Are You on the California Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayers List?

The California Franchise Tax Board updates their “Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayers” list every April and October.  Hopefully, you are not on the list!  The current list is comprised of 275 individuals and 72 businesses. Combined, they owe the state more than $161 million dollars!

In October, they sent letters to 500 taxpayers who potentially could appear on the list if they failed to resolve their tax liabilities.  One hundred fifty three taxpayers resolved their accounts prior to the list’s publication.   More than $316 million has been collected from the top debtors program since its October 2007 inception.  Being on the Top 500 Delinquent Taxpayer list carries added provisions including:

•  Suspension of state – issued licenses including driver licenses and occupational or professional licenses.
•  Publishing professional license information.
•  Prohibiting state agencies from entering into certain contracts with listed debtors.
•  Publishing the names and titles of principal officers of an LLC or corporations.

They remove a taxpayer from the list once the tax is paid or the taxpayer agrees to make payments under an approved installment agreement or an “offer in compromise” has been paid and accepted.
They also remove a taxpayer from the list when they have verified that an active bankruptcy case has been initiated for that taxpayer.

Individuals on the list can contact them at 888.426.8555 to resolve their accounts.

Business taxpayers can call 888.426.8751

The California State Board of Equalization has a similar list of the state’s top sales and use tax delinquencies, which they update quarterly.

The Frnachise Tax Board also administers two of California’s major tax programs:  Personal Income Tax and the Corporation Tax.  They also administer other non-tax programs and delinquent debt collection functions, including delinquent vehicle registration debt collections on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and court–ordered debt.  Annually, their tax programs collect more than 65 percent of the state’s general fund.

For more information on other taxes and fees in California, go to taxes.ca.gov

If you have any questions about this, or would like to talk to someone about your delinquent tax bill, give us a call at 559.924.1225.  We talk to the State and Federal government all the time, and can make this process a lot less stressful on you.