(a) In general. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, if a check or money order is tendered in the payment of any amount receivable under the Code, and such check or money order is not paid upon presentment, a penalty of one percent of the amount of the check or money order, in addition to any other penalties provided by law shall be paid by the person who tendered such check or money order. If, however, the amount of the check or money order is less than $500, the penalty shall be $5 or the amount of the check or money order, whichever amount is the lesser. Such penalty shall be paid in the same manner as tax upon the issuance of a notice and demand therefor.
(b) Reasonable cause. If payment is refused upon presentment of any check or money order and the person who tendered such check or money order establishes to the satisfaction of the district director that it was tendered in good faith with reasonable cause to believe that it would be duly paid, the penalty set forth in paragraph (a) of this section shall not apply.
The preliminary Code is a preliminary release of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the "Code") by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel and is subject to further revision before it is released again as a final version. The source of the preliminary Code used in TouchTax is available here: https://uscode.house.gov/download/download.shtml. The Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the U.S. prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. The Treasury Regulations are a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the departments and agencies of the federal government. The version of the Treasury Regulations available within TouchTax is part of the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations which is not an official legal edition of the Code of Federal Regulations but is an editorial compilation of CFR material and Federal Register amendments produced by the National Archives and Records Administration's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) and the Government Publishing Office. The source of the CFR used in TouchTax is available here: https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/ECFR/title-26. Those using TouchTax for legal research should verify their results against the printed versions of the Code and Treasury Regulations. TouchTax is copyright 2024 by Com-Lab (Mobile). Learn more at http://touchtax.edrich.de.