I Got a Notice From the IRS – What Should I Do?

The IRS will send a notice or a letter for any number of reasons. It may be about a specific issue on your federal tax return or account, or may tell you about changes to your account, ask you for more information, or request a payment. Before you proceed, check where the notice came from – make sure it’s from …

Should Louisiana Raise Taxes Again?

Two interesting and related articles this morning – the first from The Advocate regarding a poll about raising taxes during the upcoming Special Session: FULL ARTICLE ON BUSINESSREPORT.COM “Roughly seven in 10 Louisianans, or 72%, believe increasing taxes will keep businesses from relocating to The Bayou State, according to the results of a poll of 500 “likely voters” released Tuesday …

Changes to Louisiana Corporate Franchise Law Tax

The changes to the Louisiana corporate franchise tax adopted during the Session appear to be potentially more far reaching than the changes to the state sales and use tax. For tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2017, Act 12 (signed by the Governor and effective March 10, 2016) expands the Louisiana corporate franchise tax to all entities (whether …

Changes to Tax Status of Non-Profits

A number of changes were made during the Special Session under Act 25 and 26 to the tax status of non-profit organizations in Louisiana. These changes to sales taxes are of particular concern because non-profits must now collect sales tax for items which were previously tax-exempt. Effective April 1, 2016, various events sponsored by domestic nonprofit, charitable, religious and educational …

2016 Tax Deadlines

This year, the tax deadline falls on April 18, 2016. That’s the deadline to file personal tax returns (such as Form 1040) with the Internal Revenue Service. Normally, the deadline is April 15th. But this year, April 15th is Emancipation Day, a legal holiday in the District of Columbia. Under a special rule, whenever the tax deadline falls on a …

Louisiana Fiscal Reform: A Framework for the Future

The Tax Foundation has completed an exhaustive study of the tax structure of Louisiana and produced a book which is meant to guide the State in achieving the goal of true fiscal reform. The Tax Foundation’s team of tax economists met with stakeholders from all walks of Louisiana life, including small business owners, local government officials, trade associations, industry representatives, …

Update: Important Changes To Sales and Corporate Taxes

Louisiana recently passed significant changes affecting the application of sales and use tax. These changes go into effect April 1, 2016 and remain in effect for 18 months, ending after June 30, 2018. The temporary taxes include a 1% increase to Louisiana’s 4% sales tax and the lessening of many sales tax exemptions. Louisiana’s state-level sales and use tax is …

Don’t Make These Costly Tax Mistakes

About half of the nation’s taxpayers do their own taxes because they think it will save them money. The truth is that do-it-yourselfers often leave money on the table because they don’t fully understand tax law and miss many opportunities to lower their overall tax bill. From choosing the wrong filing status to not itemizing, many filers leave about $400 …

Tax Advice for Couples

Married couples can choose to file jointly or separately but there are considerations for both approaches. When filing separately, both taxpayers have to agree to do so, and both have to agree to either itemize deductions on Schedule A or claim the standard deduction. More couples are choosing to file jointly due to tax-law changes during the past few years …