The answer is no. The Trust Fund Recovery Penalty (“TFRP”) will be assessed as a Civil Penalty prior to the IRS commencing any collection activity against the responsible person(s). The Client would request CNC status during the collection process and not before. If your client is determined to qualify, they will be placed into CNC status for up to a 2 years at which time the IRS will re-evaluate their financial standing. That is to say, CNC status is a temporary state used to postpone collection activity and cannot be used to eliminate exposure to tax liability.