BATON ROUGE –A one-month amnesty program is underway for individuals and businesses who have fallen behind on their taxes.
Louisiana Tax Amnesty 2014 begins today and continues through 11:59 p.m. on November 14, 2014. During the amnesty program, delinquent taxpayers and non-filers can bring their accounts up to date by paying 100 percent of taxes owed, all applicable fees and 50 percent of applied interest. The Louisiana Department of Revenue will waive the remaining half of the interest along with 100 percent of any penalties.
“This is the perfect opportunity for noncompliant taxpayers to bring their accounts up to date,” Secretary of Revenue Tim Barfield said. “If you’ve fallen behind on your obligations, this is your chance to make it right.”
Taxpayers can apply for amnesty online at www.ldrtaxamnesty.com. An application can be completed in about five minutes.
New this year is the opportunity for eligible taxpayers to pay their overdue taxes in installments over a six-month period. Installment agreements require a down payment of at least 20 percent of the amount owed, with final payment due no later than May 1, 2015.
According to LDR records, there are about 450,000 noncompliant tax accounts in Louisiana owing $1.8 billion.
Noncompliant 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 an amnesty period scheduled for 2015, there will be no new amnesty program administered by the Department of Revenue until at least 2025.