News

When you owe back taxes to the IRS, you can expect to receive several anxiety-inducing pieces of mail.  Some of the most stressful of them all are coded with “1058” or “LT11” – the Final Notice of Intent to Levy. 

Did you know that many types of IRS Tax Resolution are based on the Taxpayer's current financial "Ability to Pay"?  Eligibility for IRS Offers in Compromise, Currently Not Collectable Status, and certain Installment Agreement options require the IRS to look at the Taxpayers income and assets vs. expenses to determine what the Taxpayer is able to pay.  

If you’re a business owner, you’ve likely been keeping up with the ongoing discussions regarding the Financial Crimes Network’s Beneficial Ownership Information reporting requirements established by the Corporate Transparency Act. 

Congratulations to Attorneys Cary B. Bryson, Angela S. Bryson, and Jessica Byrd Thibodeaux for being named "Super Lawyers" in 2025!

Cary and Angie were listed on the 2025 Louisiana Super Lawyers List. Jessica was listed on the 2025 Louisiana Rising Stars List. 

Super Lawyers, part of Thomson Reuters, is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.

The annual selections are made using a patented multiphase process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates and peer reviews by practice area. The result is a credible, comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys.

The Super Lawyers lists are published nationwide in Super Lawyers Magazines and in leading city and regional magazines and newspapers across the country. Super Lawyers Magazines also feature editorial profiles of attorneys who embody excellence in the practice of law. For more information about Super Lawyers, visit SuperLawyers.com.

If you found yourself one of the 140,000 Americans that used the Biden-Era free tax filing service “Direct File” last year – change could be coming by way of Elon Musk and DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency.) 

It’s The Best Time of The Year – Tax Season! 4 Things to Avoid as You Prepare Your Returns. 

New year – new tax laws?  With a new Administration comes new proposals for tax law changes.  Here are the ones we’re watching:

• With many provisions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act set to expire in 2025, many of those provisions may be extended.
• President Trump has proposed a cut on taxes on overtime pay and tips.
• The estate tax may be eliminated. 
• One proposal is to allow for auto loan interest tax deductible. 
• There has been a 10% import tariff proposed - a universal tax on US imports that would be taxed to the consumers.  
• The SALT tax deduction may be restored. This tax deduction previously allowed all state and local taxes paid to be deducted from the Taxpayer’s IRS bill. In 2017, the deduction was capped at $10,000. 
• Federal taxes on Social Security may be eliminated. Currently, Social Security is subject to federal income tax when there is “combined income” (1/2 of Social Security + other income) of more than $25,000 individual/$32,000 MFJ. The current proposal would eliminate taxes on Social Security entirely. 
• One Representative has introduced a bill that would do away with the current tax code and be replaced with a national consumption tax – the Fair Tax.
• With these new tax plan proposals, some tax breaks may be taken away, such as the mortgage interest deduction, Head of Household filing status, the Child and Dependent Care Credit, American Opportunity Credit, student loan interest deduction, and Lifetime Learning Credit. 

In 2024, we saved our Clients an estimated:

$1,222,025.54 through Audit Representation Efforts

$4,547,020.40 through Collection Statute Expiration Date (CSED) Monitoring Efforts

$125,163.98 through Penalty Abatement Efforts

$5,715,213.70 through Offer in Compromise Efforts

$11,609,423.62 in estimated 2024 Tax Savings!

In support of Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry's proposed tax package, the Louisiana Legislature has passed a 3% flat tax for individuals, reduced the corporate income tax rate, eliminated the corporate franchise tax, temporarily increases the State sales tax rate to 5%. Louisiana will now have the highest combined local and state sales tax in the nation.

This sales tax increase is a step toward Governor Landry's goal of eliminating State income taxes all together, attempting to cover the cost of lost revenue for the State caused by income tax rate reductions with the increased sales tax rate.

A federal court in Texas has issued an order that now prohibits the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act nationwide.  In the Texas Top Cop Shop case brought before the Court this week, the Court held that the Act, which required many small businesses to file a Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report with the US Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) before January 1, 2025, was likely unconstitutional, and that enforcing the Act would harm reporting companies if forced to comply.  As a result, the Court enjoined the enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act in its entirety nationwide.