SACRAMENTO- The IRS is conducting an 18-month audit regarding tax reporting associated with personal use of California's state-owned or -leased vehicles in 2008, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The IRS requested that the Department of General Services (DGS) assist the State Controller's Office (SCO) by obtaining a list of all civil service and exempt employees from each department and agency that had state-owned or -leased vehicles assigned to them and/or home storage permits authorized during calendar year 2008, according to a Jan. 27 memo from DGS Acting Director Ron Diedrich.

This follows an internal audit last year conducted by Caltrans that determined 38 percent of Caltrans home storage permits issued did not appear to have a justified or documented need for the permit and 91 percent of Caltrans employees with personal use of state vehicles did not properly report the personal use for payroll/tax purposes, reported the Bee.