Temecula Valley Tax Controversy & Assessment Defense Attorney

Trusted Tax Controversy & Assessment Defense Lawyer in Temecula Valley

Temecula Tax Controversy Attorney for IRS and FTB Assessment Notices

You are staring at a notice from the federal Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB), and the number is bigger than you expected. You are already doing the math on what it would do to your business or your savings. You know a clock is running on your right to respond, and you are not sure how many days you have left.

That clock does not have to run out on you. Evan L. Smith is a Temecula tax controversy attorney admitted to the State Bar of California since 1981 and rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. He spent three years inside a Big Eight accounting firm after law school. He uses that background to protest proposed assessments and, when the deadline calls for it, petition the U.S. Tax Court before a dollar becomes collectible. Send Mr. Smith the notice and the date on it, and let’s figure out exactly what you can still do.

Tax Controversy Matters Evan Smith Handles for Temecula Valley Taxpayers

Assessment defense covers the exact point where a proposed number turns into a number the government can collect. Mr. Smith represents Temecula Valley individuals and business owners at that point, including:

• Responding to an IRS audit’s proposed adjustments before the examiner issues a formal deficiency notice
• Petitioning the U.S. Tax Court after an IRS Notice of Deficiency, inside the strict 90-day window the law allows
• Responding to an IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment (Letter 3219 or similar pre-assessment notice)
• Filing a written protest against a California FTB Notice of Proposed Assessment
• Appealing an FTB Notice of Action to the California Office of Tax Appeals
• Defending business owners against trust fund recovery and payroll tax assessments

What an Unanswered Notice Costs You in Riverside County

An IRS Notice of Deficiency gives you 90 days to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court under 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a). A California Notice of Proposed Assessment gives you 60 days to file a written protest with the Franchise Tax Board under Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code § 19041.

When the IRS issues a Notice of Proposed Assessment before issuing a statutory Notice of Deficiency, you have an opportunity to resolve the matter administratively by submitting a written protest to the IRS Office of Appeals within the time specified in the notice, typically 30 days. If you do not respond, or if the matter is not resolved at the Appeals level, the IRS will mail a statutory Notice of Deficiency under 26 U.S.C. § 6212. 26 USCS § 6212. Once that Notice of Deficiency is mailed, you have 90 days (or 150 days if the notice is addressed to a person outside the United States) to petition the Tax Court. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025).

Miss either the administrative protest deadline or the statutory 90-day petition window, and the proposed number simply becomes final. Once that happens, the IRS or FTB does not need to prove anything else. It can file a federal tax lien against what you own, levy a bank account, or garnish wages, and interest keeps adding to the balance every day the case sits open.

If you own a business, the lien can result in a frozen bank account mid-payroll or issues when you try to refinance or sell the business.

What Happens if You Protest an FTB Notice or Petition the Tax Court

Filing a protest or a petition starts a process, it does not end one.

IRS Notices of Proposed Assessment

On the federal side, when you receive an IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment (sometimes called a 30-day letter or Letter 3219), you typically have 30 days to submit a written protest to the IRS Office of Appeals. The protest must set forth the facts, applicable law, and arguments supporting your position. Many cases resolve at the Appeals level without a formal Notice of Deficiency ever being issued.

If the matter does not resolve and the IRS issues a statutory Notice of Deficiency under 26 U.S.C. § 6212, you then have 90 days to file a petition with the U.S. Tax Court. 26 USCS § 6212, 26 USCS § 6213 (2025). Filing a timely petition suspends the IRS’s ability to assess or collect the deficiency until the Tax Court’s decision becomes final. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025). The filing deadline is not jurisdictional in the sense that equitable tolling may apply in rare cases, but the deadline is strictly enforced and the Tax Court will dismiss an untimely petition absent extraordinary circumstances. Boechler, P.C. v. Comm’r, 596 U.S. 199, 202 (2022), Harrow v. DOD, 601 U.S. 480, 482 (2024).

Once a Tax Court petition is filed, the case is assigned to the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, and most cases settle at that stage. 26 USCS § 6212. If yours does not settle, the trial itself is calendared at the closest U.S. Tax Court trial location. During the period the case is pending in Tax Court, the statute of limitations on assessment and collection is suspended. 26 USCS § 6503 (2019), 26 CFR 301.6503(a)-1 (2022).

California FTB Notices

On the California side, the FTB assigns your protest to a hearing officer, and many resolve through a written exchange or an informal conference without a courtroom involved. If the FTB still affirms the assessment in a Notice of Action, you get 30 more days to appeal to the Office of Tax Appeals.

Key Federal Procedural Rules

Under 26 U.S.C. § 6213(a), no assessment of a deficiency and no levy or court proceeding for collection may be made until the IRS has mailed the Notice of Deficiency and the 90-day (or 150-day) period has expired, or, if a Tax Court petition has been filed, until the Tax Court’s decision becomes final. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025), 26 CFR 301.6213-1 (2024). If the taxpayer does not file a petition within the statutory period, the deficiency is assessed and becomes due upon notice and demand. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025).

Once a petition is filed, the IRS generally may not determine any additional deficiency for the same taxable year except in limited circumstances such as fraud or jeopardy assessments. 26 USCS § 6212, 26 USCS § 6212. The Tax Court has jurisdiction to redetermine the entire deficiency, and may determine an amount greater than the deficiency originally noticed if the IRS asserts a claim for a greater deficiency at or before the hearing. 26 USCS § 6214.

None of it moves quickly, and none of it moves at all until the paperwork that starts it gets filed on time.

Temecula Tax Controversy FAQ: Deadlines, Costs, and Next Steps

Do I need a lawyer before I file a protest or a petition?

You are not required to have a lawyer to file an IRS protest, an FTB protest, or a Tax Court petition, but the deadlines are fixed. An IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment typically allows 30 days to submit a protest to Appeals. A statutory IRS Notice of Deficiency gives you 90 days to petition the U.S. Tax Court. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025). An FTB protest is due within 60 days of a Notice of Proposed Assessment, and a Tax Court petition is due within 90 days of a Notice of Deficiency.

Miss any of these deadlines, and the remaining options—like an audit reconsideration or paying first and suing for a refund—are far more limited. Talk to someone while those days are still on the calendar.

What is the difference between an IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment and a Notice of Deficiency?

An IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment (often a 30-day letter or Letter 3219) is an administrative notice that gives you an opportunity to protest the proposed adjustments to the IRS Office of Appeals before a statutory Notice of Deficiency is issued. It is not the formal deficiency notice that starts your Tax Court petition period.

A Notice of Deficiency, issued under 26 U.S.C. § 6212, is the formal statutory notice that starts your 90-day window to petition the U.S. Tax Court. 26 USCS § 6212, 26 USCS § 6213 (2025). It is sometimes called a “90-day letter” or a “statutory notice of deficiency.” Only after a Notice of Deficiency is mailed do you have the right to petition the Tax Court before any assessment is made. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025), 26 CFR 301.6213-1 (2024).

A California Notice of Proposed Assessment comes from the Franchise Tax Board and starts a 60-day window to file a written protest. Both the federal Notice of Deficiency and the California Notice of Proposed Assessment are the last step before the amount becomes final and collectible.

What does it cost to contest a tax assessment?

Cost depends on how far the case goes, whether it resolves at the IRS Appeals stage, the FTB protest or Chief Counsel stage, or needs a Tax Court trial. A straightforward administrative protest usually costs far less than a case that reaches trial.

What happens if I just pay the assessment instead of contesting it?

Paying stops interest from growing, but it also closes your right to argue that the number was wrong in Tax Court. 26 USCS § 6213 (2025). If you believe the assessment overstates what you owe, paying first and disputing later is a much narrower path than protesting or petitioning before the deadline. Once you pay, your remedy is to file a claim for refund and, if denied, sue for refund in federal district court or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

What should I bring to a consultation?

Bring the notice itself, the tax return or years it addresses, and any correspondence you already exchanged with the IRS or FTB. The date printed on the notice tells us exactly how much time is left, so do not leave that page at home.

If your notice raises a question this list did not answer, that is worth a conversation before your deadline moves any closer.

Contact a Temecula Tax Controversy Attorney Before Your Deadline Passes

You do not have to work out an IRS Notice of Proposed Assessment, an IRS Notice of Deficiency, or an FTB Notice of Proposed Assessment on your own, and you do not have to guess how many days you have left either. Send Evan Smith the notice you received along with the date on it, and he will tell you where you stand and what the deadline requires.

Contact Evan L. Smith to set up a consultation today.