The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia is implementing a one-time only tax amnesty program for residents and businesses alike that will run until September 30, 2010.  If outstanding balance of taxes due are paid in full during the amnesty period, penalties and fees will be waived, without fear of prosecution, for outstanding tax debts owing to the District prior to December 2009.  The amnesty applies to individual income, corporate and unincorporated franchise, withholding, sales and use, personal property, fiduciary income, motor fuel, gross receipts, estate, tobacco, toll communication and special event taxes.   It does not apply to any recent taxes beyond December 2009 or partial payment on delinquent taxes and also does not apply to real property taxes, nursing home provider fee or ball park fees. All taxes and interest owing must be paid by the September 30, 2010 deadline in order for the amnesty to be applied.

Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) will, over the next several weeks, mail out Notices of Amnesty to eligible taxpayers who will need only to attach a check to the stub and return it, in order to receive the amnesty. Anyone owing any delinquent taxes is urged to file and take advantage of this amnesty, even if you have never or only sporadically filed tax returns previously.  There is no statute of limitations for unfiled returns which means you can be prosecuted for any returns you have failed to file that are discovered at any time.  This amnesty will protect you from prosecution or criminal penalties on any of the returns you file and pay during this amnesty period.

After September 30, 2010, OTR will begin a concentrated effort to find any remaining delinquent taxpayers who did not participate in the program  with employers empowered to decrease any employees’ withholding  to 0 -- thereby increasing the amount of money taken from each paycheck. Also important for business owners:  with new federal laws, credit card receipts will be reported through the IRS to OTR beginning in 2011 -- providing OTR much more sales tax data about your business activities and a baseline for sales tax receipts that could trigger an audit if there has been underreporting in the past.

OTR has set up a special email address to assist taxpayers with questions or to get forms at dctaxamnesty.com or taxpayers can call 202.727.4TAX (4829) or visit www.dctaxamnesty.com.