On 28 August 2019, the Internal Revenue Service announced interest rates on overpaid and underpaid tax for the calendar quarter beginning 1 October 2019 that will remain the same, as they were in the prior quarter.
The rates will be 5% for overpayments (4% in the case of a corporation); 2.5% for the portion of a corporate overpayment exceeding $10,000; 5% for underpayments; and 7% for large corporate underpayments.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, the rate of interest is determined on a quarterly basis. For taxpayers other than corporations, the overpayment and underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3% points.
Generally, in the case of a corporation, the underpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 3 percentage points and the overpayment rate is the federal short-term rate plus 2 percentage points. The rate for large corporate underpayments is the federal short-term rate plus 5 percentage points. The rate on the portion of a corporate overpayment of tax exceeding $10,000 for a taxable period is the federal short-term rate plus one-half (0.5) of a percentage point.
Revenue Ruling 2019-21 (PDF), announcing the rates of interest, is attached and will appear in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2019-38, dated September 16, 2019.
