Tax Amnesty - Pennsylvania: Department issues additional guidance on upcoming 2010 Tax Amnesty Program

Omissions to 2010 Tax Amnesty Program Guidelines, Pa. Dept. of Rev. (4/10/10). Pursuant to law enacted during 2009 [H.B. 1531; See previously issued related Multistate Tax Alert for more details] that established a state tax amnesty program that will run from April 26, 2010 through June 18, 2010, the department has issued more related guidelines that address penalties and interest.

Note that the amnesty program will apply to liabilities for all taxes administered by the department that were delinquent as of June 30, 2009. To be eligible, taxpayers must file an amnesty application plus all applicable tax returns, and pay the tax and 50% of the interest due. The remaining 50% of interest and any tax penalties will be abated. In addition, if a taxpayer is fully compliant with the tax amnesty program, any "unknown liabilities" (i.e., unreported or underreported amounts that the department is unaware of) of tax, interest and penalty of the same type will be waived for amounts due prior to July 1, 2004.

Taxpayers that participated in the State's 1995 tax amnesty program may participate in this 2010 tax amnesty program, but anyone that participates in the 2010 tax amnesty program will be ineligible for any future tax amnesty programs. Delinquent taxpayers that do not participate in the 2010 tax amnesty program will be subject to an additional 5% tax penalty on amounts that would have been eligible.