Reasonable Cause

Reasonable Cause means:
the means by which a taxpayer or tax return preparer can avoid an applicable penalty or other sanction.The late filing and late payment penalties set forth in G. L. c. 62C, s. 33(a) – (c) may be waived or abated if a taxpayer demonstrates that the failure to file or pay resulted from reasonable cause and not willful neglect. To meet this standard, a taxpayer must establish that care was exercised to the same degree that an ordinary taxpayer in the same position would have exercised. For example, relying on advice from a tax adviser may be considered reasonable cause for avoiding a particular penalty. “Just too busy” would not be reasonable cause.