California Residency Audit: Build an Evidence File and Respond to an FTB Request

California Residency Audit. This guide is for someone preparing records or responding to an FTB residency inquiry. It explains how to assemble a traceable evidence file. For the decision to move and the departure steps, use our separate California exit guide.

Read the notice before collecting documents

Save the complete notice, envelope and attachments. Record the tax years, response date, contact details and each request number. A request for a return, an audit information request and a proposed assessment are different documents; do not assume one response process fits all three. Verify the contact through the FTB website before transmitting sensitive records.

The FTB audit overview describes information requests and possible audit outcomes. Put the actual deadline on your calendar and ask the assigned contact about any extension before it expires.

Build a chronology that another person can check

Use one row per event rather than a narrative written only from memory. Include changes that weaken your position as well as those that support it. For example, distinguish the date a lease was signed from the date you occupied the home.

These dates describe a fictional example, not a recommended sequence or an approved departure date. Explain gaps between events instead of assigning one date to every record.

Index evidence by the fact it supports

Keep original files separate from working annotations. Use stable evidence identifiers in both the chronology and response so a reviewer can find the underlying record without guessing.

Reconcile conflicting records instead of hiding them

An old address on a statement may reflect an administrative delay; a home still available for personal use may reflect a continuing substantive connection. Those are different issues. Write down what happened, identify the supporting record, and flag unresolved facts for your representative. Do not alter original statements or recreate a diary as if it were contemporaneous.

California residency turns on the applicable facts and rules, not a checklist score. See the FTB residency overview. This worksheet is an organization tool, not a legal test.

Separate the residence question from the income question

Create a second schedule for income received during the disputed period. Link each item to a W-2, 1099, equity statement or business record and identify the work or property that produced it. Winning a residence argument does not by itself settle the source of every payment. Use our post-move California income guide for that separate task.

Prepare the response package

1. Map each request number to your answer and evidence IDs.
2. Mark records still being obtained and explain the status accurately.
3. Have the taxpayer or authorized representative check the facts and the scope of disclosure.
4. Use the accepted submission method; retain exactly what was sent and proof of delivery.
5. Maintain a dated communication log for follow-up requests.

For representation, proposed assessments or disputes, consult FTB Publication 985 and the instructions on your notice. There is no universal response deadline that can safely replace those instructions.

Sources and next steps

• California departure planning
• FTB audit process
• FTB Publication 985

Examples are hypothetical. A page, document or service cannot guarantee a tax result.