The Iowa Tax Amnesty Program generated $26.5 million in additional state revenues, the Iowa Department of Revenue announced this afternoon.

“This total exceeds the official estimate of $16 million for tax amnesty that was included in the fiscal year 2008 budget,” said Mark Schuling, director of the department. “This was a highly successful program.”

The amount was about half the $54 million that state revenue officials had originally estimated would be collected, however.

The program ran from Sept. 4 through Oct. 31. As expected, the majority of the payments were filed in the last few days of the program. More than 6,000 taxpayers participated, and the Iowa Department of Revenue identified more than 2,400 non-filers.

The Iowa Tax Amnesty Program allowed delinquent taxpayers to pay their past-due taxes without penalty, half the interest due, and civil or criminal prosecution. The amnesty was last offered in 1986, and another amnesty period isn’t expected until at least 2025.