Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 affords businesses more time to switch to EFTPS (Electronic Federal Tax Payment System)

• Author: Johnson, Robert T.

The IRS will not impose penalties through June 30, 1998 on businesses that make timely deposits using paper Federal tax deposit coupons while converting to the new Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS). Under the law, taxpayers with more than $50,000 of Federal employment tax deposits in 1995 were required to enroll in EFTPS and make deposits electronically by July 1, 1997.

To meet the demands of the future, the Service is modernizing the way it collects business taxes; through EFTPS, financial institutions, taxpayers and the IRS are linked together. Employers enrolled in this system can pay employment taxes simply by transferring funds electronically (by telephone or computer) from hank accounts directly to the U.S. Treasury, thus doing away with taking funds and paper deposit coupons to designated banks.

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 prohibits the IRS from asserting deposit-related penalties solely for the failure to deposit taxes electronically through June 30, 1998. (Rev. Rul. 95-68 provides that, absent reasonable cause, a taxpayer required to deposit Federal taxes by electronic funds transfer is subject to the 10% failure to deposit penalty if the taxpayer deposits the taxes by means other than electronic funds transfer.) However, deposits must still be made on time even when paper coupons are used, in order to avoid a late deposit penalty. The waiver of penalties applies only to deposits required to be made before July 1, 1998. The penalty waiver does not apply to taxpayers that were required to begin using electronic funds transfer in 1995 or 1996. The Treasury Department contracted with NationsBank and First National Bank of Chicago to manage and operate EFTPS. The two banks enroll taxpayers in EFTPS, provide customer service, and initiate payments only on a taxpayer's...