California FTB Notice Follow Up Letter – Information Request (AUD 1511)

The FTB AUD 1511 is a follow-up audit correspondence letter from California’s Franchise Tax Board, sent when you haven’t responded to an earlier information request during an ongoing audit. It’s a second notice—meaning the FTB already asked for documents or explanations and didn’t receive a satisfactory response. The AUD 1511 typically comes with a firmer deadline than the original request, often 30 days, and makes clear that failure to respond will result in the audit proceeding without your input.

California FTB audits under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 19504 allow auditors to examine your books, records, and any information relevant to your California tax liability. The initial request (usually an AUD 1500 or similar letter) identifies the specific items under review—deductions, income, credits, filing status. The AUD 1511 follow-up appears when that initial request got no response, an incomplete response, or a response that didn’t include the specific documents the auditor asked for.

The Reed Corporation steps in regularly at the AUD 1511 stage for clients who didn’t know how to respond to the original request—or who were hoping the audit would go away. It won’t. We take over the audit response, organize the documentation, and contact the auditor directly to make sure the follow-up letter is addressed properly and completely.

Ignoring the AUD 1511 means the FTB auditor will complete the audit without your evidence or explanations. That almost always results in a Notice of Proposed Assessment that disallows the deductions, credits, or income adjustments under review—often in the worst possible way for you. Without your documentation to support a business expense, for example, the FTB will simply disallow it. Without records to explain an income discrepancy, the FTB assumes the maximum taxable income.

The resulting NPA will propose additional tax, often with a 20% accuracy-related penalty under Revenue and Taxation Code Section 19164 and daily interest under Section 19521. Once an NPA is issued, you have 60 days to protest it—but if the audit went forward without your documentation, the protest becomes much harder because you’re now arguing against a formal assessment rather than cooperating with an open audit.

The Reed Corporation’s strong recommendation: never let an FTB audit proceed to NPA for lack of response. It costs far more in time, money, and emotional energy to fight a bad NPA than to respond to the AUD 1511 properly from the start. Even if you’ve already missed the original deadline, contact the FTB immediately and request an extension—auditors typically grant them for taxpayers who proactively reach out.

The documents the FTB requests depend on what’s under audit, but common requests include bank statements for all personal and business accounts for the tax year in question, receipts and invoices for claimed deductions, documentation of vehicle mileage if a vehicle deduction was claimed, and records supporting home office deductions. For self-employed taxpayers, the FTB often asks for profit and loss statements, contracts with clients, and evidence of business purpose for travel and meal expenses.

For income-related audits—where the FTB’s matching program found 1099 or K-1 income you didn’t report—you’ll need source documents like the original 1099s, bank deposit records, and your own records reconciling what you received against what you reported. California Revenue and Taxation Code Section 17301 generally requires you to keep records for at least four years after the return due date, though the statute extends to eight years in cases of substantial underreporting.

The Reed Corporation does a document triage before responding to any FTB information request. We review what the FTB asked for, match it against available records, identify any gaps, and figure out the best way to present incomplete or reconstructed records. Auditors understand that five-year-old receipts don’t always survive—what matters is demonstrating a good-faith effort to substantiate your position with whatever records exist.

Yes. The FTB generally grants extension requests for audit correspondence when taxpayers or their representatives ask before the deadline passes. A standard first extension is typically 30 days. To request one, you can call the auditor listed on the AUD 1511 directly or submit a written extension request. The sooner you ask, the better—auditors are more receptive when you contact them proactively rather than calling the day before the deadline.

If you’re working with a tax professional, your representative can often get extensions more easily because the FTB knows a licensed CPA or attorney is engaged and actively working on the response. A valid Power of Attorney on file (California Form 3520-BE) lets your representative communicate directly with the auditor, request extensions, and receive all correspondence. This keeps you out of the middle of back-and-forth communications.

The Reed Corporation files Powers of Attorney and takes over audit communications for clients at the AUD 1511 stage frequently. Once we’re authorized to speak on your behalf, we contact the auditor immediately, request the extension, and then build out the complete documentation package within that window. Most clients find that having a representative involved changes the audit dynamic significantly—auditors tend to move more methodically and professionally when they know a licensed practitioner is handling the response.

The AUD 1511 is a follow-up to an earlier request—typically the AUD 1500 or a similar initial audit letter. The original request opens the audit and asks for documents or information for the first time. The AUD 1511 appears when that original request went unanswered or the response was considered incomplete. The tone is firmer and the deadline is usually shorter. It signals that the auditor’s patience is running out and the audit will move to conclusion with or without your cooperation.

One practical difference: by the time you get an AUD 1511, the audit has been open for some time, which means interest has been accruing on any understated tax the FTB believes you owe. California interest runs from the original return due date—not from when the audit started—so the meter has been running for potentially months or years by the time the 1511 arrives. Getting the audit resolved quickly minimizes the total interest exposure.

The Reed Corporation treats the AUD 1511 as a signal to move fast. Every day of inaction is another day of interest. We’ve resolved audits that were at the AUD 1511 stage by submitting a thorough, well-documented response within two to three weeks of engagement, successfully closing out the audit at zero additional tax owed. The documentation was there—it just needed to be organized and presented in the format the auditor required.