Texas tax amnesty planned for near future

Update 1.30.2018: The Texas Tax Amnesty Program will run from May 1 to June 29, 2018.

Tax amnesty is coming to Texas.

Senate Bill 1, the General Appropriations Bill, requires the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts to establish a limited tax amnesty program. Its goal is to encourage compliance by taxpayers without outstanding tax liability, as well as voluntary reporting by unregistered businesses. For taxpayers who comply with the terms of the amnesty, the state will waive some or all interest or penalties owed, or both.

The amnesty program will be open to:

• Taxpayers who don’t have a Texas sales and use tax permit
• Taxpayers who “are otherwise not registered for a tax or fee administered by the Comptroller”
• Taxpayers with a permit who have under reported or owe additional fees or taxes

Taxpayers currently under audit review will not be eligible to participate. Nor will taxpayers with “an established tax liability” — something the measure does not clearly define.

Dates for the amnesty program have yet to be set. The Texas Comptroller will provide additional information as it becomes available.

This Texas tax amnesty program is not to be confused with the multistate Online Marketplace Seller Voluntary Disclosure Initiative running Aug. 17 – Oct. 17, 2017 via the Multistate Tax Commission.

Participating states will forgive or reduce outstanding sales and use taxes and/or income/franchise taxes for qualifying online marketplace sellers that agree to register and collect tax in participating state(s) by Dec. 1, 2017. Texas is one of the participating states.

See the Avalara sales tax amnesty resource center for more information about the Online Marketplace Seller Voluntary Disclosure Initiative.

photo credit: TSLAC Represents Texas at the National Book Festival (Washington DC) 9.21.13 via photopin (license)