The IRS late filing penalty is based on the amount due on the return. If the amount due on the return is $0 or a refund, there is no penalty (or, more accurately, the penalty is $0).
So why won't this work? What tax amount will IRS use to figure the late filing penalty?
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As an aside: I personally know that if you owe a late payment penalty when filing your return, and you subsequently amend the return such that the amount owed on the original return was unnecessary and the late payment penalty shouldn't have been assessed, IRS still keeps the penalty anyway.
