In case you owe freelance again taxes from tax years 2020 or 2021, the Inside Income Service (IRS)has excellent news: it just lately introduced new tax penalty reduction for people, companies and tax-exempt organizations that weren’t despatched automated assortment reminder notices in the course of the pandemic. The reduction is important, totaling almost $1.0 billion. 

The IRS tax reduction applies to freelance taxes for 2020 and 2021 and as a result of unprecedented results of the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout this time, the IRS briefly suspended the mailing of automated reminders to pay overdue tax payments. This course of started in February 2022 because the automated IRS reminders would have usually been issued as a follow-up after the preliminary discover. 

Though these reminder notices had been suspended, the failure-to-pay penalty was not waived for taxpayers who didn’t totally pay their payments in response to the preliminary steadiness due discover. Extra letters and notices are anticipated to exit within the coming weeks to advise these taxpayers of the penalty reduction.  

The IRS can also be taking steps to waive the failure-to-pay penalties for eligible taxpayers affected by this example for tax years 2020 and 2021. The IRS estimates 5 million tax returns are eligible for penalty reduction. In case you are affected, as regular processes resume, you could obtain a particular IRS reminder letter that’s being despatched beginning in January 2024. The letter will inform you of any legal responsibility, methods to pay it, and the quantity of penalty reduction, if utilized. 

IRS Actions and Timelines for Freelance Penalty Abatement

As a primary step of the pandemic-era tax reduction, the IRS has adjusted eligible particular person accounts and can comply with with changes to enterprise accounts now by means of early January 2024. In line with the IRS almost 70 % of the person taxpayers receiving penalty reduction have revenue underneath $100,000 per yr.

The IRS is releasing Discover 2024-7 PDF, which explains how the company is offering failure-to-pay penalty reduction to eligible taxpayers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to assist them meet their federal tax obligations.

Essential Info for Freelance Taxpayers: Penalty Aid is Automated

In case you consider your freelance tax state of affairs could also be affected by this information, beware that the penalty reduction is automated. Eligible taxpayers need not take any motion to get it. In case you already paid your full freelance tax steadiness, you’ll profit from the reduction, too, the IRS will concern a refund or credit score the fee towards one other excellent tax legal responsibility.

Are There Exclusions for the IRS Penalty Aid for Tax Years 2020 and 2021?

The penalty reduction solely applies to eligible taxpayers with assessed tax underneath $100,000. Eligible taxpayers embrace people, companies, trusts, estates and tax-exempt organizations that filed sure Types 1040, 1120, 1041 and 990-T revenue tax returns for tax years 2020 or 2021, with an assessed tax of lower than $100,000, and that had been within the IRS assortment discover course of, or who had been issued an preliminary steadiness due discover between Feb. 5, 2022, and Dec. 7, 2023. The $100,000 restrict applies individually to every return and every entity. The failure-to-pay penalty will resume on April 1, 2024, for taxpayers eligible for reduction.

If the automated reduction leads to a refund or credit score, particular person and enterprise taxpayers will be capable of see it by viewing their tax transcript. The IRS will ship the primary spherical of refunds beginning in late December 2023 by means of January 2024. If you don’t obtain a refund, and assume that you must, look ahead to a particular reminder discover which can be despatched with an up to date steadiness starting in early 2024. 

Resumption of tax assortment notices begins in 2024

The IRS’s pause in assortment mailings affected solely follow-up reminder mailings. The IRS didn’t droop the mailing of the primary, or preliminary, steadiness due notices for taxpayers.

The pause meant that in case you have a long-standing freelance tax debt and you haven’t obtained a proper letter or discover from the IRS in additional than a yr this can be as a result of  a few of this older assortment work has been paused. In case you do obtain a tax discover that exhibits you may have a steadiness or are being assessed a penalty that you weren’t anticipating, remember to attain out to a tax skilled who can precisely reply questions relating to penalty reduction on 2020 or 2021 freelance tax returns.