In 7/ 2017 I paid a penalty for my 2015 tax returns as I forgot to include income from a retirement annuity. I paid 2,163 to the IRS. Can I write this tax payment off?

Federal taxes, penalties and interest paid for a prior year are not deductible.

State taxes paid for a prior year are deductible on your Federal return in the year paid, but only the taxes. Penalties and interest are not deductible.