IRS announces help with tax debt
The IRS on Monday announced a new program, the Taxpayer Relief Initiative, to help taxpayers who are unable to pay their taxes because of the pandemic (IR-2020-248). Taxpayers who owe taxes and could not pay have always had options such as installment agreements and offers in compromise, but now they have more options.
The highlights of the Taxpayer Relief Initiative, according to the IRS:
The IRS initiative is also highlighting reasonable-cause relief from penalties for taxpayers with failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, and failure-to-deposit penalties. First-time abatement penalty relief is also available to taxpayers the first time they are subject to the penalty.
The AICPA requested an expedited process for installment agreements and recommended delays in IRS collection activities in a letter sent to David J. Kautter, Treasury’s assistant secretary for tax policy, and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig in July.
For more news and reporting on the coronavirus and how CPAs can handle challenges related to the pandemic, visit the JofA’s coronavirus resources page.
For tax-related resources, visit the AICPA’s COVID-19: Tax resources page.
— Sally P. Schreiber, J.D., (Sally.Schreiber@aicpa-cima.com) is a JofA senior editor.
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