Interest and Penalties

Interest is charged on taxes not paid by the due date, even if an extension of time to file is granted.

Interest is also charged on penalties imposed for failure to file, negligence, fraud, substantial valuation misstatements, substantial understatements of tax, and reportable transaction understatements. Interest is charged on the penalty from the due date of the return (including extensions). The interest charge is figured at a rate determined under section 6621.

Late Filing of Return The law provides a penalty of 5% of the tax due for each month, or part of a month, for which a return isn’t filed up to a maximum of 25% of the tax due (15% for each month, or part of a month, up to a maximum of 75% if the failure to file is fraudulent). If the return is more than 60 days late, the minimum penalty is the smaller of $525 or the tax due.

The penalty won’t be imposed if you can show that the failure to file on time was due to reasonable cause. If you receive a notice about penalty and interest after you file this return, send us an explanation and we will determine if you meet reasonable-cause criteria. Don’t attach an explanation when you file Form 1041.

Late Payment of Tax Generally, the penalty for not paying tax when due is ¹ /2 of 1% of the unpaid amount for each month or part of a month it remains unpaid. The maximum penalty is 25% of the unpaid amount. The penalty applies to any unpaid tax on the return. Any penalty is in addition to interest charges on late payments.

Tip: If you include interest on either of these penalties with your payment, identify and enter these amounts in the bottom margin of Form 1041, page 1. Don’t include the interest or penalty amount in the balance of tax due on line 28.

Failure To Provide Information Timely You must provide Schedule K-1 (Form 1041), on or before the day you are required to file Form 1041, to each beneficiary who receives a distribution of property or an allocation of an item of the estate.

For each failure to provide Schedule K-1 to a beneficiary when due and each failure to include on Schedule K-1 all the information required to be shown (or the inclusion of incorrect information), a $340 penalty may be imposed with regard to each Schedule K-1 for which a failure occurs. The maximum penalty is $4,098,500 for all such failures during a calendar year. If the requirement to report information is intentionally disregarded, each $340 penalty is increased to $680 or, if greater, 10% of the aggregate amount of items required to be reported, and no maximum penalty applies.

The penalty won’t be imposed if the fiduciary can show that not providing information timely and correctly was due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect.

Underpaid Estimated Tax If the fiduciary underpaid estimated tax, use Form 2210, Underpayment of Estimated Tax by Individuals, Estates, and Trusts, to figure any penalty. Enter the amount of any penalty on Form 1041, line 27.

Form 926, Return by a U.S. Transferor of Property to a Foreign Corporation. Use this form to report certain information required under section 6038B.

Form 940, Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return. The estate or trust may be liable for FUTA tax and may have to file Form 940 if it paid wages of $1,500 or more in any calendar quarter during the calendar year (or the preceding calendar year) or one or more employees worked for the estate or trust for some part of a day in any 20

Trust Fund Recovery Penalty This penalty may apply if certain excise, income, social security, and Medicare taxes that must be collected or withheld aren’t collected or withheld, or these taxes aren’t paid. These taxes are generally reported on Forms 720, 941, 943, 944, or 945. The trust fund recovery penalty may be imposed on all persons who are determined by the IRS to have been responsible for collecting, accounting for, or paying over these taxes, and who acted willfully in not doing so. The penalty is equal to the unpaid trust fund tax. See the Instructions for Form 720; or Pub. 15 (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide, for more details, including the definition of responsible persons.

Other Penalties Other penalties can be imposed for negligence, substantial understatement of tax, and fraud. See Pub. 17, Your Federal Income Tax, for details on these penalties.