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Accrued-But-Unassessed Interest as of January 15, 1997
In January 1997, petitioner contacted respondent and asked
for a payoff amount for its then-outstanding Federal employment
tax liabilities. For the fourth quarter of 1993, respondent’s
employee quoted petitioner an erroneous payoff amount that failed
to take into account interest and additions to tax that had
accrued but had not yet been assessed. Unaware of respondent’s
error, petitioner paid this payoff amount on January 15, 1997,
but now suggests that, because respondent failed to include
accrued but unassessed interest in the payoff amount, such
interest should be abated. Petitioner’s position is without
merit.
In effect, petitioner asks to be relieved of this interest
liability because respondent failed to notify petitioner that the
interest was due. There is no suggestion that petitioner was not
otherwise liable for that interest, and petitioner readily
acknowledges that, had it been made aware of such interest, it
would have paid the interest on January 15, 1997. Under these
circumstances, we do not consider the unassessed interest that
accrued prior to January 16, 1997, to be unfair. Because that
interest is not otherwise excessive in amount, assessed after the
expiration of the period of limitations, or erroneously or
illegally assessed, section 6404(a) does not provide respondent
with the authority to abate that unpaid interest. Because there
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Last modified: May 25, 2011