Penalities due to late tax filing

[Venkat Dabri]

This year I was heavily strapped for cash due to a family emergency. I couldn't file my taxes on time and I had to file for an extension. Usually I receive a very large refund but this time I had to pay a huge amount of money to the government. Since I filed on Oct 15th, I was hit by a penalty of $2000. Anyway, I can reduce the penalty because I had a genuine financial emergency?