In Part 1 of this series, we discussed various considerations regarding whether you should appeal an L&I audit assessment. Another consideration is what size of an assessment is good appeal. While large assessments are always worth appealing, for some, the smaller the assessment the less inclined they might be to appeal. We discuss below.
What Size Assessment is Good to Appeal?
Because you can appeal, does that mean you should? For large assessments ($50,000 and above), you should always, always, always, always appeal. Auditors aren’t perfect, and even if an auditor got most things right, you’re almost always leaving money on the table by not filing an appeal and correcting what needs to be corrected.
For small-ish to medium-size assessments (e.g. $10,000 to $50,000), it’s usually worth appealing. As we touched on in Part 1, the smallish assessment should at least be appealed to request waiver of penalties and interest, if nothing else. Medium-size assessments, like large assessments, should almost always be appealed to reduce penalties and interest and to identify and make corrections.
Small or very small assessments (i.e. less than $10,000) may not be worth appealing for some because of the time and hassle of going through the appeal process. The process requires submitting a Request for Reconsideration, scheduling an appeal conference with a litigation specialist, appearing in or having a representative appear in the conference, and obtaining and considering a settlement offer. And that process takes 2-3 months to complete. So even if a person might save a couple thousand dollars, some might not find an appeal to be worth the hassle. But for some, no amount is too small to appeal, and they’ll happily go through that process for any amount.
See Part 3, next, discussing whether you need an attorney to appeal.
