Penalties for Past Due Taxes

If you fail to file a required tax report, the Comptroller's office will send you an estimated billing with instructions to file a report providing your actual sales data for the estimated period. Please be aware that failure to file or pay a tax report may result in collection actions including, but not limited to, additional late filing penalties, liens and criminal charges.

Statutory penalty on past due taxes are calculated as follows:

• If you are paying the tax 1-30 days late, add a 5% penalty.
• If you are paying the tax over 30 days late, add a 10% penalty.
• If you are paying the tax after the date referenced on the Notice of Tax/FEE Due, add an additional 10% penalty (for a total of 20%).

Statutory interest begins accruing on the 61st day after the due date of a required report. The interest rate is a variable rate determined at the beginning of each calendar year. To obtain the applicable rate for a specific tax period, please refer to the webpage titled Interest on Credits and Refunds and on Tax Due.

Additional late filing penalty

For most taxes, a taxpayer who fails to file reports on time will be assessed an additional penalty of $50.00 for each late report. This penalty will be assessed even if the taxpayer later files the report and/or if no taxes are due for the reporting period.

The minimum penalty is $50 or 10 percent of your total tax liability, whichever is greater. The minimum penalty applies to all late reports including no operations, no tax due and credit reports.

Interest is assessed on all delinquent taxes for each month or fraction of a month beginning on the first day after the due date. The interest rate is adjusted each year on January 1. The current interest rate is available on the IFTA page.

Jurisdiction Interest begins to accrue one day after the report is due through the report postmark date. Once the report is filed, additional interest accrues on any net tax due until the total net tax due is paid in full.

If you have past due balances, the Comptroller's office will send you a billing notice requesting that you pay the remaining balance. The balance is due upon receipt of the notice. This notice will outline how additional penalty and interest will be assessed. It also explains the process for requesting a hearing if you disagree with the billing notice. Lastly, it outlines the possible collection actions that the Comptroller may take to collect any delinquent balances.

You will receive a separate billing notice for each report period that is delinquent.

Private collection services are contracted by the Comptroller's office to collect past due tax accounts. If you get a billing notice from a contracted collection agency, you should remit the balance due in the envelope provided. All payments are directed to the Comptroller's office and credited to your account.

Typically, the Comptroller's office will take the following collection actions to protect the state's interests and collect past due taxes:

• Require the taxpayer to post a security bond
• File a tax lien in applicable counties
• Freeze and/or seize non-exempt assets
• Suspend permits/licenses
• File criminal charges
• Place a "hold" on any outstanding state warrants payable to the taxpayer

If you owe past due taxes, please contact your local Comptroller's field office or call 800-252-8880 to discuss your account.

If you fail to file a report, pay taxes, or post a security bond, the Comptroller's office may suspend any permit or license issued by this agency after conducting a hearing. You can avoid this hearing simply by filing and paying the past due period(s) and/or posting the required security bond.

If you are unable to pay the past due taxes or post the bond, you should contact your local Comptroller's field office to schedule a time for your hearing. Failure to appear at this hearing may result in the suspension of any permit or license issued by this agency.

State law requires that all past due taxes, fines, interest and penalties owed to the state must be secured by a lien. Please be aware that a tax lien could have a negative impact on your credit rating. If you are past due in the payment of your taxes, please contact your local Comptroller's field office or call 800-252-8880 to discuss your account.

In an effort to protect the state's interest, it is sometimes necessary for the Comptroller's office to seize and sell a taxpayer's non-exempt assets. If you are past due in the payment of your taxes, please contact your local Comptroller's field office or call 800-252-8880 to discuss your account.

You should immediately contact the Comptroller's Enforcement Division by visiting your local Comptroller's field office or calling 800-252-8880. Be sure to have your 11-digit Taxpayer ID number available.

While taxes are always due on the due date, the Comptroller's office will consider payment plans on a case-by-case basis to avoid placing undue hardships on taxpayers. For additional information in this regard, please contact your local Comptroller's field office.

Please be aware that even if you enter into a payment plan, your account is still considered delinquent and some collection actions will continue. For example, you will still receive billing notices, a lien will still be filed, and state warrants will still be placed on "hold".

To report a company or individual you believe is not properly remitting taxes due, you may call our Enforcement Division at 800-252-8880 or contact your local Comptroller's field office. Be prepared to give information regarding the business, such as its name, its location, its phone number, the owner's name, and a description of how the business is allegedly violating the tax law. If you choose, you may remain anonymous.

When the Comptroller's office exhausts its collection efforts, the delinquent account may be referred to the Attorney General's Office for further collection activity. After a case is referred, the Comptroller's office no longer has jurisdiction and can only get involved if specifically requested by the Attorney General.

Failure to respond to notification from the Attorney General's Office may subject you to severe civil action.