05 / 06 / 14

"Louisiana Tax Amnesty 2014 - Round Two!"

The Louisiana legislature is working hard on House Bill 663 to approve another round of tax amnesty to begin in the Fall of 2014. The apparent motive appears to center on helping the state balance the budget for the upcoming fiscal year which begins on July 1st. Lawmakers hope to raise approximately $10 million by enticing delinquent taxpayers to come forward and pay.

One major change from the 2013 program is that the 2014 plan allows for installments! The 2013 program required full payment of the tax portion in order to receive the penalty and interest waivers. The 2014 program allows the tax portion to be paid-off over the span of six months. In exchange, taxpayers participating in the 2014 plan will have 67% of their penalties waived, and 33% of their interest written off.

The second major changes is that the 2014 amnesty program will last for only one month. The 2013 program ran for two months.

If you have unfiled Louisiana tax returns (personal, business, sales, etc.) you should work now to get them prepared and filed. You can't take advantage of the amnesty penalty and interest waivers unless the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) has a tax bill on file for you. Starting now will give your tax professional time for accurate preparation and filing. This will in turn give the LDR ample time to process the returns and make the assessments before amnesty begins.

Call us or email us through this website for a free, initial evaluation of your state tax issues.