HOW TO REQUEST PENALTY ABATEMENT FROM THE STATE OF OHIO
1) You need pay the underlying tax that you owe to the State of Ohio before penalties can be abated. To find out how much you need to pay, call the Attorney General at 888-301-8885. Ask for a breakdown of how much you owe. For each year that you owe ask them to tell you the amount you owe in tax, the amount of interest, the amount of penalties and the collection fees.
2) After you have paid the tax and the interest, write a letter to the Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General will forward the request to Department of Taxation. The Department of Taxation will make the decision about whether they make the adjustment.
3) Before you send the request, make sure you are up to date with your filing requirements.
4) The sample letter is on the back of this sheet or on the following page. There are a list of items that, IF TRUE, you may want to include in your letter. Of course, everyone’s circumstances are different so feel free to write your own explanation, keeping in mind that the Department of Taxation will likely consider the following factors when making their decision:
a. Your prior history of filing and paying taxes on time or making every effort to do so.
b. Any wrongdoing or mistakes on your part that led to the debt.
c. Your circumstances at the time the debt was created.
d. Your current circumstances including:
d.i. Financial hardships you are facing
d.ii. Health problems of you and your family
d.iii. Your current income
d.iv. Disability status
d.v. Whether or not you have the assets to pay
5) Once you have written your letter, send it via certified mail to the address on the Sample letter. Include supporting documentation if you have any (for example, your Social Security Award letter or other disability determination, verification of your family member’s or your illness, etc.)
6) KEEP AN EXACT COPY OF EVERYTHING YOU SEND IN A SAFE PLACE
7) The Ohio Attorney General will get back to you in about 60 days. If they don’t, call the number above for an update. There is a chance that you will have submit everything again. If you do, make another complete copy for your records.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic The Legal Aid Society of Columbus · 1108 City Park Ave. Columbus, OH 43206 · 614-224-8374 Rev. 6/2015 8) The Department of Taxation may abate all, some or none of the penalties. There is no appeal but you can always submit the request again if your circumstances change.
9) If they do abate your penalties and release any lien related to your tax debt, you will receive a copy of the release that you need to file with your local recorder’s office. You will have to pay a small filing fee.
10) If you are facing collection efforts during or after this process, remember to call Legal Aid’s Intake Line at 614-241-2001 to ask for information about handling collections and which of your income and assets may be exempt from collection.
Low Income Taxpayer Clinic The Legal Aid Society of Columbus · 1108 City Park Ave. Columbus, OH 43206 · 614-224-8374 Rev. 6/2015 Sample letter Date
Ohio Attorney General Collections Enforcement Division 150 E Gay St., 21st Floor Columbus, OH 43215
Re: Your Name, Your SSN, Tax Year (s) xxxx
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing to request an abatement of the penalties and fees that have been assessed to my Ohio tax debt for tax year (s) ______. I have paid all of the underlying tax and interest and all that remains to be collected is the penalties and collection fees.
I am requesting the abatement because: Check off the following statements IF ABSOLUTELY TRUE and then copy those statements and your explanations into the body of the letter
I have filed all required tax returns .
I owe for only one year and this was the first time I owed tax to the State of Ohio.
I owe for a few years but these years are the first time I have owed tax to the State of Ohio
There was something that happened in my life or employment that caused me to unexpectedly owe taxes. This was what happened: ______.
I owe tax because my tax preparer made mistakes and I didn’t know or understand that there were mistakes on the return.
I owed taxes because my (choose one) husband or wife made mistakes on the return or reported tax due and I didn’t know about the mistakes or the tax.
I cannot pay my taxes because I have low income.
I cannot work currently because of a health condition which is ______.
I am disabled and my only income is Social Security.
I am disabled and my only income is OPERS.
I am retired and my only income is Social Security.
I am retired and my only income is (choose one) OPERS or another pension.
I have a family member that is ill and (choose one) I cannot work or I am working less hours so I can care for them.
I am unemployed. Sample letter The income I earn is not enough to meet my basic living expenses.
Other circumstances I think the Ohio Attorney General and Department of Taxation should know about when making their decision: ______Please abate the penalties and collection fees on my tax accounts.
Signed, Your signature Your name printed, Your Social Security Number Your phone number Your Address