Does your business owe taxes to New York State? Have you not filed your tax returns for at least one year? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, you may be eligible to participate in the New York voluntary tax disclosure program and avoid criminal prosecution and significant penalties.

individuals and business owners who have sales tax and personal income tax problems in New York.  More and more people who have not disclosed these accounts to the IRS or New York State are coming forward.  If you owe back taxes or have an undisclosed account overseas, then here is some important information to keep in mind. According to the NYS Tax Department: This program encourages taxpayers who haven’t filed and paid their taxes to come forward voluntarily and pay what they owe. We offer significant incentives to taxpayers who “fess up” and pay: we won’t impose penalties and we won’t bring criminal charges against them. What does this program cover? The program covers all taxes administered by the Tax Department – including income, corporate. Any taxpayer who meets the eligibility criteria can participate, even if their nonpayment was the result of fraudulent or criminal conduct. Who is Eligible? To be eligible, an applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

  • They must not currently be under audit by the Tax Department for the tax type and tax year(s) that they are disclosing.
  • They must not have received a bill for the past due taxes that they are disclosing.
  • They must not be under criminal investigation by a New York State agency or political subdivision of the state.
  • They must not be seeking to disclose participation in a tax avoidance transaction (commonly known as a tax shelter) that is a federal or New York State reportable or listed transaction.