When Led Zeppelin sang about “Going to California,” they were probably blissfully unaware of the potential tax consequences on this side of the pond.
In “The Car Dealer’s Guide To CA Sales & Use Tax Audits – Part 3,” we discussed what happens after a Notice of Determination is issued, California’s special tax districts, DMV registration fees, not-so-secret warranty strategies and the importance of keeping your bill of lading.
In Part 4, we continue with processing transactions such as unwinds and the more complicated rollback. We will also discuss why it is a bad idea to try to avoid paying sales taxes on repossessions.
Finally, if perchance you do get audited, we’ve provided a list of records you should be keeping in your deal jackets and several reasons it would be a good idea to hire an attorney to represent you.
In The Car Dealer’s Guide to CA Sales & Use Tax Audits – Part 2, you learned what to expect if you were the recipient of an audit engagement letter, some common techniques the auditor uses as well as how the interview and records examination will be conducted.
In Part 3 of our guide, we will discuss what happens after a Notice of Determination is issued, a little on California’s special tax districts, DMV registration fees, not-so-secret warranty strategies and the importance of keeping your bills of lading.
In “The Car Dealer’s Guide To CA Sales & Use Tax Audits – Part 1,“ we discussed the CDTFA’s history of targeting car dealerships for sales tax audits due to the high abuse and error in the industry, as well as the complexity of these kinds of audits. We also outlined how auto dealers are selected for an audit.
In Part 2, you will learn what to expect if you are the recipient of an audit engagement letter, some common techniques the auditor will use as well as how the interview and records examination will be conducted.
Ask anyone who has ever owned a dealership and they will tell you that the car business is a tough one. With all the moving pieces that a dealership faces on a day in and day out basis though, one risk that often gets overlooked by owners is the risk that they face in a sales tax audit.
Most of the “mistakes” that we see in the context of audit preparation are benign. Things like not separating shipping charges properly, people not accounting for time and material costs, things being billed individually, or a failure to adjust sales tax rates for the proper district are little and seemingly harmless mistakes in the context of your business operations. But they will trigger an audit.
As a refresher to the reader, an IRS offer in compromise is a tax settlement with the IRS where the taxpayer agrees to pay a specified sum and the IRS agrees to compromise on the remaining liability.
Many people have seen the various national tax agencies on daytime television offering to settle your tax debt for pennies on the dollar. However, what is left out of their sales pitch is that nearly eighty percent of IRS offer in compromises are rejected for a variety of reasons. This is not entirely a bad thing, but requires some strategic planning on the part of the taxpayer.
The biblical tale of David and Goliath is certainly inspiring and does much to instill the belief that you can overcome any opponent, no matter how much they out-size, out-weigh or out-spend you.
Unfortunately, this is not a fair comparison to use for someone going nose-to-nose with the IRS.
Under California law, taxpayers have a legal obligation to report and pay contributions and withholdings when due. If a taxpayer becomes delinquent in the payment of amounts due, the Employment Development Department (EDD) will take appropriate action to collect the full amount immediately.
The EDD recognizes that sometimes it is in the best interest of the state and in the interest of a California taxpayer that EDD allows an installment agreement to liquidate over a period of time an amount owed by taxpayer.
Managing employee payroll taxes can get quite complicated, with a number of areas being particularly opaque. One of those is the question of employee classification; is a person properly classified as a worker or an independent contractor?
Misclassifying workers as independent contractors carries with it some significant consequences, including penalties and even potential fraud prosecution, so it is a topic worth exploring in some detail.
