LOUISIANA SOCIETY OF ENROLLED AGENTS
Volume 1/Issue 5
LSEA ANNUAL MEETING AND SEMINAR
We made it through the first tax deadline for 2017! Please keep in mind that our annual meeting and summer
seminars will be held June 4-6 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lafayette. If you have registered, we thank you;
Checks will be deposited soon. If you have not registered, you are encouraged to review the brochure and mail
your check to secure your spot for this event.
You have the opportunity to earn 16 hours of quality, face-to-face continuing education. Our speakers this year
are Dick Minot and Helen O’Planick. If you attended our winter event, which we co-sponsor with PTI, you will
recognize Dick’s name. He is an engaging speaker on many topics, and will present our Ethics topic this
year. Helen is a regular contributor to many Facebook pages,
exhibiting her knowledge of tax issues.
In addition, you will be able to interact not only with our two
speakers, but also with many of our tax colleagues, getting ideas on
current problem matters or office management or many other
topics in this industry. As a group we have a wonderful knowledge
base to share, which can be invaluable throughout the year.
It has been confirmed that the Monday night activity will be held at
Crawfish Town in Henderson. The rest of the details are bit of a
mystery. Be on the lookout for more information coming soon to
your email address!!
“For every tax problem there is a solution
which is straightforward, uncomplicated –
and wrong.” — Anonymous
SAVE THE DATE
NAEA Event (DC/ VA area)
Ma y 17 – Fly–In Day
Ma y 18 – A PEX
Ma y 19 – BOD Meeting
Location/Hotel:
Hy att Regency Crystal City
A rlington, VA
LSEA Annual Meeting and
Sem inar (Lafay ette, LA)
Ju ne 4th – 6th
Hot el: Hilton Garden Inn
Regi stration $ 425
PTI Conferences
December 5th – 6th 2017
(Ma r garitaville, Bossier City)
December 6th – 7 th 2017
(BR Ma rriot , Baton Rouge)
Registration $ 395 with a $25 early
di scount rate i f received by PTI by
6/30/2017 . Register at www.ptitax.com.
LEADERSHIP CALL
There is a Board of Director position available. If anyone is interested
in filling this position, please contact Linda Sandidge stating your
interest.
SUPPORT LSEA
When you order 2017 Tax Reference Books from The Tax Book or
Thomson Reuters, a portion of your purchase goes to LSEA. Use
the following codes when placing your order:
The Tax Book – Discount Code 235
Thompson and Reuters – Discount Code Q620
FEDERAL TAX NEWS & UPDATES NEWS &
UPDATES
IRS SEEKS APPLICANTS FOR IRPAC
IR 2017–87, April 19, 2017
WASHINGTON – The Internal Revenue Service is requesting
membership nominations for the Information Reporting Program
Advisory Committee (IRPAC), a federal advisory committee that
provides recommendations to the IRS on various tax administration
issues.
Members are appointed to three–year terms, but terms are staggered
so that approximately one–third of the committee membership
changes each year. Nominations are currently being accepted for up
to seven appointments that will begin in January 2018.
The deadline for submitting applications is May 21, 2017.
IRPAC members are drawn from diverse backgrounds. Members
represent the taxpaying public, tax professional community, small
and large businesses, colleges and universities, state tax
administrations, banks, insurance companies, foreign financial
institutions, and the software and payroll industries.
www.louisianaenrolledagents.org
Officers:
President: Linda Sandidge, EA
Lindaea11@att.net
Secretary: Jennifer Hayes, EA
Treasurer: Stella Little, EA
Immediate Past President:
Lynn Jacobs, EA
Directors:
Faye Touchet, EA
Sandy Brown, EA
Lee Johnson, EA
David Saari, EA
<Open >, EA
IRPAC presents a report to the IRS Commissioner at a public
meeting each fall that includes recommendations to improve the
information reporting program.
Anyone interested in becoming a member of IRPAC may selfnominate
or be nominated by a professional organization. All
nominees must complete an application.
More information including the application form is available on
IRS.gov. Questions about the nomination process may be sent to
publicliaison@irs.gov .
AVOID SUBMITTING DUPLICATE FOIA REQUESTS
V3, 04-21-2017
Headline: Avoid submitting duplicate Freedom of Information Act
requests
Teaser: A single request will be processed more efficiently
To avoid delays to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests,
identify and send only one request to the IRS office that is most likely
to have the records. Do not send the same request to multiple
mailing addresses or fax numbers. See IRS Disclosure Offices and
FOIA Service Centers and mail or fax your request to the most
appropriate location, based on the information you are requesting.
Sending your request to more than one of those locations, or both
mailing and faxing your request can bog down processing and slow
response times. All requests are assigned to appropriate IRS FOIA
queues for processing. When the IRS receives the same request
through multiple channels, staff members need to eliminate
duplicates and ensure proper routing of the request before
processing it.
Before you submit a FOIA request, determine whether the
information you seek can be obtained through
routine agency procedures, which can make access quicker and
easier.
If you need to request information under FOIA, see the IRS FOIA
Guidelines for information and instructions.
OFFER IN COMPROMISE UPDATE
Beginning with Offer applications received on or after March 27,
2017: The IRS will return any newly filed Offer in Compromise
application if you have not filed all required tax returns. Any
Officers:
application fee included with the OIC will also be returned. Any initial payment required with the returned
application will be applied to reduce your balance due. This policy does not apply to current year tax returns if
there is a valid extension on file.
Here are some Resources for your review that can also be found on www.irs.gov:
o Special Edition Tax Tip – IRS Explains How Offer in Compromise Works
o Offer in Compromise
o Tax Topics – Topic 204 Offers In Compromise
PRIVATE DEBT COLLECTION
The Internal Revenue Service began a new private collection program of certain overdue federal tax debts
selecting four contractors to implement it.
The new program, authorized under a federal law enacted by Congress, enables these designated contractors to
collect, on the government’s behalf, outstanding inactive tax receivables. Authorized under a federal law
enacted by Congress in December 2015, Section 32102 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act
(FAST Act) requires the IRS to use private collection agencies for the collection of outstanding inactive tax
receivables.
Get more information here: https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/private-debtcollection
FIELD AUDIT PROCESS
An IRS audit is a review/examination of an organization’s or individual’s accounts and financial information to
ensure information is reported correctly according to the tax laws and to verify the reported amount of tax is
correct. The primary purpose of this communication is that should a taxpayer’s account be selected for audit,
they will notified by mail. The IRS will not initiate an audit by telephone. This is a change over prior practice
which included notifying taxpayers by telephone.
Click on “IRS Audits” to review some common asked questions: IRS Audits
