Larry's Income Tax & Bookkeeping Service

05/27/2026

Judging from a couple of phone calls from clients, it seems that the Treasury department is starting to get those Trump accounts set up! Btw, it's not too late to get your kids signed up if you didn't get a chance to do so with your original tax return filing (if you're a grandparent/aunt/good friend, ask those young family members with kids if they've done this---I was very surprised that many young families hadn't heard about it during their tax appointment).

If you get a message about discrepancies (dob/middle names/etc.), it seems the corrective action is to visit the website and hit the "get started" button to get into your IRS.gov account.

Since it seems that you'll definitely need an IRS.gov account, you should set one up if you don't already have one. You can actually create one from the "get started" landing page.

Check it out: https://trumpaccounts.gov/

Trump Accounts provide eligible American children with tax-advantaged investment accounts courtesy of President Donald J. Trump.

05/22/2026

This Monday we observe Memorial Day. As we grill and chill in our yards, fish at the lake; take a beach vacation to start off the summer, or go shopping for furniture, tires, and mattresses, let's remember those military members who sacrificed their lives while protecting ours.

Historical accounts and constant media and news coverage of wars all over the world can easily desensitize us to accept soldier deaths as the "normal" result of these conflicts. Most of us--unless we've been personally affected---don't think of fallen service members on a regular basis. Some of us may not even realize what Memorial Day is actually observing.

Check out a short history of Memorial Day here, which even offers a suggestion to observe a moment of silence at 3pm to honor those fallen service members. IYKYN

05/21/2026

Those of you with LLC's and corporations (whether profit or nonprofit): remember that you have to renew your "Annual Report" every year with the Secretary of State office.

What that entails is you updating the account and then paying your fee. Used to be in the old days, they'd mail you the renewal form and you mailed your check, now you have to be aware of it.

Note that the due date of the form matches the day you created your LLC, so if you created your company this day, 22 yrs ago, your Annual Report has been due every May 21st for the past 22 yrs (and it's due today!).

Strangely--and definitely luckily---they're not as aggressive with assessing their late fees the minute you're late, but don't test them! Go check your status and renew at the official Sec of State site here (set yourself up for reminder email/text so you don't miss the deadline in future years:

geauxBIZ is your one-stop site for launching your new business in the state of Louisiana. After creating an account, you can:

05/20/2026

If we could only speak to our younger selves!

05/20/2026

Sorry about length. Here's the TL;DR: Tried to guilt you into start saving for your retirement by informing you of a new government IRA matching program, effective for 2027, that could be worth up to an extra $1K for you! Income limits may mean you won't qualify, but situations may change year to year. More details to come.

Those of you who aren't fully retired have probably heard our plea that you should start saving something---no matter the amount---toward your retirement. The sooner the better.

There's really almost no excuse to not participate when your company offers a 401k plan; to not do so may mean you're leaving money on the table, so if that's you---check with HR and get started ASAP.

However, when it's up to you to set up your own IRA, there are a few extra hoops to jump through: if you're a DIY-er, the process is similar to opening a checking account and then selecting quality investments.

If you prefer a broker to handle everything for you, the hardest part will be to carve out that 1-2 hr meeting to get started. Once you get it done, though, you'll be glad you did (more importantly, "Old You" will thank you for thinking of them!).

Few clients can truly say that they have no wiggle room whatsoever in their finances to contribute. They really don't get their cars washed weekly, don't eat out every other day, don't buy new clothes every season, don't have umpteen streaming subscriptions or forgotten gym memberships that barely get used, not leasing cars every 2 yrs, not taking weekend trips/ vacations multiple times per year...etc.

You get the picture. For those folks, it is extremely hard to save when life is happening hard every month. Believe it or not, we've had clients who HAVE started saving in a very modest, but consistent, way---the key is to get started!

Well, here's a new incentive that may perk up your ears: effective in 2027, the government will provide a 50% match into your IRA account---up to $1K!

This program targets taxpayers who have no 401k offered at work---it's not for everyone. The annual income limits totally phase out this break at $35,500 for singles and $71,000 for marrieds. The article suggests reviewing your income each year, as changes may kick you in, or out, of the range. So, think self-employed with swings in their income, students graduating and not starting their jobs til mid-year, young families with only one spouse working, retirees who work part-time (didn't see any age restrictions), those who've been laid off during the year, etc.....so many scenarios could put you within range.

If you've found it hard to even think about starting your retirement plans, we hope you really look at this new tax benefit as your call to action---unless your name is Benjamin Button, none of us are getting any younger!

BTW, when you look up the actual executive order, there aren't too many details, but they'll have a website, TrumpIRA.gov (big surprise there, lol!) available no later than 1/1/27 with the "fine print". Remember, this kicks in next year, not 2026. We like the article's suggestion to get an IRA set up sometime this year, so you'll be used to it and have everything ready to go when 2027 begins.

Anyway, here's the link:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/personalfinance/kiplinger-trump-s-new-ira-is-launching-january-1-2027-with-a-1-000-government-match-for-eligible-savers/ar-AA23BuuZ?ocid=BingNewsSerp

Quick Read The Federal Saver’s Match provides a $1,000 annual government match (50% of up to $2,000 in contributions) to eligible lower and middle-income workers without workplace retirement plans starting January 1, 2027, through TrumpIRA.gov, a federally administered platform directing savers to...

05/19/2026

Not that every dollar hasn't counted before, but, in times when everyone is trying to cut expenses, here's a little break for our seniors who own their homes. If you're not over 65, then tell your parents, relatives, and friends about the "senior freeze" on their property taxes.

Basically, when you reach 65, you'll want to run over to your assessor's office and apply for this special benefit, shielding you from any future property tax hikes (if you voted this past weekend, you may have seen a few of those on the ballots!).

There are some requirements, concisely and effectively described here on the St Tammany assessor site:

To qualify for a Senior Citizen’s Special Assessment or “Senior Freeze” you must be 65 years of age or older and meet the income requirement set forth by the Louisiana legislature. The current income level is a combined income of...

05/15/2026

Nice little page to check out tips from everyone's favorite uncle!

They add a tip every few days, so make it a habit to spend 3-5 minutes a week to keep your tax IQ at a high level!

Tax tips offer easy-to-read information about a wide range of topics.

05/14/2026

Btw, form 843 has to be completed and mailed to IRS---there's no electronic option.

Use the mailing address for "not enclosing a payment", based on your state:

Find mailing addresses by state for taxpayers and tax professionals for filing Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR.

05/14/2026

To businesses and individuals who paid late penalties when filing 2019-2022 tax returns (filed between the COVID years, 2020-2023): you'll want to read this article.

Basically, what's going on is that IRS lost a court case recently, and some late fees assessed during those years shouldn't have been assessed at all.

Filing form 843 is the way to ask IRS to refund those fees to you.

The article warns that the Dept of Justice will likely appeal, which means that you won't get any money any time soon (or ever, if it gets reversed), but you must file form 843 by July 10, 2026 in order to have a shot at getting anything back.

I really like the suggestion that the easiest way to figure out whether you even paid late fees back in those years is to pull up your tax return transcripts for each of those years by logging into your irs.gov account (you have accounts for everything--streaming, shopping, etc...may as well get yourself an irs.gov account!)

Anyway, check it out:
https://touchdownwire.usatoday.com/story/money/personal-finance/susan-tompor/2026/05/12/covid-tax-refund-penalties-interest-irs/89959102007/

A court ruling could allow refunds of IRS penalties and interest from 2020–2023, but most taxpayers must file Form 843 by July 10.

05/13/2026

A couple of weeks ago, we posted about clients receiving CP53E notices. These are IRS letters alerting folks that their checking account number was incorrect/missing/turned away by the bank, which means their refunds can't be direct deposited.

Was talking to an ADP rep last week, and she told me this was a hot topic, so we want to help put your mind at ease if you've received one of these letters.

First, this is not a 100% all-out Persistent Old Scammer (POS) attack. These are indeed legitimate letters from IRS. However, some POS's are definitely trying to exploit it by changing some information contained in the letters and directing you to their nefarious sites (that's what we linked to a couple weeks ago).

To add to the confusion, locally, a couple of credit unions changed their routing numbers last year---and even their customers account numbers---so it could very well be that the account info on your tax return was incorrect, and you didn't realize it.

OK, so now that we know there are legit reasons to get this, what do you do? How do you know this is legit? You weren't even expecting a refund and you still got this letter---that's a POS, right...right!?! Not necessarily---folks may have omitted an estimated payment....or they forgot their refund carryover from prior years....or entered incorrect withholding amount....or IRS may have made an adjustment (we had a couple clients for whom IRS reduced the late payment penalty we had estimated).

But the short answer on how to approach these letters is to go straight to the IRS.gov page below and update your information online---whether or not the letter is legit will not matter because you will be within the safety of the IRS website. Just go straight to the source and don't call, type links, or click on QR codes.

One last thing...IRS says they only send that letter once. Be aware that a POS may send out a more forceful follow up letter (or call you) to create a sense of urgency and force you into giving them your financial info. Don't fall for it.

If you do nothing, after 30 days, IRS will continue to process your refund and issue you a paper check within 2-3 months. This is the one case where you CAN ignore an IRS letter and not have to worry about anything!

https://www.irs.gov/individuals/understanding-your-cp53e-notice

A recent Executive Order 14247 led to changes in the direct deposit options you now have available. The new direct deposit change will allow individual taxpayers to provide us with a new or updated bank account to receive their tax refund via direct deposit if certain conditions are met.