State of Tennessee is claiming I owe $1200 in taxes on small business

[rtrboy]

Back in Nov 2013, I filed paperwork to establish a business license. I waited the 10 days like they said and still didn't receive anything. I called and asked for the status and the lady searched for my confirmation number. She said it was a valid number but they had no record of my stuff. She had no idea what had happened. She told me to resubmit new paperwork. I did that.

Soon enough, I got a letter in the mail and thought everything was good. I received a letter saying I had to file taxes every quarter.

Then in March, I received a letter saying that I was past due on my filings and owed $600 based on their formulas for assessed sales. I logged online and filled out a zero sales form for Jan and Feb and thought all was good and the letter notifying my of qtrly filings was to take effect in Q2.

Today I get 2 letters in the mail saying "FINAL NOTICE FOR PAYMENT." I just so happened noticed that there is two different case #'s. I logged online and started searching, and now i have THREE business accounts assigned to me. So today's letters weren't related they are $680 bills for two accounts.

I'm completely lost now. Due to family illnesses, I've planned to close the account after I did the Q1 filings. So am I responsible for $1200 in back taxes in this type of situation? They have a number for me to call tomorrow. I just want everything closed and done with and I'll start fresh when I can focus more. Thoughts? Am I on the hook for this? Thx!

[Freelancier]

Generally speaking, from my experience, I've found the DoR people to be generally helpful when they have a screw-up like this. But you need to get on top of it tomorrow morning, because the longer this sits, the worse it looks to them.

If your own efforts fail, you can either pay them or pay to hire an attorney to navigate the maze and fix it. But that's only if you fail to convince them of their errors, so be honest and express sincere thanks to every person who takes an interest in helping you (that usually works better than yelling at them in frustration).

[jamesray50]

I agree with Freelancer, the states are usually helpful in these situation. After the accounts are figured out you will only have to pay what is actually due, not what they estimated is due. If nothing is due then you won't owe any taxes. If they do want to charge for any late fees or penalties ask for an abatement. They will probably agree to that. It has been in my experience dealing with different state agencies that they want to clear up any mistakes, but they are also not very good at doing it right the first time. You may find that you will have to contact them more than once. So make notes each time you talk to them, record the date, time and name of person you spoke to and what they said would happen.

Good luck!