Pub 17, Appeals Procedures: Sales and Use Taxes and Special Taxes and Fees – California

Pub 17, Appeals Procedures: Sales and Use Taxes and Special Taxes and Fees, is the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) publication that explains how to dispute a tax or fee decision, from a petition for redetermination to a claim for refund and court action.

The CDTFA uses "special taxes and fees" to mean the business taxes and fees it administers other than sales and use taxes; the list is on page 23 of the publication. Pub 17 gives general information only. It says that if it conflicts with the law or regulations, decisions follow the law and regulations, and that procedures can differ slightly between sales and use tax appeals and special tax and fee appeals.

The publication covers these topics:

• Appealing a Notice of Determination by petition for redetermination, including the appeals conference, the Appeals Bureau decision and an appeal to the OTA.
• Filing a claim for refund, and filing a lawsuit if the claim is denied.
• Appealing a finding of successor's liability, an administrative protest and a jeopardy determination.
• Proposing a settlement, and the Offer in Compromise program.
• What happens to an appeal if you file a bankruptcy petition.

It points to related CDTFA forms: CDTFA-416, Petition for Redetermination; CDTFA-101, Claim for Refund or Credit; CDTFA-101-DMV; CDTFA-393, Settlement Review Request; CDTFA-392, Power of Attorney; and the Offer in Compromise applications CDTFA-490 and CDTFA-490-C. The CDTFA also lists Chinese, Korean, Spanish and Vietnamese editions (Pub 17-C, 17-K, 17-S and 17-V).

Taxpayers and feepayers who disagree with a CDTFA decision about their liability for sales and use tax or for a special tax or fee are the main readers of Pub 17. Within that group:

• Businesses that received a Notice of Determination after an audit or other CDTFA finding and want to file a petition for redetermination.
• Anyone who paid an amount they believe they did not owe, whether under a Notice of Determination, with a return or otherwise, and wants to claim a refund.
• Buyers of a business or stock of goods who received a Notice of Successor's Liability.
• Taxpayers served with a Notice of Jeopardy Determination.
• Taxpayers with a pending appeal who want to propose a settlement. The settlement program does not apply to jet fuel taxes, motor vehicle fuel taxes or fire prevention fees.
• Taxpayers who cannot pay a final liability in full and want to know whether an Offer in Compromise fits. One requirement is that you are not currently disputing the liability.

You may act through an authorized representative; a petition or refund claim may be signed by you or your representative. For procedural questions about a specific tax or fee, Pub 17 tells you to call the CDTFA unit that administers it rather than rely on the publication alone.

The clock starts when CDTFA sends you a notice, and each step has its own deadline. Generally you have 30 days from the date a Notice of Determination was mailed to file a petition for redetermination; a petition filed before the notice is issued is not valid. After a Notice of Jeopardy Determination you have ten days to file a petition with the required security deposit.

Other periods in Pub 17:

• Respond to a Business Tax and Fee Division letter within 30 days to request or confirm an appeals conference.
• Ask for reconsideration or appeal to the OTA within 30 days of the Appeals Bureau's letter on appeal options.
• File a lawsuit for refund within 90 days after CDTFA mails a Notice of Denial of Claim for Refund.
• Claims for refund of sales and use tax and most special taxes and fees are generally due by the later of three years from the return due date, six months from payment, or other dates the publication lists; check the law for your tax or fee.

Deadlines falling on a weekend or state holiday move to the next business day. The postmark date counts for mailed documents. All periods are calendar days.

Pub 17 is a guide and is not itself filed. The documents it describes go to CDTFA through your online account at www.cdtfa.ca.gov, or by email, fax or mail.

• Petition for redetermination, sales and use tax: email [email protected], fax 1-916-324-0678, or mail Petitions Section, MIC:38, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, PO Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-0038.
• Petition, special tax or fee: email [email protected], fax 1-916-323-9497, or mail Appeals and Data Analysis Branch, MIC:33, California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, PO Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-0033.
• Claim for refund, sales and use tax: email [email protected], fax 1-916-445-2249, or mail Refunds Section, MIC:39, PO Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-0039. Use tax paid to the DMV and special taxes and fees have separate units; see page 11.
• Settlement request: email [email protected], fax 1-916-323-3387, or mail Settlement and Taxpayer Services Bureau, MIC:87, 651 Bannon Street, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95811, or PO Box 942879, Sacramento, CA 94279-0087.

A petition or refund claim properly submitted through your online account counts as written and signed. The Customer Service Center is 1-800-400-7115 (TTY:711). FillingPDF lets you fill out and download the PDF; submission follows the channels above.