IRS Penalties and Interest are exorbitant and add up quickly…in some cases as much as 25% of the total tax liability. The IRS charges civil penalties as a way to scare taxpayers into staying in compliance with their tax filings and tax payments. The IRS has both civil penalties and criminal penalties. In fact, there are over 140 different civil penalty provisions that the IRS uses.The IRS will also charge interest on any past due tax amount. There are various types of penalties that all vary in amount and they typically increase with the severity of the infraction. Below are the common IRS penalties that are charged.
Out of all of the civil IRS penalties, this one is the least, but can still add up to quite a bit overtime. Typically if taxes are not paid on time or they are underpaid then there will be a penalty of 1/2% of the outstanding tax amount for each month that passes and will continue to accrue until it is a maximum of 25% of the total tax owed (penalty can be up to 1% if tax remains unpaid for 10 days after an intent to levy is issued and can be as low as 1/4% if the taxpayer enters into an installment agreement) .
The IRS considers not filing worst than not paying your taxes, for this reason they have a much steeper civil penalty for unfiled tax returns. The penalty for a late filing is 5% per month on the total amount of taxes due to the IRS. This penalty can reach a maximum of 25% of the total amount of taxes owed and could be more than that if you add in the additional interest that will also be charged.
As a working resident of the United States you are required by law to accurately and truthfully fill out a tax return each year to determine the amount of taxes that you owe. The IRS has harsh criminal and civil penalties for those individuals that do not follow the law and try to commit tax fraud. There are two types of civil fraud penalties given by the IRS. Tax fraud is the most severely punished and penalized civil tax infraction.
The accuracy penalty is a common civil penalty that is used by the IRS and it is typically charged when the IRS audits a taxpayer. This penalty is assessed for various reasons such as a major understatement of income tax, negligence or intentional disregards of IRS rules and regulations, substantial valuation misstatement, substantial overstatement of pension liabilities or a substantial estate or gift tax valuation understatement. The accuracy penalty that is typically imposed is 20%.
Besides civil penalties, US taxpayers can face criminal penalties and consequences if convicted. If you are audited, your auditor could report you to the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division where you will be brought to trial. Find out the most common IRS criminal penalties, their fines, and potential incarceration time frames.
Receiving an audit doesn’t mean you will get a penalty, but the IRS can charge penalties depending upon what they find. Typically the IRS does find problems with a tax return during an audit and will asses more taxes owed and penalties. Understand the various penalties the IRS may charge following a tax audit.
Have civil tax penalties that you want removed? Understand how penalty abatement service works and talk with a tax expert here at Patriot Tax Professionals today to determine if you can have your tax penalties removed.