What is tax amnesty and can you get tax relief through this option?

If you think there’s too much to pay on IRS tax debt, you can seek help and in such a situation the tax relief companies can guide you. These companies offer free consultation and financial situation so that they can help you in paying down your tax debts based on the tax debt relief option which best suits your situation. However, if you have enough confidence, you can try to solve the issues of your own. Tax amnesty is one of the tax debt relief programs which have been designed such that it helps the state government to allow the taxpayers to either do away with the tax penalties or make reduced payments with regards to the same. 

The tax amnesty program

As per the requirements of the tax amnesty programs the taxpayers are supposed to file the tax returns in time and that too with the IRS itself. However, unlike the state based agencies, the IRS is not interested in the reduction of the penalties or the interests through the amnesty program.

A tax amnesty program works more like a voluntary disclosure program. As has been said before, this program requires a person to file and also pay their back taxes. In lieu of that, the tax solution agency of your state may agree to reduce your penalties. In addition, they may even agree to waive off some or all of the penalties fees. The qualification criteria with regards to the waiver of the penalty fees is that the taxpayer will have to pay back the full tax amount due, in addition to any of the interests to be paid and that too, before the program ends. Furthermore, the taxpayer will also be required to sign along a settlement agreement. This agreement describes that the taxpayer is going to file and also pay the taxes within the assigned time later too.

So, a tax amnesty program offers a kind of comprehensive relief, with regards to the taxes. The time available for you through a tax amnesty program in general is short.  This in general can be in the range of 2 to 3 months. In general, the state may agree to waive off the penalties if you can manage to file the returns but, it’s going to charge even more than before in penalties in case of failure. That is, if you fail to file the taxes and also pay them within the actual amnesty period, the penalty charges can even double up. So, when you are in an amnesty program, make the most of it. Make sure that you file all of the late returns and also analyze the returns.

So, this is what the tax relief amnesty program is about.