State Tax Amnesty Available Until June 18

Penalties, 50 percent interest waived for those who pay delinquent taxes.

Senator Bob Mensch is urging local residents who owe back taxes to the state to take advantage of a rare tax amnesty program being offered by the Department of Revenue.

"According to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, there are more than 163,000 state tax delinquents in the counties I represent," said Senator Mensch. "Right now those delinquents have a rare opportunity to take care of those back taxes and save on the accumulated penalties and interest."

For a limited time, the PA Department of Revenue is waiving 100 percent of penalties and half the interest for anyone who applies for Tax Amnesty online at www.PATaxPayUp.com and pays eligible delinquent taxes between now and June 18.

In addition to the online PA Tax Amnesty application, the website answers commonly asked Tax Amnesty questions and provides step-by-step application instructions in English and Spanish.

This is only the second time in Pennsylvania’s history it has offered a Tax Amnesty program to those who owe the state back taxes.

Individuals, businesses and other entities with Pennsylvania tax delinquencies as of June 30, 2009, are generally eligible to participate in the Tax Amnesty program. Delinquencies include non-filed tax returns or reports, as well as unpaid or under-reported, whether known or unknown to the PA Department of Revenue.

To obtain PA Tax Amnesty, you must do the following between April 26 and June 18, 2010:

File an amnesty application online with the PA Department of Revenue.
Pay all delinquent taxes plus 50 percent of the interest due.
If applicable, prepare and file state tax returns for all periods for which returns were not filed, or file amended returns for all under-reported tax.

According to the Revenue Department, taxpayers will only be able to apply for Tax Amnesty online; no paper application will be available.