The Georgia SBDC Network

GEORGIA DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE

1800 Century Blvd, Atlanta, GA 30345-3205

This document is to help you understand changes in Georgia Department of Revenue policy application. They may affect how you file returns, make payments and submit corresponding documentation. In addition, it outlines how penalty and interest is applied for Withholding tax.

Although not all of these policy changes may apply to you, please take note of those that apply to your business processes. We do not expect that you will have to change all of your filing and payment processes. However, you may want to keep this document on file for future reference.

These changes were made to become more efficient with the processing of payments and returns. For more information please visit our web site at www.dor.ga.gov

Below are the changes effective December 2009:

Withholding Penalty & Interest Application of:

· Late filing penalties will be based on $25 + 5% of the total amount due for the period before application of any payments or credits.

· Late payment penalties will be based on $25 + 5% of the monthly amount due prior to the quarterly due date and on the total unpaid balance after the quarterly due date.

· The above referenced $25 late filing or late payment penalty would only be assessed once in a quarter and would be assessed on the first instance of either the late filing or late payment.

· Maximum aggregate late penalties (filing and/or payment) will be based on $25 + 5% of the total tax due for the period before application of any payments or credits.

P&I for Non-Resident Distributions

In accordance with O.C.G.A 48-7-129, late charge assessments on withholding non-resident distributions as follows:

Late payment penalty

25% of the nonresident distributions that are paid or credited during a taxable year (fiscal or calendar) beginning on or after 1-1-2008; 100% prior to 2008.

Late payment interest

1% per month after due date (same as payroll) until paid.

G1003

Beginning with tax year 2010, the G1003 will be given return status in order to gain compliance for the annual filing at the end of each calendar year. Also a $25 penalty for non-filing of the G1003 and associated forms will be applied. In addition, an annual reconciliation will be performed to verify that the Withholding account is either balanced, underpaid or due a refund.

Electronic Media Submission

Removal of magnetic media from rule 560-7-8-.33. (no longer allows disks or CD’s or magnetic tapes)

Add to rule 560-7-8-.33, if a taxpayer is EFT mandated by Georgia Department of Revenue, they must submit information returns electronically.

Add to rule 560-7-8-.33, if a taxpayer is EFT mandated by Federal requirements, they must submit information returns electronically.

Georgia House Bill 334 - Electronic threshold lowers and adds 10% filing penalty.

Georgia statutes and regulations (O.C.G.A. § 48-2-32 and Ga. Comp R & Regs. 560-3-2-.26) currently require any person or business with any single sales and use tax or withholding tax return that is more than $5,000 to both submit their return electronically and remit their payment by electronic funds transfer (EFT).

The threshold is based on the amount of any single return required.

Effective for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2010, the threshold will decrease to $1,000.

Therefore, any person or business with any single sales and use tax or withholding tax return that is greater than $1,000 will need to both file electronically and remit their payment by EFT as well as for all future payments and filings.

Each failure to remit payment by EFT will result in the assessment of a 10% penalty of the payment due. An additional penalty equal to the greater of $25.00 or 5% of the entire tax due (before payments and credits) will be assessed for each return not submitted electronically.

Georgia House Bill 485 (Protest a Refund) - under this bill, taxpayers may protest any claim for refund that is denied.

Detailed instructions, including the protest form, will be included in the refund denial letter if applicable.
The bill is effective January 1, 2010.

Special Filer – filing periods for special filers will be standardized effective January 1, 2010

Two special filing periods or the standard monthly filing period may be chosen for previously approved taxpayers
All filing options will have a beginning date of January 1 and ending date of December 31 annually.

To receive special filing consideration you must electronically file and pay your return.

Please log onto our website http://www.gataxinfo.org for information on how to register electronically.

GTC online functionality

Register New Business Online
Register New Sales & Use Tax Location
Upload Additional File Types Listed Below
- W2s
- 1099s
- G1003
- G7 (Semi-Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Annual Filing Status)
- Filing Frequency Exchange
Receive Emails on the System Message Board
Request a Refund (Provided there is a refund on your account)
Protest a Denial of Refund
Protest Proposed Assessment
Appeal Official Assessment
Sales Tax Exemption Applications
Submit Additional Documentation as Needed
Request a Penalty Waiver
Request Filing Frequency Change
Ability to import Excel template for certain Withholding forms that auto-populates the return online