The IRS has authorized widespread AUTOMATIC penalty relief for certain 2019 and 2020 tax returns due to the pandemic resulting in $1.2 billion in penalties being refunded to 1.6 million taxpayers!
To help struggling taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, the IRS is providing penalty relief to most people and businesses who file their 2019 or 2020 return late.
The IRS is also taking an additional step to help those who paid these penalties already!
Nearly 1.6 million taxpayers will automatically receive more than $1.2 billion in refunds or credits. Many of these payments will be completed by the end of September. Besides providing relief to both individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic, this step is designed to allow the IRS to focus its resources on processing backlogged tax returns and taxpayer correspondence to help return to normal operations for the 2023 filing season.
What are penalties are included? The Failure to File Penalty is typically assessed at a rate of 5% per month up to 25% of the unpaid tax when a federal income tax return is filed late.
To qualify for this relief, any eligible income tax return for 2019 and 2020 must be filed on or before Sept. 30, 2022.
In addition, the IRS is providing penalty relief to banks, employers and other businesses required to file various information returns, such as those in the 1099 series. To qualify for relief, the notice states that eligible 2019 returns must have been filed by Aug. 1, 2020, and eligible 2020 returns must have been filed by Aug. 1, 2021.
Because both of these deadlines fell on a weekend, a 2019 return will still be considered timely for purposes of relief provided under the notice if it was filed by Aug. 3, 2020, and a 2020 return will be considered timely for purposes of relief provided under the notice if it was filed by Aug. 2, 2021. The notice provides details on the information returns that are eligible for relief.
The notice also provides details on relief for filers of various international information returns, such as those reporting transactions with foreign trusts, receipt of foreign gifts, and ownership interests in foreign corporations. To qualify for this relief, any eligible tax return must be filed on or before Sept. 30, 2022.
Penalty relief is automatic.
This means that eligible taxpayers need not apply for it. If already assessed, penalties will be abated. If already paid, the taxpayer will receive a credit or refund. As a result, nearly 1.6 million taxpayers who already paid the penalty are receiving refunds totaling more than $1.2 billion. Most eligible taxpayers will receive their refunds by the end of September. Penalty relief is not available in some situations, such as where a fraudulent return was filed, where the penalties are part of an accepted offer in compromise or a closing agreement, or where the penalties were finally determined by a court. For details, see Notice 2022-36, available on https://buff.ly/3CucMAW.
This relief is limited to the penalties that the notice specifically states are eligible for relief. Other penalties, such as the failure to pay penalty, are not eligible. But for these ineligible penalties, taxpayers may use existing penalty relief procedures, such as applying for relief under the reasonable cause criteria or the First Time Abate program. Visit https://buff.ly/3CpqK6Z for details.
