(a) (1) An individual taxpayer may elect to request a one-time abatement of a timeliness penalty under this section for a timeliness penalty that has been considered and rejected for abatement pursuant to the provisions of the section under which the penalty is imposed.

(2) An individual taxpayer may, in lieu of requesting consideration for abatement pursuant to the section under which the timeliness penalty is imposed, instead request a one-time abatement of a timeliness penalty under this section.

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(b) If a taxpayer described in subdivision (a) requests, either orally or in writing, the abatement of a timeliness penalty pursuant to this section, the timeliness penalty shall be abated if all of the following apply:

(1) The taxpayer has not previously been required to file a California personal income tax return under Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) or has not previously been granted abatement under this section.

(2) The taxpayer has filed all returns required under Part 10 (commencing with Section 17001) as of the date of the taxpayer’s request for abatement under this section.

(3) Excluding the timeliness penalty that is the subject of the abatement request under this section, the taxpayer has paid in full, or arranged to pay pursuant to an installment agreement, any tax, penalties, fees, and interest due for the required returns pursuant to paragraph (2) and the taxpayer is current with all installment payments.

(c) For purposes of this section, “timeliness penalty” means a penalty imposed under Section 19131 or 19132 for one taxable year with respect to a return filed by an individual for that taxable year.

(d) For purposes of this section:

(1) A timeliness penalty imposed and subsequently abated due to a determination of reasonable cause, or reasonable cause and not willful neglect, with respect to the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse shall be considered to have not been imposed for purposes of determining eligibility for timeliness penalty abatement under this section.

(2) A timeliness penalty shall be considered imposed on the original due date of the return for the taxable year for which the penalty is imposed.

(e) Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code shall not apply to any rule, guideline, or procedure prescribed by the Franchise Tax Board pursuant to this section.

(f) This section shall apply to requests for abatement made for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.

(Repealed and added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 55, Sec. 10. (AB 194) Effective June 30, 2022.)