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 » From: Florida Dear TaxMama: The state of California is now telling me that they never received my amended return from 1985 and I must resend. IRS doesn't think they still have my Federal for that year. CA wants two thousand in interest. CA had contacted me in 1987 and I told them I had filed an amended return for 1985. The girl said, "Oh, yes, I see now. I'll send you a form." I said fine. The form never arrived and I assumed all was fine. I lived at the same residence and phone number for six more years and never heard anything further. I don't recall if they owed me or I owed them with the amended, but if I owe it is under $100. What can I do? I thank you. Lynne Hi Lynne, Ouch! I hate it when that happens. Do you still have a copy of it? Who prepared the amended return (and are they still alive)? Do you think you sent a check with the amended return, if you owed it? If you did, you might just be able to track it down. Otherwise? If you can't prove you filed it, you're going to have a hard battle. But hold firm. You may even have to find yourself filing an appeal with the State Board of Equalization to fight it. Here's what you'll need to do. I hope this works. ======= In writing, tell them that you filed the amended return in 1987. You received verbal confirmation from an FTB employee during that year. The statute of limitations in California is 4 years. You continued to live at that same address for 6 years. They have not contacted you within that time. If there had been a discrepancy or a problem, they should have written to you during those years. Now, they have no grounds to look for something that the statutes no longer require you to keep on file. ========= If they assess taxes, ask them to put it on hold and appeal. Just be stubborn. Oh, and yes, in writing, ask for a complete copy of everything they have in your file related to 1985 - 1987. (There may have been an error on the amended return - the box for the year may be blank, a common error.) Incidentally, while IRS does not have a copy of your return, they will be able to produce a transcript of the 1040X. It WILL take about 8-12 weeks to get. Here's an Article from TaxMama's IRS News which explains how you can get it. This may just solve the whole problem and avoid a conflict. Ask the State to put their collections actions on hold for 90 days until you get it. Then mail it to them CERTIFIED, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED. And save all of this forever. Have you ever noticed, once they get started with a year, they just keep going back to it again and again every 10 or so years? Good luck! Best wishes, Eva Rosenberg Your TaxMama  |
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