Matt, keep me posted as to what comes out in your case. I do plan on giving them a ring tomorrow and playing stupid to see if there is anyway to waive the interest and penalties. I am a new Colorado resident since recently retiring from the military and moving here. Maybe that card will work.

Personal opinion but it's the financial shape CO is in that has caused this issue. Probably been written that way for a long time but it was never enforced that way. When I bought in 07 I just waited how ever many months it was until I got the letter and then paid it. You might fight it but I'm guessing it may cost more in the long run. (they know that too) Biting my tounge as well.

I talked to Jeff at the CO Dept of Rev. He stated that I should get the payment in as soon as possible because once I get the letter, then I'm subject to what they tell me. Also he stated that as long as you pay within the current tax year (so, that means by April 15, 2010 for the 2009 tax year) you won't be subject to any penalty costs. He didn't mention about the 20th of the next month deal.

The form is D.R. 0252 under the use tax.
http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite?bl ... inary=true

He also stated to make sure you have copies of EVERYTHING and as long as the check clears and you don't hear back from them, you're ok.

Makes me nervous just sending off a check and hoping for the best though.

Good show Matt! I called this AM and got a different answer. Unless I could justify (“never been done”) not paying the interest, I was going to have to pay. They done seem to be singing the same tune. I looked over the website and any reference to the 20th of the next month must be buried in a fairly obscure spot. It was easy to find the 2.9% (no mention there of a time period) based on purchase price (no mention in that section about a time period either).

I guess when you buy an airplane in CO you have to have been born with the instinct to know there is a time period in which to pay and that is referenced on an obscure form on their website that doesn’t have any way to contact them by email. Obviously the state has no interest (pun intended) in notifying you or putting the information someplace a person may actually look…they are getting 10% interest and a 12% penalty

Now I'm grumpy!

I contacted the Colorado Department of Revenue this morning and was handed off to Jeff. Actually a nice guy, not what I expected to encounter from a tax collector. I explained my situation of being a first time airplane buyer and just not knowing. Asked if there was any way they could waive the interest and penalties. He waived the penalties and said there was no way he could reverse the interest once on the books. He did explain the tax law to me which included paying before the 20th day of the month following purchase. After all said and done I am only paying $67 extra . I can live with that. So lesson learned, if you buy a plane in Colorado make sure you report it to the state right away. You're going to have to pay the tax on your plane anyhow so you may as well get it over before they hit you with interest and possible penatlies.

There is a big difference between interest and penalty to a tax man.

Interesting Bill, we talked to the same guy on the same day and received different answers.

Jeff was a nice guy and he actually seemed like he had a beating heart. Maybe mine being "off the books" thus far will get me out of the interest and penalties (maybe I was overlooked? ). Maybe I'll get stabbed in the back.

Doing the paper work this week and we'll see how this turn out.

Thanks for all of the CO specific info, I'll be somewhat prepared then once I get there!

I don't think we received different answers. The fact that my taxes have actually been accessed and they are on the books is the reason I can't get out of it. Matt and Chip, please keep us posted on your outcome.

I noticed on the form that under $300 is due by Jan 20th of the following year...over $300 in taxes and due by 20th of the following month...if I found it on that form, then it can't be hidden too bad!

Oh.

Well, he still didn't mention it.

Well, the bill came in. The state thinks I owe $76.90; $1.49 interest and $75.40 penalty. Notice the rounding error up to .90 from .89. Got to love a Govt working harder for you. No explanation of how they came to those figures, as they don’t match their own policy as written online.

I would try to escalate if I weren’t dealing with an immediate family member death, a claim fight with USAA, and a huge issue with 13T where a local business owner had a tantrum and threw away my key, and finally a miss coding of a mortgage payment by Wells Fargo that made it appear in their system that I had missed a payment. That little gem took rebuilding my ENTIRE payment history so I could prove I had indeed made the “missing” payment. They said “our mistake, sorry”. Thank goodness I save everything!

Any way, below is the text of my plea. Obviously I'm not very gifted at pleading my case.

"Darlene,
Thank you for taking the time to talk to me on 25 January 2010.

Attached are the documents supporting my aircraft purchase in August. I have completed the form DR 0252W, thank you for telling me about it, and have sent a check for the amount of tax I owe.

Additionally, I would like to respectfully request a waiver from the interest and penalties you mentioned in our conversation.

As we discussed, I was expecting to receive a notice from the state saying something to the effect that “the FAA records indicated I purchased an aircraft and owed 2.9% of the purchase price. Before I made the purchase (my first aircraft), I asked several people who had done this before what I needed to do with respect to paying the tax that I knew would exist. All replied that the State sends a notice and you pay the tax, very simple and to me made perfect sense. Taking into account the time the FAA process registration forms and the time to make it through your office, I expected some form of notification in November. When it didn’t come, I began investigating this further and confirmed (believed I confirmed) what I had been told. I found section 39-26-106 outlining the 2.9% tax and it cites 39-26-104 which outlines the tax basis; purchase price paid. Additionally, I stumbled into two documents that indicate the State would send correspondence. One was the Colorado Statement of Taxpayer Rights, DR 0081, and the other was a memo titled Special Purchases Aircraft. Both are quoted below. This left me no doubt that the people I talked to were correct so I didn’t feel the need for further investigation.

Quote from the Colorado Statement of Taxpayer Rights. “The Department will provide descriptive tax notices that explain the basis for assessments of tax”

Quote from Special Purchases Aircraft memo signed by Linda Evans. It states “An inquiry letter was previously mailed to you to request information about your circumstance. If no response was received within the allotted time, a Notice of Deficiency was issued to collect the presumed tax owed.” I only came across this memo by typing aircraft into the DOR website search function.

As I explained, the reason I called was to see if I could expedite the process of paying my tax and not wait for the letter I was expecting. I was completely taken by surprise when you indicated I would be charged a 12% penalty and 10% interest. Neither of these was mentioned in any of the documents I reviewed and didn’t show up in any of the DOR website searches I had done.

I believe my actions have been very forthright, responsible, and a genuine attempt to pay the tax I owe and in no way indicate an attempt to shirk any responsibility so do not believe I should be charged the interest and penalties.

Thank you for your consideration.

Another follow up:

Well, CO finally got around to pulling my N number and sent me a bill (guess they didn't do an N number search to see I have already paid). They sent the notice with a date of 4/14/10 (Tax day is 4/15, hummm ). Let me just say I was SHOCKED with the numbers they came up with.

The bill was detailed as follows....
Consumer Use Tax (CO is 2.9% state) was $2,175.00 based on an average Retail Value of $75,000.00 (W.T.F. OVER! ) Note: if ANYONE wants to buy my Stinson 108-2 for $75,000.00 PM ME! (get your cash ready and I'll deliver it to you no extra charge). After interest and penalty interest the total rounded up to $2,267.84. Kinda getting expensive I'd say.

THEN they add the RTD (public transit) use tax, which is 1% of cost, so another $750.00 gets added. After interest and penalty interest this rounds off to $782.02.

THEN they add on SCFD Use Tax of 0.1%, What the eff SCFD stands for I don't know. So $75 plus interest and penalty interest this is around $78.20.

THEN they add on FTBL Use Tax, another What The Eff!, for another 0.1%. So another $78.20 gets tacked on.

Final Bill (that I already paid in Feb) was $3,206.26 to the wonderful great state of Taxorado (Take a short jump off a tall bridge Gov. Ritter)

My point: (1) CO doesn't tell you shat, and you had to figure all this out on your own (as previously mentioned), (2) Get a good non-FAA legal Bill of Sale (because of this I only paid $803.55), (3) Keep your plane outside of Douglas County (Being in Elbert I only had to pay the 2.9% CO tax), and (4) because we're spoiled rich pilots this is only going to get worse.




Ok, I feel a little better.

Matt..you forgot the Blue Sky Tax!

Holy Crap!

Final Bill (that I already paid in Feb) was $3,206.26

Holy crap! If I ever get a bill like that for just TAXES, I'm afraid my Stinson would go on the block. I'm hoping to keep my annual to $500 this year...

-Bill

Oh boy! Here we go again. A coworker told me this morning he just got a letter from the City of Colorado Springs stating the city has decided to collect sales tax on aircraft purchased from 2005 to present.

bmurrish wrote:Oh boy! Here we go again. A coworker told me this morning he just got a letter from the City of Colorado Springs stating the city has decided to collect sales tax on aircraft purchased from 2005 to present.

Jackazzes

Well I spent half the morning on the phone (due to cutbacks the wait time exceeds an hour ) and hopefully sent a letter and email to the right person. Hopefully this will clear up soon, but I'm not holding my breath.

So a couple of weeks ago I got a letter from the state saying they saw that I bought a plane and wanted me to send them the documentation. No biggie, I was basically waiting for it. I have the form already and since I calculated my tax out to be less than $300, I didn't need to file it until this coming January 20th.

So I sent in all the info, today I got the bill. They set the tax at $290 as well. Good. But then they charged me $32 in penalties and interest for not filing by the 20th of the following month....even though the tax law clearly states that for taxes under $300, it's not due until the following January 20th. I should probably call and bitch, but I doubt its worth it for $32.