I live in California. My business partner failed to close the LLC we owned because he submitted a certificate of dissolution instead of a certificate of cancellation. I don’t consider it his fault really, because the Secretary of State doesn’t confirm anything when it’s processed. We didn’t receive any notices anything was wrong. About 1.5 years later, I discover that the LLC is, in fact, not closed, and that we owe the FTB $1600 in fees and the IRS $780 in late fees. I’ve paid $1600 of it already ($800/year LLC fee), but there’s $780 in late fees. Is there any strategy to talking to the FTB or IRS and get this reduced or dismissed? It’s gotten very out of hand.