IRS to waive $1B of penalties for overdue pandemic-era taxes – By Benjamin Guggenheim (Politico) / Dec 19, 2023
The move will provide relief for nearly five million taxpayers who may have been unaware of balances from tax years 2020 and 2021 that were growing in their accounts.
The IRS said Tuesday that it would waive around $1 billion worth of common penalties imposed on taxpayers who failed to pay their taxes on time during the pandemic.
The move will provide relief for nearly five million taxpayers who may have been unaware of balances from tax years 2020 and 2021 that were growing in their accounts, since the agency had temporarily halted notices of overdue taxes in February 2022.
The IRS said it would be waiving penalties on overdue 2020 and 2021 taxes that were imposed after it stopped sending out those reminder notices. In cases where the penalties were already paid, the agency said it will be refunding and crediting them.
Penalties for such failures to pay taxes can become steep, adding 0.5 percent to the original tax bill for every month a payment is late, topping out at 25 percent.
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