The Treasury is sending its ‘fear letters’: what to do and what the sanctions are

The Income Tax Return campaign came to an end on June 30, however, it is in these months that the Treasury is sending taxpayers notifications, the well-known “fear letters” in which they request additional information or a response to a specific request.

All taxpayers who did not correctly complete their information in their personal income tax, and those who have not done so yet, could receive these notices and face sanctions and fines from the Tax Agency. Last year, around two million notifications were sent, the most common being the request for information, according to TaxDown.

What is a “fear letter” and how do you usually send them?

The so-called “fear letters” are notices that taxpayers and companies receive because they have seen some irregularity or tax incident in the presentation of the Income Tax Return and in them, they request additional documents to those already presented. It may be the case that it is correctly presented and they just want to check the information.

These letters are usually sent by postal mail, but can also arrive via SMS.

Types of “fear cards”

There are different types of communications that taxpayers are receiving, especially in these last three months of the year, depending on the platform:

• Information letter: this is a letter for information purposes. In these cases it is not necessary to respond but it is necessary to verify that it has been received, because all your letters are certified.
• Requirement: it is received because it detects that the information completed does not match what they have in their tax reports. And it is always mandatory to respond to it, if not, the body can issue a sanction.
• Settlement proposal: issued when it is considered that some information that is erroneous needs to be modified. And at the end of that circular they attach a modified draft with the changes exposed so that the deceased can review the change in result.
• Resolution of the procedure: it is a notification with the final conclusion on the procedures that have been open with the Treasury. It can be either a won resolution or a resolution with a result to be paid. In these cases, a payment letter is also attached at the end.
• Order of enforcement: this is a letter that establishes dates on which the debt incurred will be collected. In this case it is important to do it quickly even though we can later appeal or request suspension of the debt.
• Seizure proceedings: similar to the previous one, but in which an asset is seized from the person or company (such as a car, a motorcycle), part of their salary or checking accounts. In these cases it is essential to pay for the embargo to be lifted. If this is not done, the agency can proceed to auction the assets to collect its debt.
• Inspection Investigation Initiation: A request for documentation for an inspection.
• Penalty file: official confirmation that the taxpayer has committed a tax violation.

Penalties for not making the corresponding payment

If this year’s personal income tax was due, but the payment has not yet been made, the Treasury can send one of these “fear letters”. If the non-payment is made voluntarily because the person has realized it, a 5% surcharge will be made on the outstanding amount. If, on the other hand, the letter arrives earlier, the surcharge can be from 10% to 20% of what was left unpaid, depending on whether the payment is made in the voluntary period or not.

The agency has 4 years to notify us about the errors made in this campaign

The review period by the Tax Agency of tax procedures for personal income tax can be extended up to 4 years. Therefore, although the 2024 campaign has ended, you have until 2028 to notify of the failures made this year and send a letter after this time.

This year, 24,570,427 taxpayers have submitted their declaration, 2.35% more than last year, of which 7 million of them have to return money. Next November 5 is the deadline to make the second payment for those who chose the installment modality.