Why do I have an underpayment penalty if I have a refund?

Asked by: Maureen Graham  |  Last update: April 25, 2025
Score: 4.2/5 (42 votes)

by TurboTax• 833• Updated 6 days ago The IRS levies underpayment penalties if you don't withhold or pay enough tax on income received during each quarter. Even if you paid your tax bill in full by the April deadline or are getting a refund, you may still get an underpayment penalty.

Why did I get a refund and an underpayment penalty?

If you didn't pay enough tax throughout the year, either through withholding or by making estimated tax payments, you may have to pay a penalty for underpayment of estimated tax.

What triggers the underpayment penalty?

You'll face an underpayment penalty if you: Didn't pay at least 90% of the tax on your current-year return or 100% of the tax shown on the prior year's return.

How do I get out of underpayment penalty?

Avoid a penalty
  1. Your filed tax return shows you owe less than $1,000 or.
  2. You paid at least 90% of the tax shown on the return for the taxable year or 100% of the tax shown on the return for the prior year, whichever amount is less.

Is there a penalty for filing taxes late if you are due a refund?

There is no penalty for failure to file if you are due a refund. However, you cannot obtain a refund without filing a tax return. If you wait too long to file, you may risk losing the refund altogether.

Taxes: Underpayment Penalties Aren't Worth Paying | Fee-Only Financial Advisor, Deer Park, Chicago

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What if my refund is late?

Contact the IRS and research your IRS account.

After you understand more about why the IRS delayed your tax refund, and how to respond to the IRS, do so right away to avoid further problems. Your H&R Block tax professional can also help you investigate the cause of a refund delay and communicate with the IRS for you.

How do I correct an underpayment?

How to fix an underpayment
  1. Step 1: Work out how long the employee has been underpaid.
  2. Step 2: Work out how much the employee was actually paid.
  3. Step 3: Work out how much the employee should have been paid.
  4. Step 4: Calculate how much the employee has been underpaid.
  5. Step 5: Backpay the employee.

How do I appeal an underpayment penalty?

You may file FTB 2918 or call 800-689-4776 to request that we cancel a penalty based on one-time abatement.

What is the underestimation penalty?

An underestimation penalty is levied when a taxpayer's actual taxable income is more than the taxable estimate submitted on the second provisional tax return. Such penalty amount depends on whether the taxpayer's actual taxable income is more (or less) than R1 million.

What are the reasons for underpayment?

Top 10 Causes of Underpayments
  • Applying the wrong award to employees. ...
  • Misclassifying employees as contractors. ...
  • Misclassifying employees as casual. ...
  • Wrongly assuming staff are too senior to be covered by an Award.

What happens if the taxpayer owes an underpayment penalty but does not compute it on Form 2210?

If box B, C, or D in Part II is checked, you must figure the penalty yourself and attach Form 2210 to your return. If you didn't check box B, C, or D in Part II, you don't need to figure the penalty. The IRS will figure any penalty for underpayment of estimated tax and send you a bill.

Can you pay estimated taxes after the due date?

If you don't pay enough tax by the due date of each payment period, you may be charged a penalty even if you're due a refund when you file your income tax return at the end of the year. You may send estimated tax payments with Form 1040-ES by mail, pay online, by phone or from your mobile device using the IRS2Go app.

What triggers an underpayment penalty?

An underpayment penalty is a fine charged by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) when taxpayers don't pay enough of their estimated taxes due during the year, don't have enough withheld from their wages during the year, or pay late.

What is underpayment and overpayment?

As discussed above, underpayments happen when a provider is reimbursed less than the expected amount of a claim and overpayments occur when the healthcare providers receive more than the expected amount of a claim. Both of these issues can occur from errors, negligence, or even fraud in the billing process.

How to avoid owing taxes?

If you want to avoid a tax bill, check your withholding often and adjust it when your situation changes. Changes in your life, such as marriage, divorce, working a second job, running a side business, or receiving any other income without withholding can affect the amount of tax you owe.

How do I get rid of underpayment penalty?

The IRS will not charge you an underpayment penalty if:
  1. You pay at least 90% of the tax you owe for the current year, or 100% of the tax you owed for the previous tax year, or.
  2. You owe less than $1,000 in tax after subtracting withholdings and credits.

Can underpayment penalty be abated?

Individual taxpayers may now be eligible for a one-time cancellation of a penalty for filing or paying their taxes late. FTB was granted the authority to provide taxpayers a one-time abatement of timeliness penalties. (Assembly Bill 194 added authority under Section 19132.5 ).

Are underpayment penalties deductible?

Interest and/or penalties paid to the IRS are not deductible on your tax return.

How do I calculate my underpayment penalty?

For corporations who underpay, the IRS adds 2% to the short-term federal funds rate. As of the first quarter of 2024, the interest rate on underpayments is 8% for individuals and 7% for corporations. To calculate an underpayment penalty, the IRS then multiplies the amount of unpaid tax by the quarterly interest rate.

How do I know if I am underpaid?

Colleagues at your company with similar experience and education make more. Reflect on any similarities between your credentials and your colleagues' credentials. If you have comparable education and professional experiences but your salary pays less than theirs, you might be underpaid.

How to claim back pay?

It's important to note that there is a prescriptive period for filing claims related to wages, including backpay. Under the Labor Code, employees have three years from the time the cause of action accrues (i.e., from the date backpay should have been paid) to file a complaint with DOLE or the courts.

What is the penalty for refund delay?

For returns filed after 31st July 2024, the penalty limit will be increased to Rs. 5,000. However, as a relief to small taxpayers, the IT department has stated that if your total income is not more than Rs 5 lakh, the maximum penalty levied for delay will only be Rs. 1,000.

Should I be worried if my refund is still being processed?

If your refund status used to be your tax return is still being processed, but now the status says it is being processed, the IRS may have detected an issue in your tax return that could cause a delay in the release of your tax refund.

Why do refunds take 3-5 days?

A credit card refund can take between five and 14 business days to appear on your card statement or balance. This is because the transaction goes through a credit card processing service and must be completed before your issuer can credit your account for the purchase.