State Tax Notices and Representation

State tax agencies send their own notices, run their own collection programs and set their own deadlines. A federal Form 2848 does not cover them, and the rules in one state do not carry over to another. This page uses Illinois, where our firm is based, to show how a state notice typically works, then lists what to check if your notice comes from somewhere else.

Start with the notice

The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) says to read the whole notice, respond only if it asks you to, and keep a copy. Its letters ask for support for a return, report a change to your return, or notify you of a balance due or overpayment. Examples on its site include return correction notices, identity verification letters, notices of tax due and notices of claim denial.

You can respond through MyTax Illinois, the department's free online account system, or by mail to the address on the letter. If you owe money, IDOR suggests paying as much as you can. Respond by the due date to limit added interest and penalties and to preserve appeal rights. If you create a MyTax Illinois logon from a letter, activate it within 90 days of the letter date.

Confirm the notice is real by finding the agency's contact information on its official website, tax.illinois.gov, rather than using a number or link in an unexpected message. Our guide to reading an IRS notice applies here too: find the date, tax type, year, amount and response period.

Illinois protest rights and deadlines

IDOR states that you have protest rights only if you receive a notice that specifically says so. Those include a Notice of Deficiency, a Notice of Tax Liability, a Notice of Personal Liability and a Notice of Claim Denial. For any other notice, you cannot protest and should respond directly with corrected information.

If the notice grants protest rights, the department lists these options:

• Administrative hearing or Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal. The deadline is 60 days from the notice (30 days for International Fuel Tax Agreement matters). If the tax, not counting penalty and interest, is more than $15,000, or if no tax is assessed but penalties and interest exceed $15,000, you petition the Tribunal. Otherwise you request an IDOR hearing, using Form EAR-14 for income tax or Form AH-4 for other taxes. A Tribunal petition starts a legal proceeding.
• Pay under protest and go to circuit court. You pay the full amount under protest on Form RR-374 and, within 30 days, file a circuit court complaint, obtain a preliminary injunction and serve it on IDOR and the State Treasurer. This waives your right to a Tribunal petition or IDOR hearing.
• Board of Appeals. Using Form BOA-1, you can ask for a waiver of penalties and interest for reasonable cause, or for an offer in compromise if the full debt likely cannot be collected. The Board cannot redetermine the tax liability.

IDOR also says that after an audit's proposed notice, you may request a review by its Informal Conference Board within 60 days of the notice's issuance.

Illinois payment plans

IDOR says you may request an installment plan if you cannot pay delinquent tax in full because of financial hardship. You must have filed all returns through the current date, and all liabilities go into one plan. The routes are a pre-approved plan in MyTax Illinois (approved if you accept the displayed terms), a custom plan reviewed by collections staff, or Form CPP-1. If the amount, including penalties and interest, is over $15,000, you must also submit Form EG-13-I (individuals) or EG-13-B (businesses). Interest and penalties may continue to accrue, so confirm the terms of your agreement.

Getting help from the department

IDOR offers help by phone, topic-specific email boxes, a Taxpayer Answer Center and local offices. It also lists a separate channel for power of attorney submissions, a reminder that state authorizations are handled apart from Form 2848. Ask the agency what it requires.

If your notice is from another state

Check four things: which agency and tax (income, sales, withholding, unemployment insurance and local taxes may sit with different offices); the response date and the separate protest or appeal date; how to respond, since many states offer an online account like MyTax Illinois; and which body hears appeals, whether an administrative office, a tribunal or a court. Many states also ask you to report changes that come out of an IRS audit, so a federal adjustment can lead to a state notice later. See our Illinois guide, multi-state tax service and state income tax withholding page.

Common mistakes

• Treating a notice that has no protest rights as if it can be protested, instead of sending corrected information.
• Assuming a federal power of attorney covers the state.
• Letting a balance go to collections while a payment plan request is pending without confirmation.

How we can help

We can read your state notice, identify the tax type and deadline, prepare a response with documentation, set up an Illinois payment plan, and handle a protest or Board of Appeals request. For Illinois businesses and residents in Naperville and around Chicagoland, we can coordinate the state response with any federal matter. We cannot promise a particular outcome.

See IRS and state tax representation, Naperville tax services, or contact us.

Frequently asked questions

General information only, not tax, legal or accounting advice for your situation. Rules, limits and deadlines change; confirm the current rules with the official source or a qualified professional before you act. Reading this page does not create a professional relationship with CPA Tax Payroll and Accounting Corp.