Who May File. Any taxpayer who has been assessed a penalty and has paid all tax and interest not subject to abatement,
may request an abatement of the penalty. A separate request must be completed for each penalty assessed. Do not use
this Form 21 to request abatement of individual or corporation underpayment of estimated tax penalties. Instead,
refer to the Individual Underpayment of Estimated Tax Penalty, Form 2210N, or Corporation Underpayment of
Estimated Tax Penalty, Form 2220N, for any exceptions and waivers of these penalties.
This form may not be used to request an abatement of interest. Use the Request for Abatement of Interest, Form 21A,
to request abatement of interest which is allowed only in certain specied situations, as explained on that form.
Where to File. This form must be mailed to the Nebraska Department of Revenue, PO Box 98903, Lincoln, NE
68509‑8903, or faxed to 402‑471‑5927.
Email. By entering an email address, the taxpayer acknowledges that DOR may contact the taxpayer by email. The
taxpayer accepts any risk to condentiality associated with this method of communication. DOR will send all condential
information by secure email or the State of Nebraska’s le share system. If you do not wish to be contacted by email,
write “Opt Out” on the line labeled “email address.”
Basis of Request for Abatement. Your Request for Abatement of Penalty must be supported by a complete
explanation of how the failure to comply with Nebraska tax law was due to causes that were beyond your reasonable
control and not due to negligence or intentional disregard of Nebraska law. If the space provided for the explanation
is not sufcient, a separate letter of explanation may be attached. Submitting this request does not guarantee abatement.
Reasons provided for abatement and prior abatement history will determine approval, partial approval, or denial of this
request.
Processing Procedure. The Nebraska Department of Revenue (DOR) will not process any Form 21 that does not
meet all of the following criteria: the Form 21 is lled out completely, including the basis for the failure to le and pay
timely due to causes that were beyond your reasonable control, and payment of all the associated tax and interest that is
not subject to abatement. DOR will review all documentation supporting the Form 21 prior to making a determination
of whether a request for abatement is approved, partially approved, denied, or cannot be processed.
Appeal Procedure. The denial of a request in its entirety, or in part, is considered a nal determination by DOR
and may be appealed. The requesting party must le an appeal with the District Court of Lancaster County within 30
days after the mailing of DOR’s nal determination in order to contest the determination.
Amount Denied. If the entire penalty is not abated, DOR will send a copy of this Form 21 with an explanation. If
the Request for Abatement of Penalty was denied in whole or in part and there is an amount shown on the Amount
Denied line, you must remit this amount or appeal DOR’s nal determination by following the above appeal procedures.
Unable to Process. If DOR was unable to process some or all of the Form 21, you may submit a corrected Form 21
to DOR or remit to DOR the amount of penalty on the Unable to Process line.
Payment. If you are a business and the penalty is related to a monthly or quarterly return, please pay the remaining
penalty with your next tax return. If you are mandated to make payments by electronic funds transfer (EFT), the
penalty and interest payment must also be made by EFT. If you are not mandated to make payments electronically
and do not le business tax returns on a monthly or quarterly basis, the remaining penalty should be remitted with
a copy of the Form 21.
Information. Questions may be directed to DOR at 800‑742‑7474 (NE and IA) or 402‑471‑5729.
Instructions