The TTB announced a waiver of relief for penalties for wineries or other business paying excise taxes that are unable to because of the ongoing fires in much of Northern California. According to an announcement on the bureau’s website: “TTB will waive late filing, payment, or deposit penalties on a case-by-case basis. Wherever warranted, waivers will be approved based on the statutory standard of reasonable cause and a lack of willful neglect demonstrated by the taxpayer.”

The full statement and other information on the waiver can be found at ttb.gov.

Tax returns are due Friday, Oct. 13, and Liz Holtzclaw the principal of Holtzclaw Compliance announced the firm is offering, pro bono, up to two hours of services for wineries affected by the fires. The firm is offering assistance in filing for penalty waivers, the report on wine premises operations that is due Oct. 15. or for help with filing claims to report wine and spirits destroyed in the fire.

“Wineries that have no tax liability do not need to file a return, but distilleries need to file (Oct. 13) whether they have tax due or not,” Holtzclaw wrote in a statement announcing her firm’s offer of assistance. “If you are able to mail the return without payment, you should do so as the failure to file penalty (5%) is 10 times as much as the failure to pay penalty (0.5%) and both penalties are imposed separately. If you are not able to file because you cannot access your records, then we can assist you in filing a request for relief of all penalties.”

Holtzclaw can be reached at (805) 704-7800 or holtzclawcomp.com