter 1153. If you're seeing it for the first time, it can be confusing. This shouldn't be much of a surprise if you've ever looked at an IRS letter or notice. The IRS is good at confusing taxpayers.

Form 2751 attempts to explain the periods and amounts of the proposed TFRP assessment. It also provides the name and identifying information of the person to be assessed. Most people are confused by the "Penalty" column on the far right of the notice. It's easy to think this is a penalty added on to the total tax due, but this column provides the Trust Fund Penalty, the portion of the total business tax debt to be assessed to the Responsible Individual(s).

This form is also the IRS' attempt to get you to agree to the personal assessment and subsequent collection of the Trust Fund tax. If the person identified toward the bottom of the form signs it, the Trust Fund will be assessed to that person and collection will ensue soon thereafter.

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My Revenue Officer Wants Me to Sign Form 2751. Am I Required to Sign It?

No. You are not required to sign it.

Sometimes the Revenue Officer (RO) wants to wrap up her work on the case now rather than wait out the 60 day protest period. The Responsible Person's signature allows the RO to send the Trust Fund forward for assessment. It helps get the case off her desk quicker.

If you don't believe you are responsible or willful for the Trust Fund, do not sign Form 2751. Instead, submit a formal written Protest directly to your Revenue Officer before the 60 day protest period expires. The 60 day period begins with the date of Letter 1153. It is increased to 75 days if Letter 1153 is addressed to you outside of the United States.

If you do not sign Form 2751 and do not submit a formal protest within the 60 day window, the proposed assessment will be considered Unagreed and the Trust Fund will move forward for assessment against the individual.

If you have a specific question about the Trust Fund or Form 2751, send us a quick email or give us a call. We'll give you straight answers to your questions.