Are You Prepared to Make Your Superfund Tax Payments?

Tax Calendar for Remitting Superfund Tax Payments and Filing Superfund Tax Returns

Taxpayers who will be required to remit the Superfund excise tax to the IRS are reminded that payment of the tax should be deposited semi-monthly unless the net liability does not exceed $2,500 for the quarter. Semi-monthly deposits are due as follows:

• First 15 days of the month – 29^th of the same month
• Final 15/16 days of the month – 14^th of the following month
• Special rule for September
  • September 1^st – September 26^th – September 29, 2022
  • September 27^th to September 30^th – October 14, 2022.

If any of the due dates fall on a weekend, the deposit should be made on the prior business day.

Taxpayers must use electronic funds transfer to make federal excise tax deposits. Generally, electronic funds transfers are made using the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System (EFTPS).

The deposit is required to be no less than 95% of the amount of net tax liability incurred during the semi-monthly period unless a deposit safe harbor applies.

• “Under the deposit safe harbor rule, a taxpayer that filed a Form 720 return for the second preceding calendar quarter (look-back quarter) is considered to have met the semimonthly deposit requirement for the current quarter if: (i) the deposit for each semimonthly period in the current calendar quarter is not less than 1/6 of the net tax liability reported for the look-back quarter; (ii) each deposit is made on time; (iii) the amount of any underpayment is paid by the due date of the Form 720 return; and (iv) the person’s liability does not include any tax that was not imposed during the look-back quarter.”

A taxpayer that does not make the required semi-monthly deposits may lose the ability to use the safe harbor rule.

Underpayment penalties will be waived for the third and fourth quarters of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023, provided the taxpayer shows reasonable cause. Notice 2022-15 provides that a taxpayer is deemed to have satisfied the reasonable cause standard if: “(i) the taxpayer makes timely deposits of applicable Superfund chemical taxes, even if the deposit amounts are computed incorrectly, and (ii) the amount of any underpayment of the applicable Superfund chemical taxes for each calendar quarter is paid in full by the due date for filing the Form 720 return for that quarter.”

Due dates for filing Form 720 with Form 6627 (Environmental Taxes) are April 30 (Q1), July 31 (Q2), October 31 (Q3) and January 31 (Q4). If any of these dates fall on a weekend, the filing must be made no later than the next business day. 

For more information or assistance in complying with these requirements, contact us. We are here to help.

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