.bodytext {float: left; } .floatimg-left-hort { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right: 10px; width:300px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 10px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} At its halfway point, the Iowa Tax Amnesty program has accepted $1.18 million in payments, a relatively small chunk of the estimated $54 million officials think will be collected by the time the two-month program ends on Oct. 31.

The pace is already picking up, though, and is expected to reach a crescendo in the final two weeks of the program, which ends Oct. 31.

“I think with individuals and businesses dealing with old returns, it takes them a while to get the information together,” said Stuart Vos, administrator of the Iowa Department of Revenue’s Revenue Operations Division. “Also, I would think that those taxpayers who owe a considerable amount of money are going to hang on to their money as long as possible.”

Through Sept. 30, the department received and approved 1,079 tax amnesty applications connected with those payments. By the middle of last week, however, the department received nearly $1 million more in additional payments, Vos said.

As expected, the largest payments have come from businesses. The 15 corporate returns received so far have averaged more than $19,000 each in payments.

Qualifying taxpayers who are granted amnesty will pay the full tax plus 50 percent of the interest owed, but will be forgiven any penalties they would otherwise have incurred. The state last offered tax amnesty in 1986, and another amnesty period isn’t expected until at least 2025.

Amnesty applications and returns are available at www.IowaTaxAmnesty.gov; tax specialists are available toll-free to answer questions at (877) 4BAKTAX.