WSR 99-03-010
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
[Filed January 8, 1999, 8:43 a.m.]
Date of Adoption: January 8, 1999.
Purpose: New WAC 458-57-575 is being adopted to implement chapter 136, Laws of 1997. This legislation amended RCW 83.100.070 Interest on amount due--Penalty for late filing, to authorize the department to waive or cancel the penalty for the late filing of a Washington estate tax return under limited circumstances.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: There is no existing rule to explain the circumstances under which a waiver or cancellation of this penalty will be granted, nor for the procedure to claim a waiver or cancellation.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 82.32.300 and 83.100.070.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 98-22-037 on October 29, 1998.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 1, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 1, amended 0, repealed 0.
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
January 7, 1999
Russell W. Brubaker
Assistant Director
OTS-2569.2
NEW SECTION
WAC 458-57-575 Waiver or cancellation of penalties. (1) Introduction. RCW 83.100.070(3), as amended by chapter 136, Laws of 1997, authorizes the Washington state department of revenue (department) to waive or cancel the penalty for late filing of the Washington estate tax return under limited circumstances. This rule explains the circumstances under which a waiver or cancellation of the penalty will be granted, and the procedure for claiming the waiver or cancellation.
(2) Claiming the waiver. The department will cancel or
waive the late filing penalty imposed on a Washington estate tax
return (state return) when the delinquent filing is the result of
circumstances beyond the control of the person responsible for
filing ((of)) the state return. The person responsible for
filing the state return is the same person who is responsible for
filing the federal estate tax return (federal return).
A request for a waiver or cancellation of penalties should contain all pertinent facts and be accompanied by such proof as may be available. The person responsible bears the burden of establishing that the circumstances were beyond the responsible person's control and directly caused the late filing. The request must be made in the form of a letter and submitted to the department's special programs division.
(3) Circumstances eligible for waiver. In order to qualify for a waiver of penalty the circumstances beyond the control of the person responsible for filing the state return must directly cause the late filing of the state return. These circumstances are generally immediate, unexpected, or in the nature of an emergency. Such circumstances result in the person responsible not having reasonable time or opportunity to obtain an extension of their due date for the federal return or to otherwise timely file the state return. Circumstances beyond the control of the responsible person include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:
(a) The delinquency was caused by the death or serious illness of the person responsible for filing the state return or a member of the responsible person's immediate family. In order to qualify for penalty waiver, the death or serious illness must directly prevent the person responsible from having reasonable time or opportunity to arrange for timely filing of the state return. Generally, the death or serious illness must have occurred within sixty days prior to the due date, provided that a valid state return is filed within sixty days of the due date.
(b) The delinquency was caused by an unexpected and unavoidable absence of the person responsible. Generally, this absence must be within sixty days prior to the due date, provided that a valid state return is filed within sixty days of the due date. "Unavoidable absence of the person responsible" does not include absences because of business trips, vacations, personnel turnover, or personnel terminations.
(c) The delinquency was caused by the destruction by fire or other casualty of estate records necessary for completion of the state return.
(d) An estate tax return was timely filed, but was filed incorrectly with another state due to an issue of the decedent's domicile.
(e) A Washington estate tax return was properly prepared and timely filed, but was sent to the location for filing of the federal estate tax return.
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