Ezel / Tax Rulings / VA
VA P.D. 19-13 Individual Income Tax 2019-03-06

What 2018 estimated-tax penalty relief did Virginia provide to qualifying farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen?

Short answer: Virginia automatically waived the 2018 estimated-tax underpayment penalty for qualifying farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen who filed their return and paid all tax due by April 15, 2019 instead of March 1. The relief followed IRS Notice 2019-17 and required no special application. It applied to individuals whose self-employed farming, fishing, or merchant-seaman income made up at least two-thirds of estimated Virginia gross income and who ordinarily use the special rule allowing no quarterly estimates if they file and fully pay by March 1. This was a one-year historical extension, not a standing change to later filing deadlines.

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This page answers the general question as of 2019. Ezel answers yours, under current Virginia tax law, with citations.

Currency note: this ruling is from 2019
Subsequent statutory amendments, regulation changes, court decisions, or later rulings may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current tax advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, rate, or position mentioned here.
Disclaimer: This is official Virginia Tax Bulletin 19-4, a Department-issued general notice rather than a ruling on one taxpayer's facts. It provided historical penalty relief only for taxable year 2018 and required filing and full payment by April 15, 2019. Do not use that date for another year without confirming current law and guidance. This summary is informational only and is not legal or tax advice. Consult a licensed Virginia tax professional about your specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official state tax ruling. The original ruling (linked on this page as a PDF) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original ruling (PDF)

Plain-English summary

Virginia extended the special 2018 filing-and-payment deadline for qualifying farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen from March 1 to April 15, 2019 without estimated-tax underpayment penalty.

Who qualified

The bulletin covered individuals with at least two-thirds of estimated Virginia gross income from self-employed farming, fishing, or merchant-seaman work. These taxpayers ordinarily avoid quarterly estimates if they file and fully pay by March 1.

How to receive relief

File the 2018 return and pay the entire tax by April 15, 2019. The waiver was automatic; no separate request was required.

What this means for you

  • This relief applied only to taxable year 2018.
  • Both filing and full payment were required by April 15, 2019.
  • No special waiver form was necessary.
  • Check current guidance for later years.

Citations and references

  • IRS Notice 2019-17 — federal relief prompting Virginia's action

Source

Original ruling text

TAX BULLETIN 19-4

Virginia Department of Taxation

March 6, 2019

Penalty Relief for Farmers, Fishermen, and Merchant Seamen

ESTIMATED TAX UNDERPAYMENT PENALTY RELIEF FOR TAXABLE YEAR 2018

In response to Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Notice 2019-17, Tax Commissioner Craig M. Burns announced relief from the estimated tax underpayment penalty for farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen unable to file and pay their 2018 taxes by the March 1 deadline. Virginia will also allow these individuals additional time to file and pay their taxes. Farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen will be provided relief from the estimated tax underpayment penalty provided a return is filed and payment of the entire tax due is made by April 15, 2019.

Due to certain changes in the rules that affect farmers and fishermen, the United States Treasury Department and IRS anticipate that farmers and fishermen may not be able to accurately determine and pay their tax liability by the March 1 deadline. Accordingly, the IRS is providing relief to certain individual taxpayers who are farmers or fishermen by waiving penalties related to estimated tax payments.

Under Virginia law, farmers, fishermen, and merchant seamen with two-thirds of their estimated Virginia gross income from self-employed farming, fishing or being a merchant seaman have special filing requirements. These individuals do not make quarterly estimated tax payments and are not subject to an estimated tax underpayment penalty provided their return is filed by March 1 and the entire tax is paid at that time.

In order to receive an automatic waiver of the estimated tax underpayment penalty, farmers, fishermen and merchant seamen need only to file their returns and pay the entire tax due by April 15, 2019. No special action is required. If you have additional questions, please visit our website at http://www.tax.virginia.gov or contact us at (804) 367-8031.

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