California Sales Tax Audit Defense
CPA-led support for California businesses facing CDTFA sales-and-use-tax examinations, information requests, proposed assessments, and appeals.
G&S Accountancy helps California businesses prepare for and respond to CDTFA sales-and-use-tax audits. The engagement can include record reconstruction, exemption and resale documentation, sample-period analysis, responses to information requests, and assessment review.
Specialized CPA guidance
Turn the audit into a documented accounting project
A CDTFA audit is driven by records: sales reports, returns, resale certificates, exemption support, purchase invoices, and the trail between the general ledger and filed returns. Missing or inconsistent records can cause an auditor to estimate liability.
We organize the accounting record, test the agency's assumptions, identify unsupported adjustments, and keep the response process moving against the applicable deadlines.
How we help
A focused engagement built around the records, decisions, and agency requirements that drive the matter.
Records & Return Reconciliation
Tie filed sales-tax returns to the general ledger, sales systems, bank activity, and supporting schedules before the auditor builds a projection.
Resale & Exemption Support
Organize resale certificates, exemption documentation, and transaction-level evidence so exempt sales are supported rather than assumed taxable.
Sample & Projection Review
Review sample periods, error classifications, and projection methods for items that should not be extrapolated across the audit period.
Information-Request Management
Prepare complete, scoped responses and maintain a clear record of what was requested, delivered, and still disputed.
Assessment Analysis
Recompute proposed adjustments and identify factual, classification, documentation, or arithmetic issues before accepting the result.
Protest & Appeal Support
Help prepare the accounting record and written position for review, protest, settlement discussions, or the next administrative stage.
What the engagement looks like
A documented process from the initial review through delivery or agency resolution.
Read the notice
Confirm the audit period, tax programs, deadlines, assigned auditor, and the exact records requested.
Reconcile the record
Tie returns to books and transaction systems, then identify gaps before producing data.
Build the response
Organize support by issue and deliver controlled, documented responses to the agency.
Test the findings
Recompute adjustments, review sampling, and challenge unsupported assumptions with evidence.
Resolve or appeal
Evaluate the proposed result and preserve protest or appeal rights when material issues remain.
CDTFA Audit Defense FAQ
Common questions, answered
General answers only; the right approach depends on your records, entity structure, deadlines, and applicable law.
Discuss Your Situation →Requests commonly include filed returns, general-ledger detail, sales reports, purchase invoices, bank statements, federal income-tax returns, resale certificates, exemption support, and information about sales systems. The actual request depends on the tax program and business.
Timing varies with the audit period, transaction volume, record quality, sampling, and disputed issues. Organized reconciliations and prompt, complete responses can prevent avoidable delay, but no responsible adviser should promise a fixed timeline.
The agency may use indirect methods or projections when it concludes the records are inadequate. Reconstructing reliable records and testing the assumptions behind an estimate are therefore central parts of the defense.
You should understand the notice and preserve all deadlines immediately. Before making broad factual statements or producing unreviewed data, it is prudent to understand how the books and returns reconcile and obtain professional advice for your situation.
Facing a CDTFA audit or proposed assessment?
Bring the notice, financial records, or planning question. We will identify the next practical step and whether our team is the right fit.