Filing Your Return(s) and Paying Taxes
Importance of Timely Deposits
If you do not timely pre-pay your tax using deposit coupons or if
you were not required to make any deposit and/or did not include your payment when you
filed your return, we will charge you interest and penalties on any unpaid balance.
We may charge you penalties for not depositing employment taxes
timely up to 15% of the amount not deposited, depending upon how many days late you make
the deposit.
If you do not pay withheld trust fund taxes, we may take additional
collection action.
- We can require you to file and pay your taxes on a monthly rather
than quarterly basis.
- We can also require you to open a special bank account and deposit
the amounts required to be withheld within two banking days after you pay wages to your
employees. If, after you are required to do so, you do not open a special account and make
timely deposits, you may be found guilty of a misdemeanor.
To encourage prompt payment of withheld income and employment taxes,
including Social Security and railroad retirement taxes or collected excise taxes,
Congress passed a law that provides for Trust Fund Recovery Penalty the trust fund recovery penalty. This penalty is
used as a tool for collection of unpaid employment taxes. The penalty also applies to
those excise taxes which are commonly referred to as collected excise taxes.
If you are a responsible person, we can assess this penalty against
you immediately after you do not pay trust fund taxes in response to a notice and demand
for payment. Also, we can apply this penalty regardless of whether you are out of business
or without assets.
Caution: Once we assess the penalty, we can take collection
action against your individual assets, such as filing a Federal tax lien if you are the
responsible person (s).
Important References:
Publication
15 Circular E
Employers Tax Guide
Form 8109
Federal Tax
Deposit (FTD) Coupon (not available electronically)