Notice of Proposed Assessment seems completely wrong - how do I fight this?

Take a deep breath! This happens more often than you might think and doesn't necessarily mean you'll end up owing that money. First, you need to gather all your documentation - your filed tax return with schedules, all 1099 forms you received, and the notice itself. The most likely explanation is that a payer submitted a 1099 to the tax authority that you either didn't receive or overlooked. Another possibility is that the same income was reported twice under different payer names. Either way, you have the right to contest this assessment. You should write a formal response letter requesting a review. Include copies (never originals) of all your documentation showing you either already reported this income or explaining why the assessment is incorrect. Be specific and reference line numbers on your return if possible.

I went through an almost identical situation last year! It was so stressful and the tax notice was full of technical jargon. I decided to try https://taxr.ai after hearing about it from a coworker. Their system analyzed my notice and all my tax documents in minutes and showed exactly where the discrepancy was coming from. Turns out one of my clients had filed a 1099 with a typo in my SSN, so it wasn't matching up with my return even though I'd reported the income correctly. The taxr.ai tool spotted this immediately and even generated a response letter I could send to the tax authority explaining the exact problem with references to the specific tax codes.

I gotta eat my words about taxr.ai. After my skeptical comment last week, I decided to try it anyway since I was desperate with my own tax notice problem. It actually identified that the state was double-counting one of my retirement distributions! The assessment notice was charging me $2,200 for "unreported income" but the system showed that the same amount appeared twice in their records but only once in reality. The response letter it created cited the exact regulation about duplicate reporting and even included a section explaining how to verify this through their own tax system. Just got confirmation yesterday that my appeal was accepted and the assessment was canceled. Saved me thousands and hours of stress! Sometimes being wrong feels pretty damn good.

If you're having trouble getting through to someone at the tax department (which is likely), I'd recommend checking out https://claimyr.com - it saved me weeks of frustration. I was in a similar situation with an incorrect assessment and couldn't get a human on the phone for days. Claimyr got me connected to an actual tax department representative in under 45 minutes when I had been trying for over a week on my own. You can see how it works in this video: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c - basically they navigate the phone system for you and call you once they've got a human on the line. The rep I spoke with immediately saw the error in their system and marked my case for review. Having that direct conversation made all the difference rather than sending letters back and forth for months.

I have to publicly admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it, I spent THREE MORE DAYS trying to get through to the tax department about my own issue. Out of desperation, I finally tried the service. Got connected to a real human at the tax office in 37 minutes while I was making dinner. The agent looked up my case immediately and confirmed there was indeed an error in how they processed my return. He submitted a correction request on the spot. Would've taken weeks to resolve through mail, and I'd probably have missed the response deadline. Sometimes being stubborn costs more than being open to solutions. Lesson learned.

One thing nobody's mentioned - check if the "unreported income" might actually be a scam! Before you panic or pay anything, verify the notice is legitimate by calling the tax authority directly using the number from their official website (not the number on the notice). Tax scams are getting super sophisticated. I got what looked like a legit assessment last year, but when I called to verify, the real tax department had no record of it. The scammers had created a perfect replica of an official notice!

Has anyone successfully contested an assessment without professional help? Tax attorneys want $300/hr in my area and that seems excessive for what might be a simple error.

Rachel, I completely understand your panic - I went through something very similar two years ago. Here's what worked for me: First, don't let the 30-day deadline stress you out too much, but definitely don't ignore it either. You have options within that timeframe. Since you mentioned you have confirmation numbers from when you e-filed, that's actually great documentation. Pull up your actual filed return (not just your copy) from the state's website if they have an online portal. Sometimes there are discrepancies between what you think you filed and what actually got processed. The key is to be methodical: 1) Get the specific details about which 1099 they claim is missing (call them), 2) Match that against your records and filed return, 3) Prepare a clear, documented response showing either that you did report it or explaining why their information is incorrect. I was able to resolve mine with a detailed letter and supporting documents - no attorney needed. The assessment was completely dropped once I showed them their error. Don't let them intimidate you into paying money you don't owe!