Since your initial refund claim has been denied, you have limited avenues available to continue to pursue your case. You now have the right to request a hearing with the Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) or to open a case in Superior Court. The OTA is an administrative hearing office and involves a simple request process.
The Office of Tax Appeals (OTA) is an independent and impartial appeals body created by the Taxpayer Transparency and Fairness Act of 2017. The office was established to hear appeals from California taxpayers regarding various taxes and fees administered by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration and the Franchise Tax Board. Tax disputes involving personal income, corporate franchise and income, sales and use, excise and other taxes and fees are decided by a three-member panel of Administrative Law Judges, each of whom is an expert in tax law. The office is independent of the state’s tax agencies. Appeals are heard in Sacramento, Fresno and Los Angeles.
You must file an appeal with OTA through the Office of Tax Appeals Portal (OTAP), which can also be accessed at appeal.ota.ca.gov.
Alternatively, you can file an appeal by mailing or faxing the following:
- Your completed OTA Request for Appeal Form or a written request for an appeal with specific grounds or reasons supporting your position that you do not owe the tax or fee.
- A copy of the jurisdictional document, if issued, by the FTB or the CDTFA.
- Any documents such as bank statements or receipts that support your case.
If you believe you have reasonable cause for the late filing, you would need to establish to the agency's satisfaction that their criteria were met. The instructions for Form 2917 explain reasonable cause as follows:
Reasonable cause may be established if a taxpayer can show that failure to comply with the law occurred despite the exercise of ordinary business care and prudence. For more information on reasonable cause, go to ftb.ca.gov and search for reasonable cause. Important - California does not conform to federal relief from penalties based upon good filing history or First-Time Abatement. However, we may abate a penalty if you can provide IRS documentation, which clearly states that the IRS abated the same penalty for “reasonable cause.”
If you also filed your Federal return late and had the Federal late filing penalty abated, there may be a chance that the FTB would also abate the penalty.
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