IRS Penalties: Part 4 of 4


The Internal Revenue Code imposes many different kinds of penalties, ranging from civil fines to imprisonment for criminal tax evasion. These penalties are designed to foster compliance.

Penalties are generally payable upon notice and demand. Penalties are generally assessed, collected and paid in the same manner as taxes. The notice will contain the name of the penalty, the applicable code section, and how the penalty was computed (or information on how to obtain the computation if not included).

Our last three posts cited six common penalties.  Below we have outlined two more penalties that the IRS assesses;

Frivolous Tax Return penalty:  You may have to pay a penalty of $5,000 if you file a frivolous tax return or other frivolous submissions. If you jointly file a frivolous tax return with your spouse, both you and your spouse each may have to pay a penalty of $5,000. A frivolous tax return is one that does not include enough information to figure the correct tax or that contains information clearly showing that the tax you reported is substantially incorrect.

You will have to pay the penalty if you filed this kind of return or submission based on a frivolous position or a desire to delay or interfere with the administration of federal tax laws. This includes altering or striking out the preprinted language above the space provided for your signature.

This penalty is added to any other penalty provided by law.

Penalty for bounced checks :  If you write a check to pay your taxes and the check bounces, the IRS may impose a penalty. The penalty is either 2 percent of the amount of the check – unless the check is under $1,250, in which case the penalty is the amount of the check or $25, whichever is less.

The bottom line is that you must report all your income, file your return and pay your tax by the due date to avoid interest and penalty charges.

For tax help ascertaining the validity of a penalty or if the computation is correct, or for assistance with penalty abatement, please contact us at 201-947-8081 or 646-688-2807, or email us at info@irstaxproblems.com.

 

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