By:  Kim Smith, CPA, Tax Shareholder

Kim is a shareholder, a member of the JMF Tax Department and in charge of the JMF State and Local Tax (SALT) group.  With over 20 years of experience, she assists clients with corporate, partnership, and individual income tax reporting as well as complex multi-state income and sales tax issues.

 

If you or your business have qualified delinquent taxes or returns due to the Alabama Department of Revenue, you may qualify for the Tax Amnesty Program, which has substantial interest and penalty savings.  The application period for the Amnesty Program will be open from June 30 and will run through August 30, 2016.

You may qualify as an eligible taxpayer if you have not been contacted by the Department within the last five years, do not have an outstanding debt with the Department, have not been scheduled for an audit, are not currently under investigation, and have not entered in to a Voluntary Disclosure Agreement with the Department before June 30, 2016.

A taxpayer who enters the program will receive a waiver of half (50%) of the interest and ALL of the penalties associated with the eligible taxes.  There will be a three-year look back period and the returns and payments are due within 90 days of approval.  The three-year look back does not apply to taxes collected and held in trust.  For example, if a business collected sales taxes from a customer from 2005 and did not remit them to the state of Alabama, those taxes would still be due to the Department under the Amnesty Program.  Payments for taxes due are required to be certified funds and no installment agreements are permitted.

Most taxes administered by the Revenue Department, with the exception of motor fuel taxes, are eligible for the program.  This includes corporate and individual income, business privilege, excise, consumers use, sellers use, withholding and sales taxes.

This may be an excellent time to clear up any delinquent state tax issues you or your business may have.  If you would like assistance with the Amnesty Program or have any questions regarding possible outstanding liabilities, please contact your JMF tax professional or visit the Amnesty Program web site.

www.alabamataxamnesty.com