It seems as though the Illinois Department of Revenue's (IDR) 2019 Illinois Tax Amnesty Program got some people's attention.

The Illinois Tax Delinquency Amnesty Act provided the opportunity for taxpayers to pay outstanding eligible tax liabilities and to have eligible penalties and interest forgiven on taxes paid in full during the amnesty period, which ran from October 1st through November 15th of last year.

In August of 2019, the IDR said:

If you failed to file a tax return or incorrectly reported the liability due on a previously filed return for these tax periods, now is the time to file returns, make corrections, and pay the tax. You must file an original return for non-filed periods or file an amended return to make corrections.

Like I said, that offer grabbed the attention of some folks who figured that this was a pretty good opportunity to save themselves a bit of cash by getting square with the State of Illinois. In fact, the state got quite a bit more paid off than they had expected.

The Illinois Department of Revenue is reporting an additional $60 million more in back taxes than they originally predicted.

The State says it received $237 million in back taxes, exceeding their expected total of $175 million.

During the IDR’s six week amnesty program, they waived any added fees or interest penalties. The program was available for residents who owed money from 2011 to 2018 (excluding property taxes).

State lawmakers say the money will be used to help fund the state’s $40 billion budget.

 

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