Informational Letters
                                                                 If you have a question concerning your rights or obligations, 
 m i s s o u r i                                                 or the Department’s opinion as to how the law applies to a 
                                                                 specific situation, you have the right to request a non-binding tax 
t a x p a y e r                                                  assistance letter from the Department by writing the Department 
                                                                 of Revenue, P.O. Box 854, Jefferson City, MO 65105-0854.

                                                                 Binding Letter Rulings
                                                                 If you have a question concerning your rights or obligations 
                                                                 as they pertain to a specific set of facts and you would like a 
       illof ights                                               legally binding ruling on your question, you may request that 
B    r                                                           the Department provide you with a binding letter ruling, which 
he purpose of this Bill of Rights is to inform you, the          is a written interpretation of the law as it pertains to your specific 
TMissouri taxpayer, of your rights under Missouri laws.          set of facts. However, you will need to follow the Department’s 
Missouri statutes include strong incentives for voluntary        regulation that specifies the requirements for requesting binding 
                                                                 letter rulings (see 12 CSR 10-1.020).
tax compliance, but at the same time, provide taxpayers 
protection against inappropriate tax collection efforts.         Tax Clearances
The General Assembly constructed these laws to promote           If, for any reason, you need a certificate of tax clearance or a 
fairness, confidentiality, and consistency in application.       certificate of no tax due for your account, you may request a 
The Department of Revenue’s (Department) goals go                clearance from the Department and expect the Department 
                                                                 to act on the request in a timely and efficient manner. If the 
beyond honoring your statutory rights. Our primary goal is 
                                                                 requested clearance cannot be issued, you have the right to 
to treat each and every taxpayer fairly, professionally, and     know what tax reports and payments are required in order for the 
courteously. To this end, good public relations is one of        clearance to be issued. Tax Clearance Requests should be sent to 
the job components of every position. We expect our              the Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 3666, Jefferson City, MO 
employees to deal with taxpayers in a polite, respectful         65105-3666.
manner, and, at the same time, try to answer questions or 
resolve any problems as quickly as possible.                     Compelled to Testify
                                                                 If you are ordered by subpoena by the Department to testify for 
                                                                 any reason, you should know that the information obtained from 
General Rights                                                   your testimony cannot be used to criminally prosecute you for 
                                                                 violating the same Missouri law.
Payment of Only the Least Tax Due
You have the right to plan and arrange your finances in such a   Legal Representation
manner that you will pay the least amount of tax due under the   Individuals are not required to have legal representation in 
law.                                                             proceedings before the Administrative Hearing Commission 
                                                                 (AHC) (Missouri’s “tax court”). The AHC hears appeals of the 
Courtesy and Consideration                                       Department’s final decisions and other actions. However, if you 
You have the right to be treated fairly, with courtesy and       desire, you may have your accountant or attorney represent you 
consideration at all times by employees of the Department. You   during audit procedures, or have legal representation at any 
have the right to know the name or identifying number of the     hearing or proceeding involving the Department. You must 
employee who is assisting you. If you feel you are not receiving execute a written Power of Attorney (Form 2827) if you will not 
courteous service from a De partment employee, you have the      be present.
right to speak with the em  ploy ee’s supervisor.
                                                                 Fax Communications
Privacy and Confidentiality                                      Whenever you are required to send a notice to the Director 
You have the right to have your personal and financial           of Revenue by United States mail, you may substitute the 
information kept confidential. You can feel secure in knowing    written notice with an electronic facsimile transmission, 
the Department will only disclose tax information to other state commonly known as a fax. The fax shall be construed as 
and federal agencies as provided by law.                         adequate notice if otherwise timely sent. A notice being served to 
                                                                 the director by fax must be transmitted to fax number (573) 751-
Information and Assistance
                                                                 7150.
You have the right to information and assistance in 
complying with the tax laws. If you need information and         Audits
Missouri tax laws, you may access the Missouri Statutes at       Department audits will be conducted at a reasonable 
https://revisor.mo.gov/main/Home.aspx. To make sure  that        place and time.  You will be given reasonable notice of an 
Department representatives give accurate and courteous           upcoming audit.  Before or during the initial interview, the 
answers, a second representative sometimes monitors              auditor will explain the audit process. The Department’s tax 
telephone calls. If you need additional information, visit       auditors are not compensated based upon the dollar amount of 
http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/csr.asp to view regulations    their audit assessments or collections.
online.

Recovery of Legal Expenses                                              Appeal of Administrative Hearing Commission’s Findings
If a court or the Administrative Hearing Commission decides             Once you have exhausted your appeals through the administrative 
in your favor in a proceeding versus the Department, you may            channels explained above, you may take your appeal to the state 
apply to the court or commission for recovery from the state of         court system. Again, however, you must file your appeal with the 
reasonable legal fees you incurred. How ever, you are entitled to       appropriate state court within 30 days of the Final Determination by 
this recovery of fees only if the court or commission determines        the Administrative Hearing Commission.
the position of the Department was vexatious or not substantially 
justified.                                                              Statute of Limitations on Deficiencies
                                                                        You will not be sent a Notice of Deficiency for additional 
Erroneously Filed Liens                                                 payment of income taxes more than three years after the date 
If the Department erroneously files a lien against your property,       you filed the return or the due date, whichever is later. However, 
you may request that the Department release the lien, request           there are three exceptions to this general rule: 1) If you fail to 
expungement of the lien from the county recorder’s records,             amend your Missouri return and pay any additional tax due, plus 
and notify any creditors who were affected by the Department’s          applicable interest within 90 days after a federal adjustment, the 
actions.                                                                Department can bill you later than three years after the original 
                                                                        return was filed; 2) If you omit more than 25 percent of your 
                                                                        Missouri adjusted gross income, the Department can take up to six 
Income Tax or Franchise Tax                                             years to bill you for the additional tax, interest, or additions to tax; 
Abatement of Erroneous Tax                                              3) If you fail to file a return or file a fraudulent return, there is no 
You may petition the Department to abate any tax due that               time limitation for the Department to bill you for the tax, interest, 
was erroneously or illegally assessed.  Individual income tax           and additions to tax.
petitions must be submitted in writing and mailed to:  
Missouri Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 385, Jefferson                 Refunds
City, MO 65105-0385.  Corporation income and corporation                Refund Claims
franchise tax petitions must be submitted in writing and mailed         The Department has the duty to refund any overpayment of 
to:  Missouri Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 3365, Jefferson           income tax due. If you believe you are due a refund, you may 
City, MO 65105-3365.                                                    file an amended return and request a refund, provided you file 
                                                                        the amended return within three years of the filing of the original 
Extension of Time                                                       return (income tax only) or within two years of the date the tax 
If, for good cause, you need additional time to file your Missouri      was paid (income tax or franchise tax) or within one year and 
income tax return, you may file an extension (Form MO-60,               90 days from the Final Determination by the Internal Revenue 
Application for Extension of Time to File for individual income         Service (income tax only). Upon receipt of a request for refund, 
tax or Form MO-7004, Application for Extension of Time to               the Department will review the return and notify you of its 
File for corporate income) of up to six months.  Additionally, if       decision or findings.
you have been granted an extension of time to file your federal 
income tax return by the IRS, you also receive an equal exten-          Protest of Denied Claim
sion of time to file your Missouri return. In all cases, however,       If your claim for a refund is denied, you may dispute the denial 
the extension of time to file does not extend the time to pay.  You     by filing an official protest with the Department.  However, 
will be responsible for paying any additions to tax for failure to      you must file the protest within 60 days of the denial. At that 
pay and interest accrued during the period.                             time, the Department will reconsider the claim, make a Final 
                                                                        Determination and notify you of its findings and the basis of the 
Deficiencies                                                            decision.
Reason for Underpayment
If you are sent a billing (Notice of Adjustment) by the Depart ment     Appeal of the Department’s Decision
requesting either an initial payment or an additional payment for       If you are still not satisfied with the Department’s decision, you may 
income taxes, you have a right to know why the Department has           seek a review of your case by the Administrative Hearing Commission 
determined you owe the amount billed.                                   (AHC), which is not part of the Department However, you must file 
                                                                        your appeal with the AHC within 30 days of the date you were sent 
Protest of Deficiency                                                   the Final Determination by the Department.
If you do not respond to the Notice of Adjustment, you will be 
issued a Notice of Deficiency by certified mail. You may dispute        Appeal of Administrative Hearing Commission’s Findings
the amount assessed you in a Notice of Deficiency by filing an          Once you have exhausted your appeals through the administrative 
official protest with the Department within 60 days (150 days           channels explained above, you may take your appeal to the state 
if outside the U.S.) of the date you were sent the notice. If you       court system. Again, you must file your appeal within 30 days of the 
dispute the amount assessed, the Department will reconsider the         Final Determination by the Ad min is tra tive Hearing Commission.
proposed deficiency, and render a Final Determination notifying         Interest on Overpayments
you of the findings of fact and the basis of the Final Determination.   You will receive interest from the Department on any 
Your protest may also include a request for an informal hearing.        overpayment of the individual income tax due for a filing 
Appeal of the Department’s Decision                                     period if the Department does not refund to you the amount 
If you are still not satisfied with the Department’s decision, you may  overpaid within 45 days of the date you file your return.  You will 
seek a review of your case by the Administrative Hearing Commission     receive interest on any overpayment of corporation income or 
(AHC), which is not part of the Department. However, you must file      corporation franchise tax due for a filing period if the Department 
your appeal with the AHC within 30 days of the date you were sent       does not refund to you the amount overpaid within 120 days 
the Final Determination by the Department.                              of the date you file your return, the original due date, or the 
                                                                        extended due date, whichever is later.
                                                                       2

                                                                      Informal Review
Sales & Use Tax                                                       You may request the Director of Revenue conduct an 
Prompt Issuance of Sales Tax License                                  informal review of the additional assessment. You must request 
If you are required by law to have a sales tax license, you will be   this informal review within 60 days from the date you were sent 
issued that license within ten working days of the time you submit    the assessment. A request for an informal review does not extend 
a correctly completed application, bond, and pay any past due tax,    or affect the 60 days within which you may file an appeal with 
penalty, interest, or additions to tax you may owe.                   the Administrative Hearing Commission.
Operating Without a Sales Tax License                                 Appeal of Administrative Hearing Commission’s Findings
If you are a seller making retail sales without a sales tax license,  Finally, once you have exhausted your appeals through the 
you should know you are committing a misdemeanor and you              administrative process explained above, you may take your 
could be subject to a penalty of $500 for the first day and $100      appeal to the state court system. Again, you must file your appeal 
per day thereafter up to a maximum of $10,000.                        within 60 days of the decision by the Administrative Hearing 
                                                                      Commission.
Release of Bonds
If you have shown satisfactory tax compliance for one year, you       Interest on Protest Payments
may request to have your original sales tax bond released or          If a court or the Administrative Hearing Commission decides 
refunded to you.                                                      in your favor in a proceeding versus the Department, you may 
                                                                      recover from the Department all sales or use tax payments made 
Extension of Time                                                     under protest. You will receive interest from the Department on 
If, for good cause, you need additional time to pay sales tax         the protest payments.
owed, you may request an extension of up to 60 days to make 
payment. However, you will be responsible for paying any              Collection Procedure
interest accrued during the period.
Correction of Returns                                                 Administrative Dissolution of Corporate Charter
You should correct any accidental errors or omissions                 If a corporation fails to file its annual registration reports; fails 
discovered in a sales tax return. Many errors may be corrected on     to file or pay its annual corporate income or franchise tax; 
an amended return. You will, however, be subject to interest and      fails to pay any final assessment of employer withholding or 
additions to tax if an error resulted in an underpayment.             sales and use taxes; acquires its franchise through fraud; has 
                                                                      continued to exceed or abuse the authority granted to it by law 
Refund Claims                                                         or has continued to violate any section(s) of the criminal code of 
If you believe the Department owes you a refund for                   the State of Missouri after written demand to discontinue, it shall 
overpayment of sales or use tax, you may file a claim for refund.     have its corporate rights and privileges forfeited.
However, you must file the claim within three years of the 
date the tax was paid. Upon receipt of a claim for refund, the        Liability of Responsible Parties for Corporate Debts
Department will consider the claim and notify you of its decision     Liability for sales, use, and employer withholding tax 
or findings.                                                          delinquencies may be assessed against responsible corporate 
                                                                      officers and employees of a corporation, whether the corpora-
Statute of Limitations on Additional Assessments                      tion is in good standing or has been dissolved. This assessment of 
In general, you will not be sent a notice of additional assessment    the responsible parties is imposed if the sales, use, or employer 
of sales or use tax more than three years after the date you filed    withholding tax assessment against the corporation is final.
the return or the due date, whichever is later. If, however, you 
did not file a return at all, or you filed a fraudulent return, you   Offer in Compromise
may be sent a notice of additional assessment at any time.            If you do not have sufficient funds, assets or means available 
                                                                      to pay certified delinquent taxes (individual income, corporate 
Petition for Reassessment                                             income or franchise, employer withholding and sales or use taxes) 
You may dispute any additional amount of sales or use tax             you may request an Offer in Compromise (OIC) by submitting a 
assessed by petitioning the Department for a reassessment.            letter to the Department.  The offer must include a proposal to 
However, you have a 60 day time limit to appeal the assessment        pay a sum of money.  Missouri law provides three reasons as a 
to the Administrative Hearing Commission (see below), and your        basis for an OIC: doubt as to collectibility, doubt as to liability, 
petition to the Department for reassessment does not extend           or to promote effective tax administration.  Further information, 
this time limit. Upon receipt of a petition for reassessment, the     including Form MO-656 Missouri Offer in Compromise Form, may 
Department will reconsider the additional assessment, make a          be obtained at: http://dor.mo.gov/pros/compromise.php
determination, and notify you of its decision.
                                                                      Income Tax or Franchise Tax Collection
Appeal of the Department’s Decision                                   Listed below are the civil collection procedures for individual 
If you are not satisfied with the Department’s additional             income tax, corporation income or franchise tax and employer 
assessment, you may seek a review of your case by the                 withholding tax deficiencies. The Notice of Adjustment is the 
Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC), which is not part            first notification of a deficiency. You have 60 days from the date 
of the Department. You must file your request for review with         of the second notice, called the Notice of Deficiency, to request 
the AHC within 60 days of the date you were sent the notice of        a redetermination by the Department. If you do not request a 
additional assessment by the Department.                              redetermination within the 60 day period, the assessment 
                                                                      becomes final. You may arrange to pay the  deficiency at any 
                                                                      stage of the collection process.

                                                                     3

(Some delinquencies may be referred to a professional collection     appeal the assessment to the Administrative Hearing Commission. 
agency. Missouri statutes also provide for a 100 percent penalty     If you do not appeal or request a reassessment within the 60 day 
(for employers) and criminal prosecution of willful attempts to      period, the assessment becomes final. You may, however, pay the 
evade or defeat the income tax.)                                     assessment at any stage of the collection process.

Sales and Use Tax Collection                                         (Some delinquencies may be referred to a professional 
Listed below are the civil collection procedures for sales and use   collection agency. Missouri statutes also provide for a 100 
tax assessments. The Underpay Notice is the first notification of a  percent civil penalty and criminal prosecution of willful attempts 
deficiency. You have 60 days from the date of the second notice,     to evade or defeat state sales or use tax.)
called the Notice of Assessment, to request a reassessment or 

                  Notice of Adjustment                                                 Underpay Notice

                  Notice of Deficiency                                                 Notice of Assessment

                                                                                       Lien or Administrative
                  10 Day Demand of Payment
                                                                                       Default Judgment

                  Notice of Intent to Offset                                           Default Notice

                                                                                       Revocation of
                  Lien or Administrative                                               Sales Tax License
                  Default Judgment

                                                                                       Bond Forfeited
                  Deficiency Referred to Prosecuting
                  Attorney or Collection Agency                      Deficiency Referred to Prosecuting
                                                                                       Attorney or Collection Agency

Taxpayer Services
Department of Revenue                                                Delinquent Taxes: 
Harry S Truman State Office Building                                   (573) 751-7200
301 W. High St., P.O. Box 854                                        Field Compliance: 
Jefferson City, MO 65105-0854                                          (573) 751-3736
Taxation Division:
  Individual Income Tax: (573) 751-3505
  Sales or Use Tax: (573) 751-2836
  Miscellaneous Business Taxes: (573) 751-2326
  Corporation Income Tax: (573) 751-4541
  Corporation Franchise Tax: (573) 751-4541
  Motor Fuel: (573) 751-2611
  Registration: (573) 751-5860
  Employer Withholding Tax: (573) 751-3505

Individuals with speech or hearing impairments may reach a voice user through the Dual Party Relay Service. TTY (800) 735-2966.

                                                                                                                    Form 3097 (Revised 08-2016)
                                                                    4