Not registered to pay taxes?
Underreported or underpaid your taxes?
Worried about being discovered?
Fear an audit or investigation?
The Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (DRS) encourages businesses and individuals who are not in compliance with Connecticut tax laws to come forward voluntarily to register or bring their accounts into compliance. If a taxpayer has failed to pay Connecticut taxes, or has underreported income or transactions on which taxes should be paid, the taxpayer may contact the Department to make satisfactory arrangements to clear his or her tax record.
WHY SHOULD A TAXPAYER COME FORWARD?
Whether the nonpayment of taxes is because of lack of information about Connecticut tax laws, or deliberate avoidance of payment, taxpayers who voluntarily disclose nonpayment or underpayment of their taxes may generally be offered favorable terms to repay back taxes due.
The taxpayer must pay the total taxes and interest due for a period determined by the Voluntary Disclosure Agreement which it enters into with DRS. The taxpayer will benefit by not having a penalty imposed, receiving a limited look-back period, and by not having to fear discovery through the State’s normal investigative or audit procedures.
HOW TO APPLY...
Taxpayers wishing to know more about the Voluntary Disclosure Program may contact DRS anonymously. DRS will not in any way seek to identify those taxpayers who wish to remain unidentified. However, the formal request to participate in the program must be in writing. (To remain anonymous when making the formal application, the taxpayer may engage a taxpayer representative such as a tax preparer, accountant or attorney.)
The "Disclosure Application" (written request) should contain the following information:
- Type of tax involved;
- Description of the applicant’s activities in the state;
- Starting date of the applicant’s activities in the state;
- Reasons for noncompliance with Connecticut’s tax laws; and
- Amount of potential tax liability.
Mail the application to:
Department of Revenue Services
State of Connecticut
450 Columbus Blvd., Ste 1
Hartford, CT 06103
ACCEPTANCE INTO THE PROGRAM...
Each Disclosure Application is considered on its own merits.
DRS considers the following criteria related to the taxpayer’s previous presence and activity in Connecticut and compliance with the tax laws of the state:
- Nature and magnitude of such presence and activity and circumstances by which nexus may have been established;
- Demonstration of taxpayer exercising reasonable care to determine that such activities and presence were or were not immune to taxation;
- Evidence that taxpayer’s noncompliance was not in willful disregard of the tax laws;
- Demonstration of good faith by the taxpayer;
- Benefits to the State by entering into a voluntary disclosure agreement with the taxpayer; and
- Whether the taxpayer has collected any taxes.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TAXPAYER:
To participate in the Voluntary Disclosure Program, the taxpayer must:
- File all returns or comparable worksheets for the period(s) agreed upon;
- Pay all tax and interest for the period(s) agreed upon;
- Agree to make books and records available to the Department; and
- Waive all rights to request a refund based on a lack of nexus or contacts with Connecticut. (This is not a waiver of refunds based on computational or clerical errors.)
A taxpayer may be disqualified and any agreement rendered null and void if any one of the following is discovered:
- There was a previous contact of any kind by the Department;
- Misrepresentation of any facts set forth in the Disclosure Agreement; or
- Failure by the taxpayer to comply with the terms of the agreement.
The Department will not volunteer any information nor discuss the taxpayer’s tax liability or any of the terms and conditions of the Voluntary Disclosure Agreement with any taxing authorities of another jurisdiction or the Internal Revenue Service.
CONTINUATION OF AGREEMENT:
- Any modification to the Disclosure Agreement must be in writing with the mutual consent of the agreeing parties.
- The Department retains the right to verify the facts presented in the Disclosure Agreement and the taxpayer’s determination of its tax liability.