IT'S NOT ALWAYS "GOOD TO BE THE KING!"

Last updated 9 months ago

CALIFORNIA FRANCHISE TAX BOARD AIMS AUDITS AT "HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD"

Sacramento –The Franchise Tax Board (FTB) announced mailing more than 120,000 audit letters to taxpayers to verify their “Head of Household” (HOH) filing status on their 2011 state tax return.

Each year the FTB reviews tax returns of taxpayers who claim the Head of Household filing status because the qualifications are commonly misunderstood. You can generally claim the Head of Household filing status on your tax return if you are unmarried, have cared for a qualified person for more than half the year, and paid more than half the cost of maintaining your home.

Taxpayers who can claim this filing status benefit from a higher standard deduction and lower tax rates as compared to the single filing status. More than 2 million California taxpayers use this filing status each year.

Taxpayers who do not qualify will have their tax reassessed at either the single or married-filing-separate filing status. Nearly 28,000 taxpayers who used this status last year did not meet its requirements and were issued $30 million in tax assessments.

FTB encourages taxpayers who receive a Head of Household letter to respond promptly by completing the enclosed questionnaire. Failure to respond could result in a tax assessment and penalty. You normally only have 30 days to respond or they will assess you, and THEN they will rollover on you and tell the IRS that they denied your filing status. As always you can get in touch with me directly. Call us at 619-283-8055 to discuss your case, email go to our website at www.sdtaxpro.com. As always, consultations are free.

The San Diego Tax Pro

Terrance Smith