Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 section 1077E

Penalty for deliberately or carelessly making incorrect returns, etc.

Section 1077E establishes the tax-geared penalty regime for deliberate and careless tax defaults, including reduced penalties for qualifying disclosures and cooperation with Revenue investigations, applying to acts and omissions up to the passing of the Finance Act 2021.

• Penalties for deliberate defaults range from 100% of the tax underpaid down to 10% depending on cooperation and the type of qualifying disclosure made
• Penalties for careless defaults are lower, ranging from 40% down to 3% depending on the scale of the underpayment, cooperation, and whether a qualifying disclosure is made
• A qualifying disclosure must be in writing, signed, accompanied by a declaration of completeness, and a payment of the tax and interest due
• Penalty reductions diminish for second disclosures within five years and are removed entirely for a third or subsequent disclosure within five years of the second