Florida Sales Tax + Audits, Tax Warrants, Tax Liens + Tax Help + Free Tax Guidance
Call former government agents to help you with any sales tax problem you are having. Affordable Experts!
We can represent you for sales tax audit, owing back money with the state of Florida and/OR help rectify your problem in full. We are A FULL service firm.
If you are engaging in a Florida State sales tax problem contact us today and we can give you a free initial tax consultation, yes free advise, on how to handle a sales and use tax audit or explain to you how can you can help negotiate a tax warrant lien with Florida sales and use tax division.
If you owe money to Florida Sales Tax
The Florida Department of Revenue is authorized by law to publish a list of the names of taxpayers who have large unresolved tax liabilities.
These taxpayers, businesses or corporation that have failed to pay or arrange to pay their debt, despite repeated attempts by the Department of Revenue to collect the amount due. Some of these businesses may find themselves involved in a criminal investigation because Florida sales tax investigators refer repeat offenders to the criminal division for criminal prosecution.
By Law, they can publish the names of Sales and Use Tax Offenders
The names were selected according to the following criteria:
- Taxpayers who have unsatisfied tax warrants or liens totaling $100,000 or more, and
- In counties where no taxpayer has warrants or liens totaling $100,000, the two taxpayers with the highest amount of warrants or liens are included.
- Taxpayers who are in bankruptcy, who have entered into and are current on a stipulated payment agreement, or who have in place a payment agreement with the Department, are excluded.
Public Record
The warrant or lien is a public record filed with the Clerk of Court or other government office in the county where the taxpayer is located.
The list is published according to section 213.053(19), Florida Statutes.
The list will be updated every 30 days.
If your name or business name appears on the list and you want to resolve your tax liability, contact your local Department of Revenue service center.
You must do one of the following:
1. Pay the amount in full,
2. Enter a stipulated payment agreement,
3.Provide information to prove the amount on the warrant is not due.
The Collection Process of a Warrant or Lien
The Department of Revenue begins the collection process when a taxpayer fails to file a return, fails to make a payment, underpays the amount due, files late, pays late, or owes additional money that was discovered in an audit.
A delinquency notice (Notice of Delinquency) is issued when a return is not filed and a bill (Notice of Amount Due) is issued when a return is filed late or additional money is due.
The delinquency notice issued to a taxpayer indicates a return has not been filed, while the initial bill contains a breakdown of the additional amount due.
It is extremely important to take prompt action for resolution when you receive a billing or delinquency notice.
Penalties and interest
Penalties and interest continue to accumulate until the entire amount of the tax is paid. If the debt remains unpaid for 90 days, the Department will charge a 10% administrative collection processing fee to cover the costs of collecting the debt.
Failure to resolve your debt may result in your account being sent to a private collection agency.
If your account is sent to a private collection agency and the debt includes reemployment tax (formerly known as unemployment tax), you will be charged a separate fee by the collection agency.
The quickest way to resolve a bill is to pay it online. If you cannot pay this bill in full you should contact us today to hear your various tax options and solutions on how to remedy this problem.
If a delinquency notice is received, it is important to file the missing return(s) and pay the tax as soon as possible.
If a taxpayer is already enrolled for e-file and pay, they need to submit the missing returns and payments as they normally would. If not currently on e-file, enrollment for e-Services is easy.
If you do not owe the State Tax
A taxpayer who believes they received a delinquency notice in error, disagrees with the billing amount due, or has already filed or paid the return or billing in question, should contact the Department immediately to resolve the issue.
Failure to respond timely may result in further enforcement actions which could include: filing liens against property, freezing bank accounts, and revoking sales tax registration and other professional licenses.
What to do if it’s not possible to pay in full
If it’s not possible to pay in full, contact the Department by calling your local service center or the 800 number and requesting a stipulated time payment agreement. The taxpayer will be required to provide financial documents that support their inability to pay the debt in full.
They should also be prepared to pay a minimum of 25 percent down and the full balance within a year. If you cannot pay this 25% down there are other options available. By contacting us we can go over some different options for you.
Taxpayer Rights Advocate
The Taxpayer Rights Advocate helps resolve taxpayer problems and complaints not solved through normal channels. Read the Florida Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights. If a taxpayer believes that they have not been treated fairly by Department employees, they should try to resolve the issues/problems through normal channels.
If this has already been done but the taxpayer still believes the Department has not addressed the concerns, contact the Taxpayer Rights Advocate at 850-617-8168 or write to:
Taxpayer Rights Advocate
Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 5906
Tallahassee FL 32314-5906
How Are Taxpayers Selected for Audit?
The methods for selecting a business or individual to audit vary from tax to tax.
Here are some examples of sources we use to identify a potential audit candidate:
1. Internal Revenue Service information.
2. Information sharing programs with other states and state agencies.
3. Computer-based random selection.
4. Analysis of Florida tax return information.
5. Business publications, periodicals, journals, and directories.
What Types of Records Will I Need to Provide?
When we notify you of our intent to audit, we will also tell you what records you will need to provide.
The types of records may include, but are not limited to:
- General ledgers and journals
- Cash receipt and disbursement journals
- Purchase and sales journals
- Sales tax exemption or resale certificates
- Florida tax returns
- Federal tax returns
- Depreciation schedules
- Property records
- Other documentation to verify amounts entered on tax returns.
You must keep your records for three years since an audit can extend back that far.
The Department may audit for periods longer than three years if you did not file, or filed a substantially incorrect return or payment. Florida sales tax feels that this may be a criminal tax problem there will be no statute.
We are comprising tax attorneys, tax lawyers, certified public accountants with over 206 years of professional tax experience. We are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau and have been in private practice since 1982. You can contact us today for a free initial tax consultation.
Florida Sales Tax – Audits, Tax Warrants Liens – Tax Help – Free Tax Guidance