March 22, 2019
IRS Lowers Penalty Relief Threshold to 80 Percent
In Notice 2019-25, IRS today provided expanded penalty relief to taxpayers whose 2018 federal income tax withholding and estimated tax payments were less than their tax liability for the year. The Notice lowers to 80 percent the threshold required to qualify for relief. Notice 2019-11 issued on January 16 set the threshold at 85 percent. The usual threshold to avoid a penalty is 90 percent. IRS stated in the notice that "d espite the release of the updated Withholding Calculator and new Form W-4, some individual taxpayers may have been unable to accurately calculate the amount of their required estimated income tax payments for the 2018 tax year."

Requesting Relief
The notice states that to request this waiver, an individual must file Form 2210 with his or her 2018 income tax return. This form can be filed with a return filed electronically or on paper. Taxpayers must complete Part I of Form 2210 and the worksheet included in the form instructions to determine if the waiver in this notice applies. If the waiver applies, check the waiver box (Part II, Box A), include the statement “80% Waiver” next to Box A, and file page 1 of Form 2210 with the return.

If You've Already Filed
If the new waiver applies to a taxpayer and the taxpayer has already paid additions to tax under IRC section 6654 for the 2018 tax year, the taxpayer should file Form 843, Claim for Refund and Request for Abatement. Taxpayers should complete the form and include the statement “80% Waiver of estimated tax penalty” on Line 7.
Iowa Department of Revenue Extends Tax Filing Deadline for Flood Disaster Areas

In response to Governor Reynolds’ disaster declarations for many Iowa counties, IDOR today granted a 30-day extension and suspension of any penalty or interest for taxpayers whose principal residence or business is located in the disaster areas and whose payment or return is due on or before March 31. This includes all tax types.

The Governor's declaration applies to 52 counties (as of March 22) impacted by the recent flooding: Adair, Appanoose, Audubon, Bremer, Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Butler, Cass, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Clayton, Crawford, Dallas, Davis, Delaware, Dickinson, Emmet, Fayette, Franklin, Fremont, Guthrie, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison, Humboldt, Ida, Iowa, Kossuth, Lucas, Madison, Mahaska, Marshall, Mills, Monona, Monroe, Montgomery, O'Brien, Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pottawattamie, Shelby, Sioux, Tama, Union, Webster, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury, Worth, and Wright.