FINANCE

How do you submit a claim for errors in your personal income tax?

Keep up to date with our Finance expert, chartered accountant Ricardo Chaves from All Finance Matters I f you have received the settlement of your IRS and detected any errors made by the Tax Authorities on their calculations, find out what your rights are and how to issue a formal complaint. The submission of IRS tax returns relating to income in 2017 was done in the months of April and May, this year. The tax settlement notes should be received by all tax payers during June and July, but some of tax payers may receive them later, especially in the case of Non-Habitual Residents.

If you have received the settlement note and realised that there was an error on the calculation of the final accounts, or if the amount is much different to what you have forecasted, you may file a complaint to the Tax Authorities. But beware: before you decide to submit a claim, is important to check that you have reason to do it. When it concerns errors in withholding taxes, for example in the case where the entities to whom the taxpayer worked did not declare those amounts. If the taxpayer has with him a proof of the actual values of withholding taxes that were held last year, he must submit a complaint and attach the documents that prove the merits of that complaint.

It’s also important to pay attention to your post box, as in some cases the tax authorities demand that you confirm at the tax office or through the portal, some of the expenses declared. This happens mostly in the case of IRS declarations which include the sale of properties or longterm rentals. If for any reason you do not confirm these expenses, they can be erased from your declaration and a new tax bill is sent to your address. Do not forget the legal deadlines If you are going to issue a complaint, do not forget that you must do so within the legal deadlines. In the case of complaints related to the settlement of the IRS, taxpayers may do it within 150 days of notification of the settlement, or up to 120 days after the payment date.

An important point: the rules indicate that taxpayers may not have both an internal appeal and ask for judicial review on the same fact. “It cannot be made a complaint when a judicial review has been lodged on the same basis”. This means that first the taxpayers must issue a complaint with the Tax Authorities and wait for the decision. If it is unfavourable and the taxpayer is still not convinced, then he can advance to the hierarchical appeal and/or request a judicial review. Tracking the evolution of the claim? After presenting the administrative claim, you can track the status and progress of your complaint at the Tax Portal. The system will tell you the process number, the date and details of the tax in question, the tax office where the complaint has been filed and the process situation on a given date.

Here are the various stages through which the internal appeal process can pass, according to the information contained in the Tax Web Portal. 1 Initiation: The process was initiated in the service of finance. 2 Instruction: finance services are to instruct the file containing the information required for the decision. 3 Waiting for distribution: The process has not yet been distributed to technical for consideration. 4 Assessment: The process has already been distributed to the technician who is preparing the decision. 5 Referred to the Finance Director: The case was referred to the regional peripheral organ of tax administration, the competent authority for the decision. 6 For Preliminary Hearing: the draft has been prepared pending the exercise of the right to a prior hearing of the complainant. 7 Wait Decision: It has been exercised prior hearing and the new elements raised at that hearing will be taken into account in the decision to be taken. 8 Termination by Upheld: The process was terminated, and the claim of the complainant deserved appointment. 9 Partial Deferral of Extinction: The process was terminated, and the claim of the complainant deserved partial success. 10 Rejection by Extinction: The process was terminated, since the claim of the complainant deserved appointment. 11 Filing for Extinction: The process was terminated by objection of inadmissibility or because the person concerned, upon written request, gave the procedure. 12 Termination for transfer to another service of Finance: The process was terminated because the tax office which was established was not competent for the decision. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your personal situation, whether this is related to IRS or any other tax advice. Our details are opposite.