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                            210 North 1950 West
                            Salt Lake City, Utah 84134
                            801-297-6299
                     1-800-662-4335, ext. 6299
                  Fax: 801-297-6358
                      tax.utah.gov     waivers@utah.gov

                             !"#				$%

General Information                                              Online Request
The Tax Commission may waive or reduce penalties or interest     (only for tax types available through TAP)
for reasonable cause. See Utah Code §59-1-401(14) and Tax        You can request a waiver online through Taxpayer Access 
Commission Rule R861-1A-42.                                      Point (TAP). After accessing TAP follow these steps:
You may request a waiver online or by filing a written applica-  1. Go to TAP.utah.gov. Businesses must login.
tion with supporting documentation. You must show a good 
reason why the Tax Commission should waive or reduce any         2. Click Request Payment Plan or Waiver.
penalties or interest.                                           3. Select P&I Waiver.
You have a right to appeal if we deny your request. See Ad-      4.  Choose the tax account and follow the instructions.
ministrative Procedures Act (Utah Code §63-46b-3) and Tax 
Commission Administrative Rules (Utah Administrative Code) 
for more information.                                            Reasonable Cause
                                                                 We may find a reasonable cause to waive penalties if you can 
                                                                 prove any of the following:
Waiver Procedures                                                A. Timely Mailing or Electronic Submission: You mailed
We will consider a request for waiver of any penalties or inter- or electronically submitted your return and payment by
est when:                                                        the due date but they were not delivered or transmitted on
you request a waiver online (see below) or by email, or        time.
  provide a signed waiver request with supporting documen-       You must provide documentation.
  tation,
                                                                 If you cannot document a post office or electronic error, we
the total tax owed for the period(s) has been paid,            may waive the penalties if you can show:
the tax liability is based on a return you filed with the Tax  1.  an excellent history of compliance;
  Commission (not on an estimate), and
                                                                 2.  sufficient funds were in the bank on the date of
you have not already received a waiver review for the          payment
  same period(s).
                                                                 3.  the check was written in numerical order; and
When we receive the waiver request, we will:
                                                                 4.  any proof that the return or payment was mailed or
review the request;                                            submitted timely.
notify you if we need more documentation; and                  B. Wrong Filing Place: The return or payment was filed on
review the account history for prior waiver requests, tax-     time, but was delivered to the wrong office or agency.
  payer deficiencies, and evidence for your claim.               C. Death or Serious Illness: The taxpayer’s death or serious
It is harder to get interest waived than penalties because       illness (or that of an immediate family member) caused
you must prove the Tax Commission gave you incorrect             the delay. This also applies to a business, trust or estate,
information or made an error that caused you to file or          if the individual (or an immediate family member) had sole
pay late.                                                        authority to file the return. The death or illness must have
                                                                 occurred on or immediately before the return due date.
                                                                 D. Unavoidable Absence: The person with sole responsibil-
                                                                 ity to file the return was out of state due to circumstances
                                                                 beyond his or her control.



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   E. Disaster Relief: A government-declared disaster or             M.  Recent Tax Law Change: You didn’t file or pay because 
    natural disaster, such as fire or accident, destroyed            you were not aware of a recent tax law change. You must 
    records or disrupted business. Federal relief guidelines         prove you could not be expected to know of the change.
    must be followed for a federally-declared disaster. For          The Tax Commission considers your recent account history 
    other disasters, you must show the matter was corrected          when we decide whether or not to waive a penalty. We also 
    in a reasonable time, given the circumstances.                   consider whether other tax returns or reports are overdue 
   F.  Reliance on Erroneous Tax Commission Information:             when you request the waiver.
    You received incorrect advice from the Tax Commission            Other factors may affect whether we find reasonable cause. 
    that led to the underpayment, late payment or late filing.       These include:
    This does not apply if you gave the Commission inac-
    curate or incomplete information. Proof may be based             •  whether the Tax Commission had to take legal means to 
    on written communication from the Tax Commission or              collect the taxes
    verbal communication (include dates, times and names             •  whether you caught and corrected your own error(s)
    of Commission employees who provided the information).           •  the length of time between the event and the filing date
    We may excuse a failure to comply if you can prove you 
    requested the necessary tax forms timely but the Tax             •  typographical or other written errors, and
    Commission did not provide them timely.                          •  other clearly supported extraordinary reasons for filing or 
   G.  Tax Commission Office Visit: You visited a Tax Com-           paying late which show reasonable cause and an inability 
    mission office for information or help in preparing the re-      to comply.
    turn before the due date, but Tax Commission employees           In most cases, ignorance of the law, carelessness or for-
    were not there during Tax Commission business hours to           getfulness does not create reasonable cause. Intentional 
    help you.                                                        disregard, evasion or fraud does not constitute reasonable 
   H. Unobtainable Records: You were not able to get re-             cause under any circumstance.
    cords to determine the tax due, for reasons beyond your          Each case is judged on its individual merits.
    control.
   I.  Reliance on Competent Tax Advisor: You gave all your 
                                                                     Pass-through Entity 
    tax information to a competent tax advisor who gave 
    you incorrect advice, failed to file a timely return on your     Waiver Request 
    behalf, or failed to make a timely payment on your behalf.       A pass-through entity that must withhold tax on partners/
                                                                     members or shareholders (pass-through entity taxpayers) 
    You must file returns. Relying on a tax advisor to prepare 
                                                                     may request a waiver for the withholding tax and any associ-
    a return does not automatically create reasonable cause 
                                                                     ated penalty and interest if:
    for failure to file or pay. You must give a tax advisor your 
    tax information before a return’s due date. You must show        •  the pass-through entity did not withhold and pay the tax, 
    you used normal care and diligence when you decided              and
    whether to seek further advice.                                  •  the pass-through entity can show that pass-through entity 
   J. First Time Filer: You were late in filing the first return you taxpayer(s) filed and paid tax on the Utah income by the 
    were required to file, but paid the tax within a reasonable      pass-through entity’s return due date, including extensions
    time. The Tax Commission may also waive penalties on             The waiver request must include all pass-through entity 
    the first return after a filing period change if you filed and   taxpayers’ names and identification numbers. Also include 
    paid in a reasonable time.                                       a statement that all pass-through entity taxpayers have filed 
   K. Bank Error: Your bank made an error in returning a             and paid the tax by the required date.
    check, making a deposit or transferring money. Provide a         See Utah Code §59-10-1403.2(6)(7)(8).
    letter from your bank explaining the error.
   L. Employee Embezzlement: An employee(s) embezzled 
    tax funds and you couldn’t get funds from any other 
    source.

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