These programs encourage taxpayers to file their delinquent returns and taxes without the state initiating any contact first

1. Important Information Regarding Tax
Amnesty and Related Programs

2. Individual and business taxpayers alike are oftentimes
guilty of not filing their tax returns on time or overstating
their deductions and expenses in order to get larger tax
refunds. In most cases, the IRS will eventually catch up
with these taxpayers and the consequences of these
their actions are oftentimes severe, depending on the
amount of money that is involved. As a result, the interest
and penalties that accumulate can be extremely high if
the taxpayer does not work with the IRS to resolve these
issues.

3. For these individuals, tax amnesty and voluntary
compliance or disclosure programs allow these
individuals to pay their delinquent taxes and have the
penalties on them reduced in the process. For the IRS
and the taxpayer alike, this is a win-win situation in that
the IRS eventually receives all the money that is owed
them and the taxpayer no longer suffers for their actions.
However, most of these programs require that all back
taxes and accrued penalties must be paid in full. Where
state tax agencies will occasionally reduce interest and
penalties, the IRS typically does not.

4. Tax Amnesty Program Goals
There is one common goal shared by tax amnesty,
voluntary compliance, and voluntary disclosure programs
and that is to encourage all taxpayers to file their
delinquent returns and pay any applicable back taxes. As
a result, state tax agencies oftentimes reduce the amount
of interest and penalties that have accrued. In some
cases (but not all), they may even waive the entire
amount.

5. When taxpayers pay the full amount of taxes that are due
including any interest by the program deadline, they may
qualify for a waiver of the penalties. Taxpayer's must also
sign the agreement for settlement of taxes wherein they
agree to file all future returns and pay any taxes that they
owe. You will probably have to file amended and/or
original tax returns as well and the IRS will reflect the
taxes that you have reported to your state tax agency.

6. Voluntary Compliance Programs
The Voluntary Compliance Initiative is a hybrid of tax
amnesty and voluntary disclosure programs. Typically,
these initiatives run for only a short time period and
target those taxpayers with very specific types of
circumstances or situations. Initially, state tax agencies
are unaware of who these individuals that fall into this
category are. As an example of this, a Voluntary
Compliance Initiative was employed by the IRS to
uncover those taxpayers who had been hiding their
income using a variety of tax shelters.

7. Voluntary Disclosure Programs
These programs encourage taxpayers to file their
delinquent returns and taxes without the state initiating
any contact first. These programs are more open-ended
than others but if you have already received a state
notice about needing to file a return for a particular year
or that you owe them more taxes than what you paid, you
cannot qualify for this type of program. On-going
voluntary disclosure programs are available in some but
not all states which means that there is no firm deadline
on these specific programs.

8. Advocate Tax Solutions is a full service tax defense firm
engaged in practice before the Internal Revenue Service and
forty-three State Tax Administrations. ATS prides itself in its
ability to effectively and efficiently perform our services. Our
tax professionals will perform a comprehensive investigation
into your tax liabilities and thoroughly analyze your applicable
financial information prior to making any case resolution
recommendations.
Resources:
http://salestaxstrategies.com/voluntary-disclosure-services.html
http://ezinearticles.com/?Important-Information-Regarding-Tax-
Amnesty-and-Related-Programs&id=7373484

9. Thank you for reading!

10. Thank you for reading!