What temporary Virginia tax penalty relief did Tax Bulletin 12-7 provide to taxpayers affected by Hurricane Sandy?

Plain-English summary

Virginia offered a temporary penalty waiver to taxpayers whose records were unavailable because of Hurricane Sandy damage or a power outage. The relief applied to affected returns filed or payments made from October 29 through November 9, 2012. Taxpayers were instructed to write “Hurricane Sandy” at the top of the return.

The bulletin listed individual and fiduciary income-tax returns due November 1; withholding returns due October 30; forest-products returns due October 30; corn, cotton, soybean, and sheep tax returns due October 31; and other state tax returns administered by the Department that were filed late during the relief window. It also covered affected electronic-funds-transfer filers and allowed written requests for additional hardship waivers.

The ordinary six-month income-tax filing extension did not extend the payment deadline. A taxpayer using it still needed to pay at least 90% of the final liability by the original due date to avoid penalties.

All dates in this bulletin are historical. Its operative text announces late-filing and late-payment penalty relief, despite the broader wording in the published subject.

Citations and references

• Virginia Tax Bulletin 12-7.

Subject

Penalty and Interest Waiver for Victims of Hurricane Sandy

Source

• Landing page: Virginia Laws, Rules & Decisions
• Ruling: P.D. 12-170

Original ruling text

TAX BULLETIN 12-7

Virginia Department of Taxation

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING

THOSE AFFECTED BY HURRICANE SANDY

PENALTY AND INTEREST WAIVER FOR VICTIMS OF HURRICANE SANDY

October 30, 2012

Tax Commissioner Craig M. Burns has announced that Virginia will provide a penalty waiver to those individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy. This penalty waiver applies to any late returns filed or payments made by affected taxpayers between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012. To notify the Department of Taxation that you were affected by Hurricane Sandy, you must write “Hurricane Sandy” at the top of your return. The Department of Taxation will then abate any late-filing or late-payment penalties that would otherwise apply.

To qualify for this penalty waiver, taxpayers must be unable to meet their filing obligations because the financial books and records they need to file their taxes are unavailable because of hurricane damage or power outage.

The penalty waiver applies to the following returns:

Individual and Fiduciary Income Tax Returns (Forms 760, 763, 760PY, and 770): Individual and fiduciary income tax returns with a due date or an extended due date of November 1, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012. Taxpayers whose original due date for the return falls on November 1 may elect to use the six-month automatic extension for filing their Virginia income tax returns as usual. However, the six-month extension does not apply to payment of the tax. A taxpayer who elects to use the six-month extension would need to pay at least 90% of his final tax liability by the original due date for filing the return in order to avoid any penalties.

Withholding Returns (Forms VA-5, VA-15 and VA-16): Withholding returns with a due date of October 30, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Forest Products Tax Returns (Form 1034): Forest product tax returns with a due date of October 30, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Corn Tax Returns (Form CO-1): Corn tax returns with a due date of October 31, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Cotton Tax Returns (Form CX-1): Cotton tax returns with a due date of October 31, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Soybean Tax Returns: Soybean tax returns with a due date of October 31, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Sheep Tax Returns (Form SH-1): Sheep tax returns with a due date of October 31, 2012 will be granted a penalty waiver if the return is filed between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

Other State Taxes Administered by the Department of Taxation: An automatic penalty waiver is granted for any other state tax return filed late with the Department between October 29, 2012 and November 9, 2012.

The penalty waiver also applies to filers who use electronic funds transfer (EFT) for payment. Affected EFT filers should contact the Department of Taxation at (804) 367-8037 if they receive notices of penalty.

Additional penalty waivers may be granted in hardship cases. Written requests for additional waivers should be emailed to [email protected] for personal tax inquiries and [email protected] for business tax inquiries, or directed to:

Virginia Department of Taxation

Customer Service Section

Severe Storm Relief Extension

P.O. Box 1115

Richmond, VA 23218-1115

Customers can use Live Chat on the Department of Taxation's website at http://www.tax.virginia.gov to discuss account-specific questions. If customers prefer asking questions by telephone, then individual income tax filers should contact the Department at (804) 367-8031; business taxpayers should call (804) 367-8037 for assistance. Information is also available through the agency's website at http://www.tax.virginia.gov/ .