La. Tax Amnesty Program to run Oct. 15 – Nov. 14

Louisiana Tax Amnesty 2014 will be held from October 15 through November 14, 2014, the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) recently announced. The 30-day tax-amnesty program offers noncompliant taxpayers the opportunity to settle their accounts with the state by paying 100 percent of delinquent taxes, with a waiver of all penalties and 50 percent of the interest owed.

New to the amnesty program this year is the option for individual and business taxpayers to pay their overdue tax liabilities through installment payments over a six-month period of time.

Beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 15 through 11:59 p.m. on Nov. 14, eligible taxpayers can apply online at www.ldrtaxamnesty.com. For more information, they can call 866-782-9241.

“Delinquent taxpayers have more options than ever to satisfy their obligations,” Secretary of Revenue Tim Barfield said. “Hopefully, this will encourage everybody who has fallen behind to take this opportunity to make a fresh start.”

The Louisiana State Legislature has set a goal of collecting $100 million for the 2014 Tax Amnesty program.

Taxpayers identified as noncompliant in LDR’s records should expect to receive a letter and/or a recorded telephone message before the start of the amnesty program with instructions for submitting applications and payments online. Contact information is drawn from data taxpayers have submitted to LDR with their tax filings and other communications.

Delinquent taxpayers have a limited amount of time to take advantage of amnesty. According to Act 822 of the 2014 legislative session, after the conclusion of the amnesty period in 2015, there shall be no new amnesty program implemented by the Department of Revenue before Jan. 1, 2025.

This article originally published in the August 18, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.