Glossary

Form 4180

Form 4180 is the IRS interview form used to determine whether an individual is a responsible person who willfully failed to pay over employment taxes, the two elements of the trust fund recovery penalty.

How it works

A revenue officer uses Form 4180 to interview people who may be responsible for a business’s unpaid employment taxes. The questions cover duties, check-signing authority, hiring and firing, knowledge of the unpaid taxes, and which creditors were paid instead. The answers are the primary evidence for assessing the trust fund recovery penalty personally.

Why it matters

Owners and officers routinely sit for this interview without counsel and create the record used against them. Preparation and representation change the outcome.

Related: trust fund recovery penalty.

Guides that cover form 4180

Related terms

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Definitions are general information, not legal advice, and may not reflect the most recent changes in law.

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