Tax Help Available For Those Facing Financial Hardship by State of CA Franchise Tax Board

Sacramento –4-3-2013, With the April 15 tax deadline looming, the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) today advised taxpayers who face financial hardship to contact FTB for assistance. FTB has many options to help taxpayers handle their tax bills.

FTB assists those with financial hardships by establishing payment plans and sometimes delaying collection activities. The number of taxpayers seeking relief through payment plans has remained the same as last year but has increased by 126 percent over the last five years.

File Your Tax Return 
First and foremost, taxpayers should file their state tax return on time and pay what they can. This can reduce the penalties and interest down the road. FTB will send a Statement of Tax Due when a tax return is submitted without full payment. Once taxpayers receive that statement, they can begin to look at other assistance from FTB.

Payment Plans
FTB generally approves monthly payment plan requests if the balance owed is less than $25,000 and can be paid within 60 months. Liens are not typically filed on taxpayers paying their state tax through payment plans. Taxpayers can request payment plans online atftb.ca.gov by selecting “installment arrangement” under Online Services or by calling our automated phone line at 800.689.4776. Service is available in both English and Spanish.

Offer in Compromise
The Offer in Compromise (OIC) Program is for taxpayers who do not have, and will not have in the foreseeable future, the income, assets, or means to pay their tax liability. An OIC is an agreement between a taxpayer and FTB that settles the taxpayer’s tax liabilities for less than the full amount owed. FTB looks at the taxpayer;s income and assets to make a determination regarding the taxpayer’s ability to pay. Absent special circumstances, FTB will not accept an offer if FTB believes the liability can be paid in full as a lump sum or through an installment agreement. For more information go to ftb.ca.gov and search for “Offer in Compromise.”

Help with State Tax Liens
If you have a state tax lien and are trying to sell or refinance your home, FTB can help. State tax liens must typically be paid before real estate can be sold or refinanced. If a taxpayer suffering a financial hardship is selling or refinancing a home for less than the loan balance, FTB can remove the tax lien to allow the homeowner to complete the sale. This can generally occur within two weeks of the taxpayer submitting the required documents. However, the tax lien remains in effect on any other property the taxpayer currently holds or later acquires. For more information go to ftb.ca.gov and search for “Lien.”

About State of CA Franchise Tax Board:
They are responsible for administering two of California’s major tax programs: Personal Income Tax and the Corporation Tax. They also have responsibility for administering other nontax programs and delinquent debt collection functions, including delinquent vehicle registration debt collections on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and court–ordered debt. For more information visit https://www.ftb.ca.gov

Source: FTB Newsroom

State of CA Franchise Tax Board Reports Statewide Median Income Up In 2011

Sacramento – April 2, 2013, The statewide median income for all 2011 individual tax returns was $34,684, an increase of 2.2 percent over 2010’s median income amount.  For joint returns, the statewide median income was $68,122, an increase of 3.6 percent over 2010, according to the Franchise Tax Board (FTB).

“Median income” is the point where one half of the tax returns are above and one half is below the midpoint of the range of values.  Median income represents the income reported by a typical California individual or couple.

Californian taxpayers filed 15.8 million 2011 state income tax returns, reporting $1.1 trillion of adjusted gross income.  This is an increase of 5.7 percent from tax year 2010 figures. Adjusted gross income is a tax term that means the total income increased or reduced by specific adjustments, before taking the standard itemized deduction.

Over the past 40 years, the Bay Area counties of Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Contra Costa have consistently reported the highest median incomes. Marin County still has the highest median income for joint returns, reporting $120,170, an increase of 5.4 percent over 2010.  Santa Clara County ranked second with $103,019, while San Mateo County ranked third with $102,793 and Contra Costa County ranked fourth with $89,924.

Los Angeles County taxpayers filed 25.4 percent of all 2011 income tax returns in California. They reported median incomes of $30,255 for all individual returns, and $58,859 for joint returns, ranking 38th and 26th respectively.


The largest percentage gain in median income for all counties was 8.2 percent, reported in Alpine County. For joint filed returns the largest increase was in Trinity County, with a 7.0 percent increase.

About State of CA Franchise Tax Board:
They are responsible for administering two of California’s major tax programs: Personal Income Tax and the Corporation Tax. They also have responsibility for administering other nontax programs and delinquent debt collection functions, including delinquent vehicle registration debt collections on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles, and court–ordered debt. For more information visit https://www.ftb.ca.gov

Source: FTB Newsroom

LA Fitness Acquires Lifestyle Family Fitness Florida Clubs

(Irvine, CA/ St. Petersburg, FL) July 2, 2012 — On July 30, 2012 LA Fitness and Lifestyle Family Fitness announced that they have completed their transaction relating to LA Fitness’ purchase of the assets of 32 of the 33 Lifestyle Family Fitness clubs in Florida. The parties hope to come to terms on the final club, located at 1510 West Swann Avenue in Tampa, in the near future. Since their initial announcement on June 14, both parties have been working to complete the deal and prepare for the transition of the existing Lifestyle Family Fitness member base and staff.

LA Fitness will be honoring all of the active membership agreements that it purchased from Lifestyle Family Fitness. All active Lifestyle Family Fitness multi-club memberships will be honored at their current rate, and these multi-club members will have access to all Lifestyle Family Fitness locations acquired by LA Fitness. Similarly, all active single club members will be honored at their current rate with the same access they have now to the Lifestyle Family Fitness location where they joined. Lifestyle Family Fitness is closing its 31,000 square foot location at 2349 Vanderbilt Beach Road in Naples as of July 9th, and those members will be relocated to the 50,000 square foot LA Fitness club located nearby at 871 Vanderbilt Beach Road. These relocated members will have use of certain additional amenities at the LA Fitness club, such as a pool and basketball court, at no additional charge.

LA Fitness has been meeting with all interested Lifestyle Family Fitness employees to discuss employment opportunities. The parties are pleased to announce that many Lifestyle Family Fitness’ employees have accepted positions with LA Fitness, including Senior Vice President Frank Palmeri, Regional Vice President Michael Chaffin, and District Manager Troy Nealey.

Per Wikipedia, LA Fitness was founded by Chin Yol Yi and Lewis Welsh in 1984 with one location in Los Angeles, California. LA Fitness remains a privately owned company, with major ownership interests held by private equity firms Seidler Equity Partners,CIVC Partners, and Madison Dearborn Partners.

About LA Fitness:
Founded in 1984, LA Fitness is one of the fastest growing sports club chains in the U.S. and presently has over 500 locations in 22 states and Canada. LA Fitness’ mission is to help as many people as possible achieve the benefits of a healthy lifestyle by creating a nationwide network of sports clubs, offering its members the widest range of amenities and the friendliest service at an affordable price. To learn more about LA Fitness, visit www.lafitness.com or for the club nearest you, call (800) LA FITNESS.

Sources: Wikipedia,  LA Fitness
Graphic credit to: LA Fitness

Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Unveils new and improved official website at www.LADWP.com

The New www.LADWP.com Features Intuitive Layout, Self-Service Capabilities and Offers 24/7 Service and Information About the Nation’s Largest Municipal Utility.

On May 14, 2012 The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) today announced the launch of its new and improved official website,www.LADWP.com.

The English/Spanish bilingual site is more user-friendly and features a modern, updated design with streamlined navigation and improved self-service capabilities. Residential and commercial water and power customers can now access improved bill view and payment options, online applications for rebates and low income discounts, view electric and water consumption charts and graphs to understand their usage trends, view past bills and track service requests.

The website also features real-time neighborhood power outage maps and information and also comes in a mobile version for customers who use smart phones and other handheld devices.

“The new www.LADWP.com features improvements in terms of appearance, ease and convenience,” said LADWP General Manager Ron Nichols. “But more importantly, users now have 24/7 access to information that can directly impact their quality of life, including neighborhood power outage maps and water and power consumption charts to help estimate future bills. Our new online presence furthers our ability to provide the high quality online customer service experiences our customers expect.”

The new website houses detailed information on the relationship between the LADWP and the early growth of the City of Los Angeles. LADWP financial information, reports, electric and water rates, Board of Water and Power Commission agendas and community information are still readily available on the website (click “About Us”). The site also features new customer service video tutorials and information on topics such as: How to read your water and electric meters, the Low-Income Discount Program, energy and water conservation, and the “Charge Up LA” electric vehicle program.

LADWP’s website is among the most frequented municipal websites in the nation.  First launched in 1995, nearly 200,000 users log-in to the website each month with more than 120,000 of these users viewing and paying their bill online.

Customers can provide feedback on the new website by clicking on the “Contact Us” tab at the top of the website and then selecting “Email Us.”

The new www.LADWP.com is part of a major initiative to improve the quality of the customer experience. The initiative will address specific process, organizational and technology improvements in customer service, including replacement of the LADWP’s 30+ year old Customer Information System (CIS).

To read the original press release visit http://www.ladwpnews.com/go/doc/1475/1430887/

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Editor’s Note: We tried the website today on June 13, 2012 and we can say that at the beginning we were not sure why we need to update our password and security questions but, then later it was easy to navigate, pay our power bill, even shows the bill been populated instantly via PDF. Congrats to LADWP staff on this huge improvement with your customers.

Congressman Sherman Announces How Los Angeles Residents Can Find Out If They Have Unclaimed Tax Refunds

CBS Los Angeles and CBS 2 News Los Angeles reported on Saturday, April 14, 2012 that Congressman Brad Sherman (D – Sherman Oaks) has uncovered more than 4,000 taxpayers in LA County who are owed checks from the IRS.

The government says they have been unable to find the 4,176 people in Los Angeles County are owed about $6,722,735 in tax refunds, but at a press conference Saturday, Sherman said he was able to track down some of the recipients. Combined, the LA County residents are owed $6.7 million.

On his website http://bradsherman.house.gov/index.shtml states that Sherman, who is a CPA and tax law specialist, will also volunteer his services to help senior citizens and other local residents at a free tax clinic at Pierce College.

To help assist taxpayers collect their refund, Congressman Sherman has posted a list of all Los Angeles County residents who are owed a refund for their 2010 taxes on his web page.

See if the IRS Owes YOU Money!

For All Residents in Los Angeles County: CA LA County Undeliverable Refunds

If you see your name, call the IRS at (800) 829-1040 and ask forForm 3911 to claim your refund.  If you live outside the Los Angeles County Area (or if you did live outside the LA County area when a refund may have been sent to you), call the IRS at that same main number, (800) 829-1040, and an IRS service representative will help you.

More Helpful Refund Information:

 Taxpayers should also check with the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) for unclaimed refunds.  There are some 52,000 old refunds in California from previous years remaining at the FTB which are cumulatively worth $17 million.  The largest outstanding individual refund is worth over $39,000.

To claim a missing refund from the FTB, you must call them at (800) 338-0505 for assistance.  Through this telephone number, the FTB can initiate an investigation into a missing refund and, if applicable, issue a new refund check.

Reminder to Taxpayers:

 If you need extra time paying your taxes during these hard economic times, you have the option of filing an IRS Form 9465 to request a monthly installment plan (or apply online at http://www.irs.gov).  You can also file a California FTB Form 3561 to request an installment plan for your state taxes.

Sources: http://losangeles.cbslocal.com & http://bradsherman.house.gov

Photo credit to: http://bradsherman.house.gov