For those who didn’t file, or those that California thinks didn’t file, there is a tax amnesty underway. To accountants’ dismay, the filing period is concurrent with the tax season (February 1st – March 31st). An excellent article on the amnesty is available here.
If you receive a letter from the Franchise Tax Board, don’t throw it away! This means that they think they didn’t receive a filing (or there is some other situation). Contact your tax professional immediately.
We strongly recommend that you keep your tax filings forever. Although California’s statute of limitations is four years (the IRS’s is three years), California does not have a statute of limitations on debt collection.
I’ll be writing more about California’s amnesty program in the near future.