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The FTB Notice should have listed what you have paid for that tax year.  Take a look and see if any of your payments are missing.   The next step is to make sure your missing payment has cleared your bank.  If it has cleared your bank, get hold of a copy of the cancelled check, if it was paid by check.  There should be a number stamped on the front of the check. Call the FTB using the phone number on the Notice you received from the FTB.  Alternatively, open a MyFTB account at www.ftb.ca.gov and look for the missing payment.   There may be various reasons for the payment to be misapplied.  Your SSN number could be wrong on the voucher, the payment could be mailed with a wrong voucher resulting the payment being applied to a different year, sometimes, when the payment is paid by the spouse using the spouse SSN, the payment could be credited to the spouse's FTB account, among others.   You may want to consider paying your taxes electronically in future.  They are much more accurate and safe.   In any event, here are things you can get from your MyFTB account MyFTB MyFTB gives individuals, ... online access to tax account information and online services. Features View account balance and tax year or account period details View estimated payments and credits before filing a return View payment history View a list and images of tax returns View a list and images of notices and correspondence View and update contact information View and protest proposed assessments and proposed adjustments to carryover amount View FTB hearing information and upload documents View a list of authorized representatives and manage who can access your account View a list of activities that occurred on your account, such as the last time you or your authorized representative accessed your account Calculate a balance due for a date in the future File a Power of Attorney (POA) File a nonresident withholding waiver request Chat with a customer service representative about confidential matters Send a secure message with attachments and specify if you are responding to a prior notice, correspondence, or online application Choose to receive an email when we send you a notice or correspondence Additional features Individuals View California wage and withholding information View FTB-issued liens, withholding orders, and Forms 1099 Respond to a proposed assessment to request a 30-day deferral to file a tax return Request a 30-day delay to pay certain types of bills Request an Individual Status Letter for the current tax year Access CalFile and Web Pay Request and manage payment plan Request innocent joint filer relief Submit an offer in compromise Respond to a Tax Return Missing Information notice (FTB 4306)

If your ID has been stolen, IRS may send you an IP PIN.  If you are married, both you and your spouse should one.  Once you have received your IP PIN, you won't be able to use your SSN to file your tax returns.  IRS will provide a new IP PIN every year via snail mail or via your IRS online account.    Get your IP PIN from the IRS using ID.me – ID.me Help Center Need to get your IRS Identity Protection PIN (IP PIN)? You can request and view your six-digit IP PIN online using ID.me to sign in to the IRS website. This article walks you through how to get it, what to do if it’s missing, and who to contact for help. Get your IP PIN online from the IRS Go to the IRS IP PIN page. Select Get an IP PIN. Sign in to your existing ID.me account or create a new account if you’ve never used ID.me. If you haven’t verified your identity, follow the prompts to verify. After you are signed in, scroll down to the “Identity Protection PIN” section. Your IP PIN displays there. Note: If an IP PIN isn’t displayed, follow the prompts to enroll in the IP PIN program. If you don’t have an IP PIN, you can get one. ----- To enter your IP PIN in TurboTax, go to Federal > Other Tax Situations > Other Return Info > Identity Protection PIN and enter you six digits.

@pk maybe I do not understand the point (and admit to being anal about it at this point),   The IRC states:    "(B) the amount of the creditable foreign taxes paid or accrued by the individual during the taxable year does not exceed $300 ($600 in the case of a joint return)"   How can a taxpayer arbitrarily change what their mutual fund or ETF may have PAID in foreign taxes! it was already paid or accured on the taxpayer's behalf!  It's on the broker statement!  What is PAID is out of the control of the taxpayer.  While I can see that a taxpayer can arbitrarily change the credit (to something lower than it otherwise would be and that is after completing form 1116 and not before), I can not see that a taxpayer can arbitrarily change what was PAID.    the IRC doesn't mention the foreign tax credit; it mentions the foreign taxes paid.  Aren't those different things? What I paid may or may not be credited back to me, depending on the math on form 11116, which I do not have to complete if the foreign taxes PAID is less than $300.    While I note your comment that the code doesn't require the taxpayer to take the credit, you would not know what that credit is until Form 1116 is completed.  There is no credit determined without that form.  The $300 / $600 just means if your taxes paid is less than these limits you are not required to complete form 1116 to determine what the credit is; just use the taxes paid and be done with it!     Further all the language about carryforward and carry back just means that if I had a carry forward item from last year, and choose not to complete form 1116 (because the taxes paid was under $300), I can't take advantage of the carryforward; if I have carryforward that I want to take advantage of but my foreign taxes paid is under $300, I need to complete form 1116 to do so.    thoughts? 

Edit/Update: After doing a bit more searching and also a helpful support post for 2022 TT Business, it looks like you lose access to the previous year's QEF on October 31st each year.   Yep - those were the instructions I was following originally.  There are 2 suggestions in there (1) Go into 2024 TT Desktop Business and choose QEF from there - that results in the response I posted previously saying that I was trying to access a tax year that is no longer supported, and (2) it gives web link QEF, but that link results in showing a page labeled 2025 for just a second before putting up another page telling me I have an invalid account with a link offering to move my old data forward to QEF 2025.     I'll probably just wait until after I buy TT Desktop 2025 and then see if it lets me see the 2024 forms.   My real issue is that I used QEF thru 2024 TT Business to e-file my S-corp 2024 W-2s, but they showed up at the IRS/SS as 2023 W-2s - so I probably messed up somehow, but I just needed to see what QEF thought I filed. Frustratingly, the confirmation e-mails that I received from QEF/Intuit saying that my W-2's had been successfully filed and accepted DON'T have the YEAR anywhere in the e-mail.   Thanks,    Jeff

In that example the contractor company filed for bankruptcy. In my case the contractor company is ignoring all legal actions the collection agency has tried. I would think that shows a reasonable attempt on my part to collect the debt and can now write it off this year?

@user5924704  No , where and how you received the award is not material.  That is since the award was issued  by a US entity while you were in the US as NRA, it is still US sourced income and therefore generally taxable  income to US. What was the reason for the award ?    Consultation fee. speaker's  fee , help with travel expenses  or what ?  How long were you in the US with ESTA (  visitor  visa ) ?  What were you doing ? Absent any contravening facts, I am still of the view that you need to file a 1040-NR recognizing the income, pay the US taxes and  then in Japan recognize the income as part of your world income and request  Foreign Tax Credit ( against Japan tax ) per  Japan-US tax treaty article " double taxation relief".   Is there more I can do for you ?