If your exemption is denied, you must submit a properly completed Form 8948 along with any paper statement you prepare and submit. If you have any questions about how to complete this form or if you need to check the status of a financial hardship exemption request that you have submitted, call the IRS at 866-255-0654. Use Form 843 to request a refund or request a reduction in certain taxes, interest, penalties, fees, and tax additions. If you are unable to make any payments at this time, you may be eligible for current non-collectable status, which is a temporary status that the IRS will place in your account until your situation improves or until the time when the IRS has to collect the taxes due (usually 10 years) expires. The IRS can't refund any part of your refund before that date, even if you're having financial difficulties.
According to the website of the Taxpayer Defense Service, an organization independent of the IRS, they can designate taxpayers who cannot buy drugs, who have received an eviction notice and are unable to pay the mortgage or rent, or who have received a notice of suspension and cannot pay for public services. The IRS can accept that you are having financial difficulties (economic difficulties) if you can show that you can't pay or can barely afford your basic living expenses. If the Financial Management Service (FMS) of the Treasury Department offsets your repayment of debts other than federal tax debts, such as overdue student loans, child support, state unemployment compensation, or other federally insured debts, even if you have serious financial difficulties, the IRS cannot issue you a refund. If you owe taxes to the IRS from a previous tax year, the IRS may withhold your refund to settle that debt.
The full form, which can be found on the IRS website, includes a section that specifies that it is for tax preparers who want to waive the requirement to file tax returns electronically due to economic difficulties. But if you're facing serious financial difficulties and need your refund right away, the IRS may consider not following its usual procedures for accepting the refund.
