When is an Assessment from the DOR Not an Assessment?
Upon completion of a Florida tax audit, the Department of Revenue (“DOR”) will issue a Notice of Proposed Assessment (“NOPA”) to assess any additional tax, interest, and penalties. By its terms, the NOPA provides that it will become a “final assessment” within 60 days of issuance if it is not challenged by the taxpayer. At the end of an audit of Verizon, the DOR issued a NOPA within 60 days prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Verizon took the position that the NOPA did not constitute an assessment for statute of limitation purposes until 60 days after its issuance, and by that time the assessment was time-barred because the statute of limitations expired. Verizon lost at the trial court on a summary judgment motion, but the First District Court of Appeal recently ruled for Verizon, in a unanimous decision, that a NOPA does not constitute an assessment for statute of limitations purposes because it’s not a “final” assessment.