Provides relative to the time period to appeal a notice of assessment or the disallowance of a refund claim. (8/1/26) (EG SEE FISC NOTE GF RV See Note)

Senate Bill 196 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 to extend the appeal period for tax assessments and refund claim denials from sixty calendar days to ninety calendar days across multiple contexts. Specifically, the bill modifies provisions governing local sales and use tax assessments under R.S. 47:337.51 and 337.53, state income tax and other assessments under R.S. 47:1565, and refund claim disallowances under R.S. 47:1625. The amendments affect the time within which taxpayers may pay assessments, appeal to the Board of Tax Appeals for redetermination, pay under protest and pursue litigation or alternative remedies, and appeal denials of refund claims. The effective date is August 1, 2026.

This legislation directly impacts taxpayers subject to Louisiana tax assessments and collectors or the Department of Revenue responsible for administering local and state taxes. Taxpayers gain an additional thirty days beyond the current sixty-day period to respond to assessment notices by paying the full amount, appealing to the Board of Tax Appeals, or paying under protest. The extended timeline also applies when taxes are in jeopardy and property has been distrained, giving taxpayers ninety days from payment or posting bond to appeal rather than sixty days. Local tax collectors and the Department of Revenue must update their notice procedures and internal timelines to reflect the ninety-day appeal period, and the Board of Tax Appeals will face potential increases in workload as the extended period may encourage more taxpayers to pursue appeals they might otherwise have abandoned due to time constraints.

These amendments operate within Louisiana's administrative tax system established in Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes. The changes preserve the existing framework under which assessments proceed through administrative review by the Board of Tax Appeals before judicial review, and they maintain the alternative remedies of protest and litigation available to taxpayers. The extension aligns appeal periods across different types of tax assessments and refund denials, creating consistency in the law. The bill does not alter the underlying substantive standards for assessment validity or refund eligibility but rather extends the procedural windows for asserting those rights, ensuring taxpayers have adequate time to gather documentation, seek professional advice, and prepare responses to tax assessments or refund denials.