December 28, 2018
Re: § 58.1-1821 Application: Individual Income Tax
Dear *****:
This will reply to your letter in which you seek correction of the individual income tax assessment issued to ***** (the “Taxpayer”) for the taxable year ended December 31, 2014.
FACTS
The Department received information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) indicating that the Taxpayer may have been required to file a 2014 Virginia resident individual income tax return. Subsequently, an assessment was issued. The Taxpayer filed an appeal, stating that she would file a return.
DETERMINATION
Appeal – Statute of Limitations
Virginia Code § 58.1-1821 states, “Any person assessed with any tax administered by the Department of Taxation may, within ninety days from the date of such assessment, apply for relief to the Tax Commissioner. Such application shall be in the form prescribed by the Department and shall fully set forth the grounds upon which the taxpayer relies and all facts relevant to the taxpayer’s contention.” Pursuant to Virginia Code § 58.1-1821 and Title 23 of the Virginia Administrative Code (VAC) 10-20-165, a complete appeal must be filed with the Department within 90 days from the date of assessment. In addition, Virginia Code § 58.1-1820 provides that assessments made by the Department are deemed to be made when a written notice of assessment is mailed to a taxpayer at his last known address.
Because the Taxpayer’s appeal did not set forth any grounds upon which she was relying to contest the assessment or any facts relevant to her contention, the Department notified the Taxpayer by letter dated September 21, 2018, that it was treating her letter only as a notice of intent to appeal. The Department also informed the Taxpayer that she had 90 days from the date of the assessment to file a complete appeal.
In this case, the Department issued the assessment on July 5, 2018. Thus, based on the provisions of Virginia Code § 58.1-1821, the Taxpayer was required to file an administrative appeal by October 3, 2018. To date, the Taxpayer has not filed a complete appeal. Therefore, any application of correction the Taxpayer may now submit as to the 2014 assessment is barred by the statute of limitations.
Assessment Based on Available Information
The assessment at issue was made based on the best information available to the Department pursuant to Virginia Code § 58.1-111. Virginia Code § 58.1-205 provides that in any proceeding relating to the interpretation of the tax laws of Virginia, an “assessment of a tax by the Department shall be deemed prima facie correct.” As such, the burden of proof is on the Taxpayer to show she was not subject to income tax in Virginia.
The Taxpayer may have additional information that more accurately reflects her Virginia taxable income. Accordingly, the Taxpayer is hereby requested to file a Virginia income tax return for the 2014 taxable year to reflect more accurately her Virginia income tax liability.
The Taxpayer should file the requested return within 30 days of the date of this letter. Mail the return and payment for the corresponding liability (if any) to: Virginia Department of Taxation, Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, P.O. Box 27203, Richmond, Virginia 23218-7203, Attention: *****. Once the return is received, it will be processed and the assessment will be adjusted accordingly. If the return is not filed within the allotted time, the assessment will be considered to be correct and collection action will resume.
The Code of Virginia sections and regulation cited are available on-line at www.tax.virginia.gov in the Laws, Rules & Decisions section of the Department’s web site. If you have any questions regarding this determination, you may contact ***** in the Office of Tax Policy, Appeals and Rulings, at *****.
Sincerely,
Craig M. Burns
Tax Commissioner
AR/1822.M