Motor Fuels Tax Minute, Episode 81: Amended Returns and Audits

In this episode of Motor Fuels Tax Minute our hosts wrap up their series on amended returns with how they can play into audits.

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Detailed Description of Weaver’s Motor Fuels Tax Minute, Episode 81

00:00:00
Kelly: Welcome to this week’s Motor Fuels Tax Minute where we talk all things motor fuels. Now we have been on this amended series. I think we’ve given you guys a lot of great information. Leanne is going to wrap us up with talking about amended returns and how they can play into audits.

00:00:16
Leanne: Thanks, Kelly. A lot of times amended returns actually might trigger an audit and so, it’s something to be aware of. We talked about how if there’s an error on the return and, lots of reasons, completely innocent reasons why there could be an error on your return, you do need to file an amendment.

But it’s worth noting that sometimes when you file an amended return, that can trigger an audit. That could be because there’s just not an amended return in the system and the state thinks, let me take a closer look. It could be an automatic trigger.

States like Illinois, they will do desk audits of all returns. We’re not even talking original returns, but all returns every month. And then they’ll send you what your errors are. It could be a digit on an EIN, something as simple as that. They may tack a penalty onto that, and then they’ll tell you they want your amended return, and they’ll desk audit your amended return as well. So, you’ve got that to think about, some of these states where you’re just going to have these desk audits.

Then the last place that you might get audits and amended returns running together is if you’ve actually got an audit underway or you’ve been notified of an audit, and you know you’re going to have some amendments. The audit process can sometimes be a good time to get those handled. If you’ve got an agent right there in your office, usually going through files with you, oftentimes they’ll accept those amended returns in hand and they’ll process them through. And for some states, that could be a quicker way of getting it handled than to go through the upload or mail-in process. So those are the three ways that I tend to see that we might put amendments and audits together.

00:01:50
Kelly: Yeah, I think that’s really important, especially with Illinois. Going back to your point, you could file an EIN wrong. It could be on a non-taxable transaction, that’s obviously not taxable, and Illinois will attach tax, penalty and interest until you clear it up. A lot of these states will even take it to the point where they will throw a lien if you do not clean it up, so definitely important to stay on top of it.

Hopefully, our viewers have enjoyed this series. I know I love a good series. I don’t know about you, Leanne, but thinking Game of Thrones, Golden Girls, Happy Days, Lily. I love a good TV series, just like I love a good Motor Fuels Tax Minute series.

So, for our viewers out there, I’m in a little bit of a lag. I don’t have a good TV series to watch right now, so if you have any recommendations, I would love to hear them. We’ll throw them into a hat, we’ll pull out a name, you’ll get some Weaver swag.

00:02:42
Leanne: I like Yellowstone if you haven’t already seen it.

00:02:45
Kelly: I have not watched Yellowstone. Kevin Costner, though.

00:02:49
Leanne: Landman isn’t quite a series because it’s only had one season, but it is based in Midland, Texas, where Weaver has an office, and it is about the world of oil.

00:02:57
Kelly: I love that, I’m writing that one down. All right, everyone, thank you so much for joining us on this Motor Fuels Tax Minute. We will see you next time.