Ohio’s General Tax Amnesty will be open from January 1, 2018 through February 15, 2018, allowing taxpayers to resolve any Ohio tax delinquency, including: individual income tax; employer withholding tax; pass-through entity tax; sales tax; use tax; and commercial activity tax. The Ohio Tax Amnesty program was authorized in the most recent budget bill. To be eligible, the delinquent tax must have been due and payable as of May 1, 2017. Taxpayers are able to fully resolve their liability by paying the tax plus one-half interest with NO penalties.

Amnesty is typically most beneficial unless the taxes are quite old, as the Department of Taxation expects taxes for all open periods to be paid. However, a voluntary disclosure agreement (VDA) may result in a lower liability because the lookback period is typically limited to three years (although full interest is required to be paid). So, if your taxes are more than three years old, you should strongly consider a VDA.

To apply for amnesty, taxpayers must complete and sign an Ohio Tax Amnesty application, file the applicable tax return(s), and fully pay the tax liability. Taxpayers who have not already registered with the Department will also need to submit a completed taxpayer registration form along with the rest of the required documents. After submitting all required information, the taxpayer will be informed of their approval within 30 days.

The amnesty program only applies to taxpayers who voluntary disclose and pay their delinquent taxes during the 45-day amnesty period. Further, it does not apply to any tax for which an audit is pending, or for which an assessment has been issued.

Please contact us to find out if you or your business should take advantage of Ohio Tax Amnesty or a VDA.