IRS Tax Amnesty Programs for 2024
Realizing you haven’t been paying your taxes to the IRS is a bad enough feeling. Then, finding out your mistake could result in hefty penalties and interest feels like the IRS is just piling on. The IRS may not understand this feeling, but it does realize that it can sometimes improve tax compliance and increase the collection of tax revenue if it offers some form of tax amnesty.
The goal of this guide is to offer an up-to-date overview of the current status of the major tax amnesty programs available from the IRS. This includes their eligibility requirements, how to apply, and what their benefits or drawbacks could be. We’ll also discuss their history and what the future may hold for these programs.
Overview of IRS Amnesty: What Is IRS Tax Amnesty?
Tax amnesty can refer to a taxpayer paying all unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest, but not being subject to criminal prosecution. On the other end of the spectrum, tax amnesty could refer to the waiver of any interest and penalties, along with a portion of the tax debt being forgiven.
Most IRS tax amnesty programs fall somewhere in between these two extremes. More specifically, a taxpayer will usually have to pay the entirety of their unpaid taxes, but can usually avoid penalties and sometimes interest.
While each amnesty program will have its own application and eligibility requirements, one thing they usually have in common is that they require taxpayers to voluntarily come forward before the IRS takes civil or criminal action against them. Another similarity is that they usually exist to encourage non-compliant taxpayers to do the right thing by reducing the financial costs they’ll face if they do nothing and get caught later. In return, the IRS can collect taxes they wouldn’t otherwise be able to obtain or can at least collect those taxes with fewer resources being spent.
One thing to keep in mind is that sometimes tax amnesty is used interchangeably with the term, “tax forgiveness.” So depending on what you’re reading, watching, or listening to, you could hear one term and not the other. That being said, the term tax forgiveness can potentially refer to any number of amnesty or other tax relief programs available from the IRS, like settling a tax debt for less than what you owe to paying your tax debt over time.
Current IRS Amnesty Programs in 2024
The exact number of tax amnesty programs offered by the IRS periodically changes. There may also be changes within the programs themselves, such as modifications of the eligibility requirements. Below is a quick overview of the major IRS tax amnesty programs or policies that are currently available as of 2024 and the taxpayers who may be interested in them.
- Voluntary Disclosure Practice – Offers taxpayers who may have committed tax-related crimes the possibility of avoiding criminal prosecution if they voluntarily disclose their potential illegal acts and cooperate with the IRS in paying any unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest. Sometimes referred to as the voluntary disclosure program.
- Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures – Generally applies to taxpayers living inside or outside the United States who have failed to report foreign financial assets to the IRS.
- First-Time Penalty Abatement – A type of administrative waiver that lets eligible taxpayers avoid certain tax penalties if it’s their first tax violation and they have a history of good tax compliance. For example, if you incur a penalty for filing a tax return late, you can request first-time abatement.
- Reasonable Cause – A type of penalty relief that is available to taxpayers who incurred a tax penalty despite acting with reasonable cause and in good faith.
- Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures – Taxpayers who fail to file the necessary FBARs, but who are not eligible (or don’t want) to use the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice or Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures may take advantage of this program.
- Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures – These procedures apply to taxpayers who do not file the necessary information returns relating to their international financial activities.
- Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program – A type of voluntary disclosure program for taxpayers who claimed and received an Employee Retention Credit (ERC), but later found out they weren’t eligible to receive that credit.
- 2020 and 2021 Tax Return Penalty Relief – Not technically a form of tax amnesty, but it’s similar to many tax amnesty programs. The IRS agreed to waive certain tax penalties when automated collection reminder notices did not get sent out to many individuals and businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice
As mentioned before, the IRS typically doesn’t take criminal action against taxpayers unless the taxpayer intentionally breaks the law, usually repeatedly. Even when the IRS believes this has occurred, they’ll have to conduct a thorough investigation and obtain enough evidence to provide a reasonable chance of obtaining a conviction in criminal court. This is not always easy to do, and the IRS doesn’t have the resources to pursue all taxpayers they think may have broken the law.
The IRS Voluntary Disclosure Practice is a long-term policy where the IRS agrees to not recommend criminal prosecution after completing a tax violation investigation. The IRS’ goal is to encourage tax compliance, especially when it comes to learning the existence of off-shore financial accounts. However, this recommendation for no criminal prosecution will only come under certain conditions.
For example, to be eligible to apply, a taxpayer must:
- Fully cooperate with the IRS in determining the taxpayer’s tax liability;
- Enter into a good-faith arrangement with the IRS to pay the unpaid tax, penalties, and interest; and
- Apply in a timely fashion.
Concerning this last requirement, it means the taxpayer must make the voluntary disclosure before any of the following has occurred:
- The IRS starts a criminal or civil investigation into the taxpayer.
- The IRS becomes aware of the possible criminal violation (this includes finding out from a whistleblower, other government agency, or law enforcement action).
An important aspect of Voluntary Disclosure Practice is that it should only be used for intentional tax violations. If there was no willful violation by the taxpayer, then criminal prosecution is unlikely and other options may be more suitable, such as filing an amended or past-due tax return. Your tax attorney can help you find the best option for your situation.
To apply for the Voluntary Disclosure Practice, you will need to complete Part 1 of Form 14457, Voluntary Disclosure Practice Preclearance Request and Application. You complete this so the IRS can determine if you meet the program’s eligibility requirements. Part 1 may be submitted by fax to 844-253-5613 or by mail to:
IRS Criminal Investigation
Attn: Voluntary Disclosure Coordinator
2970 Market Street
1-D04-100
Philadelphia, PA 19104
If the IRS confirms you meet the eligibility requirements, you can complete Part 2 of Form 14457. If approved, you will receive preliminary acceptance into the Voluntary Disclosure Practice program.
To make the most of this program, it’s strongly recommended you hire a tax attorney. Their advice will be crucial as you will be providing potentially self-incriminating information to the IRS to avoid criminal prosecution, yet there’s no guarantee of legal immunity even if you receive preliminary acceptance. If you hire an attorney (or another tax professional to represent you through the Voluntary Disclosure Practice process), Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative will also be needed.
Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures
There are two main types of Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures, both of which are fairly similar. The first is the Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures (SFOP), which is for non-U.S. residents. The second is the Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures (SDOP), which is for U.S. residents.
These procedures are available to taxpayers who fail to report foreign income and pay any applicable taxes on them. They may also be available to taxpayers who do not file a required Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) or international information return.
The usage of either set of procedures will streamline the process for filing amended or delinquent returns, allow taxpayers to avoid paying some or all penalties, and create a plan for taxpayers on how to resolve their tax and penalty liabilities.
The general eligibility and application requirements are the same for both programs. To be eligible for either the SFOP or the SDOP, a taxpayer must:
- Certify that their failure to report and/or pay foreign income and/or assets was not willful;
- Not be under a civil examination by the IRS (like an audit); and
- Have a valid Taxpayer Identification Number.
An additional requirement of SDOP is that the taxpayer must have filed a U.S. tax return (if required) for the three most recent tax years where the filing deadline has passed.
To apply as a U.S. resident (using the SDOP), you must:
- File an amended tax return using Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, along with any required information returns. You must do this for the most recent three years, when you were required to file a U.S. tax return where the filing deadline has passed.
- Write “Streamlined Domestic Offshore” in red letters at the top of each page of every return being submitted using SDOP.
- Complete and sign a statement on Form 14654, Certification by U.S. Person Residing in the U.S.
- Pay all taxes due as reflected on the SDOP-filed returns. Any applicable interest must also be paid.
- Pay a Title 25 miscellaneous offshore penalty. This is 5% of the highest aggregate balance of your foreign financial assets that are subject to the miscellaneous offshore penalty during the years in the covered tax return and FBAR period.
- Submit the required documentation and forms (by mail; no electronic filings accepted) to:
Internal Revenue Service
3651 South I-H 35
Stop 6063 AUSC
Attn: Streamlined Domestic Offshore
Austin, TX 78741
To apply as a non-U.S. resident (using SFOP), you must:
- File a delinquent Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, along with any required information returns for the past three years you were required to file a U.S. tax return where the due date has passed. You only need to do this if you haven’t previously filed these returns. If you have filed these returns, then you will instead file an amended tax return using Form 1040-X, Amended U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, along with any required information returns.
- Write “Streamlined Foreign Offshore” in red letters at the top of each page of every return being submitted using SFOP.
- Complete and sign a statement on Form 14653, Certification by U.S. Person Residing Outside the U.S.
- Pay all taxes due as reflected on the SFOP-filed returns. Any applicable interest must also be paid.
- Apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). You only need to do this if you don’t have an ITIN and aren’t eligible for a Social Security number.
- Submit the required documentation and forms (by mail; no electronic filings accepted) to:
Internal Revenue Service
3651 South I-H 35
Stop 6063 AUSC
Attn: Streamlined Foreign Offshore
Austin, TX 78741
If using SDOP or SFOP for past-due FBARs, you will need to file the delinquent FBARs according to the instructions. You will also need to attach a statement explaining that the FBARs are being filed in accordance with the Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures. FBARs are usually filed electronically at FinCen.
If using SDOP or SFOP to obtain relief for failing to timely elect deferral of income from certain savings or retirement plans where deferral is allowed by a treaty, you’ll also need to submit a statement requesting an extension of time to make an election to defer income tax. This statement should also identify the applicable treaty provision and contain a dated and signed statement outlining why you failed to make an election, how you discovered you failed to make an election, and the scope of your professional advisor’s responsibilities and their engagement in helping you with your taxes (if you had a professional advisor help you).
If you have previously used streamline procedures to file amended or delinquent returns, you may still be eligible for the streamline procedure process. However, you will be ineligible to have any potential penalties waived. Also, while using either SFOP or SDOP won’t automatically result in a tax audit, the IRS may audit one or more SFOP or SDOP returns of your returns just like they would any other tax return based on existing audit selection parameters.
First-Time Penalty Abatement
The IRS offers tax amnesty for certain penalties if a taxpayer has a history of properly filing and paying their taxes. The First Time Abate penalty waiver is a type of administrative waiver for eligible individuals and businesses facing a failure-to-file, failure-to-pay, or failure-to-deposit penalty. Taxpayers can apply for the First Time Abate penalty waiver regardless of the penalty amount. To be eligible for First Time Abate, a taxpayer must:
- Have a history of good tax compliance. This means filing the same type of return (that led to the penalty) for the past three years;
- Have not received any IRS penalties in the past three years, or any IRS penalties received were waived for reasons other than First Time Abate;
- Not have four or more failure-to-deposit penalty waiver codes in the past three years; and
- Not be charged a failure-to-deposit penalty for Electronic Federal Tax Payment System avoidance.
You can request First Time Abate in two ways. First, you can call the IRS using the toll-free number listed on the IRS letter or notice informing you of the penalty. No special documents are necessary, and the IRS can review your tax history and give you an immediate answer over the telephone as to whether the IRS will grant your First Time Abate request.
Second, you can mail a written statement making the request or complete IRS Form 843, Claim for Refund, and Request for Abatement. There may be different or additional requirements and if so, they should be listed on the specific penalty notice or letter you received from the IRS.
If you don’t qualify for First Time Abate, the IRS will consider you for Reasonable Cause relief (discussed earlier in this article). If the IRS rejects your First Time Abate request, you can appeal the decision.
Reasonable Cause Penalty Abatement
The IRS is willing to forego specific tax penalties in certain cases if the taxpayer has reasonable cause for the infraction. What qualifies as reasonable cause varies based on the type of penalty, the applicable tax law, and the taxpayer’s circumstances that led to the penalty. Reasonable cause form of penalty relief doesn’t apply to an estimated tax penalty. Instead, there are other procedures in place to potentially avoid the penalty, depending on whether you’re a corporation or an individual.
For failure-to-file or failure-to-pay penalties, reasonable cause exists when you “exercised ordinary care and prudence” yet couldn’t pay or file your taxes on time. For example, if a tornado destroyed your home a few months before your income tax return was due, that may qualify as a reasonable cause.
If you’re dealing with an accuracy-related penalty, reasonable cause is determined by examining several factors, such as:
- The complexity of the tax issue leading to the mistake.
- How hard you tried to correct the mistake once you found it.
- Your level of tax experience and knowledge.
- Whether you sought advice from a tax professional or tried to educate yourself on the tax issue.
Applying for reasonable cause tax penalty relief is fairly informal. You can call the IRS using the toll-free number located on the notice from the IRS notifying you of the penalty. When you call the IRS, you’ll want to have the notice, facts to support your reasonable cause argument, and any documents to support your assertions. If the IRS denies your reasonable cause penalty relief, you may file an appeal.
Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures
If a taxpayer doesn’t file the necessary FBARs, they can find themselves facing stiff FBAR penalties. However, in certain situations, the IRS will forego these FBAR penalties. To obtain this penalty waiver:
- The non-filing of the FBARs must be non-willful;
- The taxpayer must show reasonable cause for not filing FBARs;
- The international assets and/or transactions were properly reported on relevant U.S. tax returns;
- Any taxes incurred from the international financial activities were paid by the taxpayer;
- The IRS has not previously contacted the taxpayer concerning an audit or a request for delinquent returns for the years in which FBARs weren’t submitted, but should have been.
To make use of the delinquent FBAR submission procedures, you will file your delinquent FBARs using normal filing procedures, although there are two differences. On the cover page of the electronic form, you must select a reason for filing late, and you can only file the delinquent FBARs electronically through FinCen.
Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures
Taxpayers involved in overseas financial activities often have to file special IRS information returns. If they don’t, they could face one or more International Information Reporting Penalties. Sometimes, the IRS agrees to waive these penalties if the taxpayer files the necessary delinquent returns and provides a reasonable cause as to why they weren’t properly filed on time.
To take advantage of the delinquent international information return submission procedures (DIIRSP), you’ll have to file all delinquent information returns through normal filing procedures. With each delinquent return, you should include a statement outlining any reasonable causes for why these returns weren’t filed.
In many cases, you may have to resubmit this reasonable cause statement if the IRS doesn’t make a penalty waiver decision when processing the delinquent return (which often occurs). Additional DIIRSP eligibility criteria include not being under a civil or criminal investigation by the IRS and being contacted by the IRS about the unfiled information returns.
Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program
During the coronavirus pandemic, many businesses were fully or partially shut down. To encourage these businesses to keep their employees on their payrolls, the IRS administered the Employee Retention Credit (ERC). This was a refundable tax credit to eligible tax-exempt entities and businesses.
This helped save many jobs and provided a financial lifeline to many organizations and their workers. Unfortunately, many “ERC mills” popped up, encouraging businesses to apply for the ERC even though those businesses weren’t eligible. The IRS has recognized this problem and has stepped up its ERC auditing efforts to find the taxpayers who received this credit even though they weren’t supposed to.
Understanding that many taxpayers incorrectly claim the ERCs were victims of unscrupulous individuals and increased their chances of recovering improperly paid ERCs, the IRS has implemented its Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program (ERC-VDP).
If accepted into the program, taxpayers can avoid an ERC audit, ERC penalties (and interest), and only have to pay back 80% of the ERC amount they received. To be eligible for the ERC-VDP, a taxpayer must:
- Not have received a notice from the IRS informing them they should not have received the ERC;
- Not be under an IRS audit or criminal investigation relating to the ERC;
- Cooperate with the IRS if they ask for more information and
- Agree to sign a closing agreement.
To apply for ERC-VDP, you need to complete IRS Form 15434, Application for Employee Retention Credit Voluntary Disclosure Program. If your application includes the tax year ending in 2020, you’ll also need to complete IRS Form SS-10, Consent to Extend the Time to Assess Employment Taxes.
You need to act quickly, as ERC-VDP applications must be submitted using the IRS Document Upload Tool by 11:59 pm on March 22, 2024. If you’re not sure if you properly received the ERC, the IRS has a tool to help determine ERC eligibility.
If approved, the IRS will send you a closing statement to sign. You’ll also have to pay back the 80% of the ERC you received. You can do this with a single payment using the IRS’ Electronic Federal Tax Payment System or set up an installment agreement with IRS Form 433-D, Installment Agreement.
If you’re already facing an ERC audit, you can’t apply for the ERC-VDP, but if you were the victim of an ERC mill, you can explain this fact to your auditor, and they may remove some or all of your penalties. In these situations, you should also file IRS Form 14242, Report Suspected Abusive Tax Promotions or Preparers.
Penalty Relief for 2020 and 2021 Tax Returns
During the coronavirus pandemic, the IRS temporarily stopped sending out its automated reminder letters telling certain taxpayers to pay overdue tax bills. These letters were usually sent following an initial notice informing the taxpayer of an unpaid tax bill.
Starting in January 2024, the IRS sent out special reminder letters that remind the taxpayers of their unpaid taxes, how to pay these tax debts, and the waiver of certain penalties (if applicable). This waiver of failure-to-pay penalties only applies to the 2020 and 2021 tax years, but individuals, businesses, tax-exempt organizations, trusts, and estates are all eligible for this penalty relief.
To obtain this penalty relief, you don’t need to do anything. The IRS will automatically apply it if you’re eligible. The primary eligibility requirements are that you:
- Have an assessed tax from the 2020 or 2021 tax years (as of December 7, 2023), and the assessed tax amount is less than $100,000 (not counting any penalties or interest);
- Were sent an initial balance due notice on or before December 7, 2023 (for the 2020 and 2021 tax years); and
- Are subject to a failure-to-pay penalty for an eligible tax return for tax years 2020 and 2021.
If you already paid the penalty, the IRS will issue a refund or use your overpayment to offset another tax balance (if you have one).
Benefits of Participating in an IRS Tax Amnesty Program
From a taxpayer’s perspective, the primary benefit that comes with taking advantage of IRS tax amnesty is avoiding penalties. In some cases, there will be additional relief, such as keeping part of a tax credit with the ERC-VDP. The IRS has estimated that the ERC-VDP program will provide $1 billion in savings to taxpayers. This amounts to more than $200 per return.
In other situations, the amnesty’s benefits aren’t all about money. Rather, they offer the opportunity to potentially avoid criminal prosecution (as is the case with the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice) or an audit (which is also possible with the ERC-VDP).
From the IRS’ perspective, amnesty programs offer a way to increase tax revenue without having to spend an inordinate amount of resources finding and chasing down taxpayers. The IRS collected about $6.5 billion from three voluntary disclosure programs from 2009 to 2012. These programs targeted the offshore assets of taxpayers, especially those with significant wealth.
Drawbacks to IRS Amnesty Programs
Besides the time, effort, and/or money you might spend to apply to one or more of these programs, there are several potential drawbacks to using them or even applying to them. These disadvantages typically exist in situations where you want to avoid criminal liability.
For example, with the IRS Criminal Investigation Voluntary Disclosure Practice, taxpayers are placing themselves at a slight risk of criminal prosecution even though the whole point of this amnesty program is to avoid criminal prosecution. Remember, the IRS can’t guarantee no criminal charges will be brought; the best it can do is promise not to recommend that criminal charges be brought.
Also, even if a taxpayer is preliminarily accepted into the Voluntary Disclosure Practice program, that acceptance can be revoked. This is uncommon, as it usually only happens if the taxpayer makes false statements to the IRS and otherwise fails to cooperate. Then there’s the fact that even if a taxpayer successfully avoids criminal prosecution from this program, they’ll still have to pay all unpaid taxes, penalties, and interest.
This isn’t exclusive to the Voluntary Disclosure Practice. Most of the tax amnesty options available will usually require the taxpayer to make at least some monetary payment to obtain the amnesty, whether it’s a lowered penalty, an unpaid tax balance, interest, and/or returning a significant portion of a tax credit.
All of this is to say that sometimes, asking for amnesty from the IRS could be the equivalent of stirring up a hornet’s nest. This is why it’s so important to consult with a tax professional before requesting tax amnesty. Even if criminal charges aren’t at issue, given the complexity of some of the IRS’ tax amnesty programs and policies, you want to make sure you correctly apply the first time and avoid wasting time and effort or otherwise making the problem worse, such as inviting a tax audit.
IRS Tax Amnesty FAQs
I’ve Just Learned of IRS Tax Amnesty Programs. Are They New?
Not at all, and they’ve been around for a while. Here’s a very quick rundown and timeline of some of the amnesty programs from the past decade or so.
- 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP): Taxpayers could avoid criminal prosecution and pay a single offshore penalty in place of multiple civil and criminal penalties. The 2009 OVDP lasted from March 2009 to October 2009.
- 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative (OVDI): In return for voluntarily disclosing their offshore assets and transactions, taxpayers could pay a 25% offshore penalty and be eligible for other reduced penalties, depending on the severity of their violations. This program spanned from February to September 2011.
- 2012 OVDP: This program was similar to the 2011 OVDI in that eligible taxpayers could pay a primary penalty (which rose from 25% to 27.5%), with reduced penalties (5% or 12.5%) available for certain taxpayers. This program began in January 2012 and evolved into the 2014 OVDP.
- 2014 OVDP: This was technically a continuation of the 2012 OVDP, but with some changes that became effective in July 2014. The more significant changes included expanding eligibility to some U.S. taxpayers living outside and inside the country. The reduced penalties were also removed and the 27.5% penalty was increased to 50% if it became public knowledge (before the taxpayer submitted his or her 2014 OVDP request) that a financial institution holding the taxpayer’s account or playing a role in the taxpayer’s offshore activities was under investigation by the Department of Justice or IRS. The 2014/2012 OVDP ended in September 2018.
- Streamlined Filing Compliance Procedures: This program is still ongoing and began in 2014.
- First Time Abate: This program began in 2001 and is still ongoing.
Can I Settle My Tax Debt if I Don’t Qualify for an Amnesty Program?
Possibly, as the IRS has multiple programs in place to help you settle your tax debt, even if you aren’t eligible for an amnesty program. Some of these programs or payment options include:
Some of these solutions are even better than tax amnesty in that you can settle your tax balance for less than what you owe or eliminate it altogether.
How Long Do I Have to Apply for IRS Tax Amnesty?
If you want to apply for tax amnesty, you should do so as soon as possible, but the exact deadlines depend on the program. Sometimes, you may have a short window of just a few months, which was the case for 2009 OVDP, 2011 OVDI, and ERC-VDP. Other programs have been going on for decades, such as First Time Abate.
However, even currently running programs with no specific end date can end due to Congress passing a law or the President of the United States pushing for policy changes at the IRS. But on the flipside, Congress or the IRS could decide to implement new tax amnesty or forgiveness laws or policies which could create new amnesty options for taxpayers.
Will There Be New Tax Amnesty Programs Available?
Probably, but it’s hard to predict what to expect given the inherently political nature of taxes and how polarizing the IRS is. Given the success the IRS has had with its tax amnesty programs relating to international financial assets, it won’t be surprising to see at least one tax amnesty program or procedure in place for the foreseeable future.
Can I Apply to an Amnesty Program Even if I Live Abroad?
It depends on the program, as some programs are specifically designed if you’re outside the United States. The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures is a perfect example of this. Because each program or set of procedures has its own eligibility and application requirements, you’ll need to check the specific program you’re interested in (or talk to your tax advisor) to know for sure.
Need Help Requesting Tax Amnesty from the IRS?
The IRS has numerous options available to those who seek relief from tax penalties and even interest. Some of these are fairly easy to request or are automatic. However, others, especially those relating to possible criminal acts and/or offshore financial activities, are a bit more complicated. This complexity applies not just to the application process but also to deciding if you should even apply in the first place.
The W Tax Group has experienced and knowledgeable tax professionals (including tax attorneys) who can help you learn more about your tax amnesty options. To get help now, don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a free consultation.