If you missed yesterday's May 1 filing deadline, or did not pay your Taxable Year 2012 income taxes by that date, you may be liable for penalties and/or interest on the balance of tax due with the return.

If you filed your return on or before May 1, but didn't pay the tax due, you may be subject to the late-payment penalty. The late payment penalty is assessed on any amount of unpaid tax due beginning with the due date for filing and ending with the date your balance of tax due is paid in full. The late payment penalty is assessed at a rate of 6 percent per month up to a maximum of 30 percent of the tax due.

If you file the return during Virginia's automatic extension period but do not pay the full tax due amount on or before May 1, you may be subject to the extension penalty. Virginia law allows an automatic six-month extension for filing your tax return. However, taxpayers must still pay any tentative tax due by the original due date. If at least 90 percent of your total tax liability is not paid by May 1, the extension penalty will apply to any unpaid balance of tax due. The extension penalty is assessed at a rate of 2 percent per month up to a maximum of 12 percent of the tax due.

Interest will always apply to any tax amounts that are not paid by the original due date for filing. Interest will accrue from the original due date for filing through the date that all tax, penalty, and interest is paid in full.

For more information on penalty and interest charges, visit the Department's website.

Are you fully prepared for the severe storms that often accompany warmer Virginia weather?  If not, start making your shopping list now!  Virginia's Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday takes place May 25-31, 2013.  During this week-long holiday, shoppers will pay no sales tax on qualifying items such as flashlights, batteries and bottled water, priced at $60 or less, or generators priced at $1,000 or less.  To see the full list of items that will be exempt from sales tax, along with guidelines for the holiday and answers to frequently-asked questions, visit the Department's Hurricane Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday website.

The Virginia Taxpayer Bill of Rights booklet outlines taxpayer rights in contacts with the Department, and contains a wealth of other useful information, forms, and instructions.

Intended as a guide to the rights provided in the Code of Virginia under the Virginia Taxpayer Bill of Rights, the booklet also describes the role of the Taxpayer Rights Advocate and the agency's collections, office audit, and field audit processes in detail, and covers the basics for offers in compromise and administrative appeals.  The booklet's appendices include forms and instructions for submitting an appeal or an offer in compromise, plus forms for designating a power of attorney.