First-Time Abatement: clean record for three years? The IRS removes penalties for one year. Just ask. Reasonable Cause: hurricane disruption, medical emergency, death in the family, bad professional advice? Penalties can be abated.
For Pinellas County taxpayers, hurricane-related disruptions are well-documented reasonable cause. The Tampa Bay area has been included in multiple federal disaster declarations.
If penalties are inflating your balance, let me see if they can be removed.