Tennessee – 2014 Legislative Highlights

Method of Tax Assessments and Informal Conference Process Revamped

Public Chapter No. 854 

Effective January 1, 2015, the method of issuing tax assessments and the informal conference process available to taxpayers will be revamped. 2014 Tenn. Pub. Acts 854. Touted as being more taxpayer-friendly, the two most significant changes are the use of notices of "proposed assessments" to allow for informal review before those assessments become final and the manner in which the informal conference reviews will be conducted.

Notice of Proposed Assessment. The Department of Revenue's method of issuing tax assessments will be changed to a two-step process. In every case in which an assessment is to be issued, the Commissioner first will issue a "notice of proposed assessment" accompanied by a notice to the taxpayer of the right to request an informal conference within 30 days of the proposed assessment. If an informal conference is requested, the proposed assessment does