Section 19138 Of Article 7. Penalties And Additions To Tax From California Revenue And Taxation Code >> Division 2. >> Part 10.2. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 7.
19138
. (a) (1) A taxpayer subject to the tax imposed under Part 11
(commencing with Section 23001) with an understatement of tax for any
taxable year shall be subject to the penalty imposed under this
section if that understatement exceeds the greater of the following:
(A) One million dollars ($1,000,000).
(B) Twenty percent of the tax shown on an original return or shown
on an amended return filed on or before the original or extended due
date of the return for the taxable year.
(2) For taxpayers that are required to be included in a combined
report under Section 25101 or authorized to be included in a combined
report under Section 25101.15, the threshold amount prescribed in
subparagraph (A) or subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall apply to
the aggregate amount of tax liability under Part 11 (commencing with
Section 23001) for all taxpayers that are required to be or
authorized to be included in a combined report.
(b) (1) The penalty under this section shall be an amount equal to
20 percent of any understatement of tax. For purposes of this
section, "understatement of tax" means the amount by which the tax
imposed by Part 11 (commencing with Section 23001) exceeds the amount
of tax shown on an original return or shown on an amended return
filed on or before the original or extended due date of the return
for the taxable year.
(2) For any taxable year beginning before January 1, 2008, the
amount of tax paid on or before May 31, 2009, and shown on an amended
return filed on or before May 31, 2009, shall be treated as the
amount of tax shown on an original return for purposes of this
section.
(3) The amount of additional tax shown on the first amended return
reflecting a proper election under Section 338 of the Internal
Revenue Code, relating to certain stock purchases treated as asset
acquisitions, shall be treated as if that amount was included in the
amount of tax shown on an original return for purposes of this
section.
(c) The penalty imposed by this section shall be in addition to
any other penalty imposed under Part 11 (commencing with Section
23001) or this part.
(d) Article 3 (commencing with Section 19031), relating to
deficiency assessments, shall not apply with respect to the
assessment or collection of any penalty imposed by subdivision (a).
(e) A refund or credit for any amounts paid to satisfy a penalty
imposed under this section may be allowed only on the grounds that
the amount of the penalty was not properly computed by the Franchise
Tax Board.
(f) No penalty shall be imposed under this section on any
understatement to the extent that the understatement is attributable
to any of the following:
(1) (A) A change in law that is enacted, promulgated, issued, or
becomes final after the earlier of either of the following dates:
(i) The date the taxpayer files the return for the taxable year
for which the change is operative.
(ii) The extended due date for the return of the taxpayer for the
taxable year for which the change is operative.
(B) For purposes of this paragraph, a "change of law" means a
statutory change or an interpretation of law or rule of law by
regulation, legal ruling of counsel, within the meaning of
subdivision (b) of Section 11340.9 of the Government Code, or a
published federal or California court decision.
(C) The Franchise Tax Board shall implement this paragraph in a
reasonable manner.
(2) The imposition of an alternative apportionment or allocation
method by the Franchise Tax Board under the authority of Section
25137 because the standard allocation and apportionment provisions of
Article 2 (commencing with Section 25120) and the regulations
thereunder do not fairly represent the extent of the taxpayer's
business activity in this state.
(3) A change to the taxpayer's federal accounting method pursuant
to Section 446 of the Internal Revenue Code, relating to general rule
for methods of accounting, that is applicable for purposes of Part
11 (commencing with Section 23001), but only to the extent of
understatements for taxable years where the due date of the return,
without regard to any extension of time for filing the return, is
before the date of consent of the secretary to that change of
accounting method.
(g) No penalty shall be imposed under this section to the extent
that a taxpayer's understatement is attributable to the taxpayer's
reasonable reliance on written advice of the Franchise Tax Board, but
only if the written advice was a legal ruling by the Chief Counsel,
within the meaning of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section
21012.
(h) (1) This section shall apply to each taxable year beginning on
or after January 1, 2003, for which the statute of limitations on
assessment has not expired.
(2) The amendments made to this section by Chapter 721 of the
Statutes of 2010 shall apply to each taxable year beginning on or
after January 1, 2010.
(3) (A) Except as otherwise provided, the amendments made to this
section by the act adding this paragraph shall apply to each taxable
year beginning on or after January 1, 2015.
(B) The provisions of paragraph (2) of subdivision (f), as added
by the act adding this paragraph, shall apply to understatements for
any taxable year for which the statute of limitations on assessments
has not expired as of the effective date of the act adding this
paragraph.