Eighty-nine people who owe Kettering more than $163,000 in income taxes and interest have come forward during the first five weeks of an amnesty program that continues through Dec. 14.

By doing so, they avoided an additional $53,000 in penalties. The city is waiving those during the program, which is being offered in advance of the city’s move to mandatory income tax filing with returns for 2012, which will be due by April 15, 2013.

Even though they may not owe any money, all residents 18 and older will be required to file.

Officials believe more people who owe taxes going back as far as six years will take advantage of the last weeks of the amnesty period, along with businesses that owe taxes or have not been withholding employees’ taxes.

“We’re pleased with how well this is going. It means the word is out. Most of those who have come forward so far have been appreciative of the opportunity,” Kettering finance director Nancy Gregory said.

“We’re working with them in every way possible to help them make these payments.”

Gregory said while there are some who know they should have been paying, “there are a lot of others who might not understand the rules and regulations. Some of them are people who didn’t owe taxes before 2007, when Kettering increased the income tax rate from 2 to 2.25 percent. In their case, they just have to pay the difference.”

In several instances, those who came in to pay learned that they owned nothing after completing returns.

“So far, no businesses have come forward. I suspect there are a handful that should,” Gregory said.

Once the amnesty program ends, those in violation will be required to pay penalties.

“The bigger push for enforcement will begin after the deadline for 2012 returns,” Gregory said.

The tax division has hired two full-time auditors to deal with what it expects will mean a doubling of accounts due to the mandatory filing requirement.

“That doesn’t mean we will double the amount of revenue. It means there will be a lot more documents flowing through our system,” Gregory said.

“Nobody loves paying taxes, but if it’s possible to make that pleasant, we try. This is not about making people feel bad or guilty. You might be surprised, but most people are glad to do it. It’s about paying your fair share,” Gregory said. “The best thing for people to do is to bring their documents to our office. We will complete their returns at no charge.”

Kettering was just one of nine cities out of almost 100 in Southwest Ohio that did not previously require mandatory filing.