• videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
  • calendar_month July 28, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
  • signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
  • card_travel Corporate Tax
  • schedule 110 minutes

Effectively Managing State Income Tax Examinations, Protests, and Appeals

About the Course

Introduction

This webinar will provide tax practitioners with a practical roadmap for navigating state income tax examinations, protests, and appeals from initial audit contact through final resolution. Our panel of experienced tax controversy attorneys will draw on real world audit and appeals experience to explain how state tax authorities develop issues, evaluate evidence, and resolve disputes—highlighting both California and New York procedures while emphasizing strategies that apply nationwide.

Description

State revenue departments continue to increase examination activity and rely heavily on information sharing with the IRS and other states. Differences in statutes of limitations, protest deadlines, procedural rules, and appeal forums can create significant risks if not managed promptly and strategically. 

California, for example, differs from many states in several critical respects that materially heighten audit risk. The FTB generally has four years to assess additional tax, compared to the IRS' three-year period. The statute can remain open indefinitely if a required return was not filed or if a taxpayer fails to report federal audit changes within six months of the final determination. This extended exposure is compounded by California's top marginal income tax rate of 12.3%, plus the 1% Mental Health Services Tax on income over $1 million, making even modest audit adjustments economically significant.

Listen as our panel of seasoned state tax controversy attorneys discusses how to manage examinations, identify when to escalate matters to protest or appeal, and improve outcomes during state income tax controversies.

Presented By

Robert Horwitz
Principal
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez, PC

Mr. Horwitz has over 35 years of experience as a tax attorney specializing in the representation of clients in civil and criminal tax cases, including civil audits and appeals, tax collection matters, criminal investigations, administrative hearings and in civil and criminal trials and appeals in federal and state courts. He has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Taxation Section of the State Bar of California and was Chair of the Taxation Section for 2015-2016 year. Mr. Horwitz was previously Chair of the Tax Procedure and Litigation Committee of the State Bar Taxation Section. Prior to joining Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez P.C., Mr. Horwitz was with a boutique tax controversy firm in Orange County, where he represented clients in civil and criminal tax cases in the U.S. Courts of Appeal, U.S. district courts, California superior courts, and before the Internal Revenue Service, the California Franchise Tax Board, the Board of Equalization, the Employment Development Department and the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board. He has been a speaker on tax matters at the UCLA Tax Controversy Institute, the Annual Meeting of the Taxation Section of the California Bar and the California State Bar Annual Meeting.

Michel R. Stein
Principal
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez, PC

Mr. Stein specializes in tax controversies, as well as tax planning for individuals, businesses and corporations. For more than 25 years, he has represented individuals with sensitive issue civil tax examinations where substantial penalty issues may arise, and extensively advised individuals on foreign and domestic voluntary disclosures regarding foreign account and asset compliance matters. Mr. Stein is well respected for his expertise and judgment in handling matters arising from the U.S. government’s ongoing enforcement efforts regarding undeclared interests in foreign financial accounts and assets, including various methods of participating in a timely voluntary disclosure to minimize potential exposure to civil tax penalties and avoiding a criminal tax prosecution referral. Mr. Stein is a frequent lecturer at national and regional conferences on topics including tax compliance sensitive issues, IRS examinations, State and Federal worker classification issues, etc. 

Cory Stigile
Principal
Hochman Salkin Toscher Perez, PC

Mr. Stigile specializes in tax controversies as well as tax, business, and international tax. His representation includes Federal and state tax controversy matters and tax litigation, including sensitive tax-related examinations and investigations for individuals, business enterprises, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. Mr. Stigile's practice also includes complex civil tax examinations, administrative appeals and tax collection proceedings (where he is widely respected for achieving meaningful resolutions of difficult tax collection issues). He frequently writes and lectures on topics involving taxation.

Credit Information
  • BARBRI is a NASBA CPE sponsor and this 110-minute webinar is accredited for 2.0 CPE credits.

Date + Time

  • event

    Tuesday, July 28, 2026

  • schedule

    1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT

I. Overview of state income tax examination frameworks

A. How state income tax audits are initiated and selected

B. Common triggers, including IRS audit reports

II. Managing the examination phase

III. Notices of proposed assessment and protest strategies

IV. Appeals before independent administrative bodies

VI. Practical risk mitigation strategies

The panel will cover these and other critical issues:

  • Procedural differences between IRS audits and state income tax examinations
  • California and New York state audit procedures
  • How state income tax audits are initiated and selected
  • Best practices for SALT audit readiness

Learning Objectives

After completing this course, you will be able to:

  • Identify the procedural stages of a state income tax examination and appeal
  • Ascertain key steps in California and New York state income tax audits
  • Decide how to respond to state income tax IDRs and assessments
  • Determine when a dispute should escalate to protest or administrative appeal
  • Field of Study: Taxes
  • Level of Knowledge: Intermediate
  • Advance Preparation: None
  • Teaching Method: Seminar/Lecture
  • Delivery Method: Group-Internet (via computer)
  • Attendance Monitoring Method: Attendance is monitored electronically via a participant's PIN and through a series of attendance verification prompts displayed throughout the program
  • Prerequisite:

    Three years+ business or public firm experience preparing complex tax forms and schedules, supervising other preparers or accountants. Specific knowledge and understanding of SALT taxation, nexus and apportionment as it applies to multi-state businesses.


BARBRI, Inc. is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of Accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credits. Complaints regarding registered sponsons may be submitted to NASBA through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

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