LAC 61:III.2121 — Reasonable Cause and Good Faith Exception to Presumption in R.S. 47:1604.1(A)(1)

A. Definitions. For purposes of this Section, the following terms shall have the meaning ascribed herein.
Advice—any communication, including the opinion of a professional tax advisor, setting forth the analysis or conclusion of a person, other than the taxpayer, provided to (or for the benefit of) the taxpayer and on which the taxpayer relies, directly or indirectly, with respect to the imposition of the R.S. 47:1604.1 negligence penalty. Advice does not have to be in any particular form.
Professional Tax Advisor—a person or entity whose job duty, function or service focuses on or involves providing tax and tax related advice or products, which may include the preparation of or providing the use of or access to tax returns, forms or documents
Professional Tax Preparer—a person or entity whose job duty, function or service focuses on or involves the preparation of or providing the use of or access to tax returns, forms or documents, which may include providing tax and tax related advice or products.
B. The penalty for negligent failure to comply authorized in R.S. 47:1604.1(A)(1) is presumed to apply when a taxpayer understates his tax liability by ten percent or more, but did not demonstrate a willful disregard of the tax laws.
C. The presumed penalty shall not apply when the understatement was due to reasonable cause where the taxpayer acted in good faith.
D. A determination of reasonable cause and good faith will be made on a case-by-case basis, considering all relevant facts and circumstances.
1. Generally, the most important factor in determining reasonable cause and good faith is the extent of the taxpayer's effort to assess the proper tax liability.
2. Circumstances that may indicate the extent of the taxpayer’s effort to assess the proper tax liability, include but are not limited to:
a. an honest misunderstanding of fact or law that is reasonable in light of all of the facts and circumstances, including the experience, knowledge, and education of the taxpayer;
b. an isolated computational or transcriptional error;
c. Reliance on an information return, advice, or other facts, if under all the circumstances such reliance was reasonable and the taxpayer acted in good faith.
3. Reliance on an information return, including the return of a pass-through entity, or on the advice of a professional tax advisor or tax preparer does not automatically demonstrate reasonable cause and good faith.
a. All facts and circumstances shall be considered when determining whether a taxpayer has reasonably relied in good faith on an information return or the advice of a professional tax advisor or tax preparer. Facts to be considered include, but are not limited to, the taxpayer's education, sophistication and business experience.
b. A determination of whether a taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and in good faith with respect to an underpayment that is related to an item reflected on the return of a pass-through entity will take into account the taxpayer's own actions, as well as the actions of the pass-through entity.
c. Generally, a taxpayer knows, or has reason to know, that the information on an information return is incorrect if such information is inconsistent with other information reported or otherwise furnished to the taxpayer, or with the taxpayer's knowledge of the transaction. This knowledge includes, for example, the taxpayer's knowledge of the terms of his employment relationship or of the rate of return on a payor's obligation.
d. Reliance shall not be considered reasonable or in good faith if the taxpayer knew, or reasonably should have known, that the advice was rendered by a non-tax professional or non-tax preparer, or a professional tax advisor or tax preparer who lacked knowledge in the relevant aspects of federal or Louisiana tax law.
e. The advice relied on by the taxpayer shall be based upon all relevant facts and circumstances and the law as it relates to those facts and circumstances. Reliance shall not be considered reasonable or in good faith if the taxpayer fails to disclose a fact that he knows, or reasonably should know, to be relevant to the proper tax treatment of an item.
f. The advice relied on by the taxpayer shall not be based on unreasonable factual or legal assumptions and shall not unreasonably rely on the un-true or inaccurate assumptions representations, statements, findings, or agreements of the taxpayer or any other person. For example, the advice shall not be based upon a representation or assumption which the taxpayer knows, or has reason to know, is unlikely to be true, such as an inaccurate representation or assumption as to the taxpayer's purposes for entering into a transaction or for structuring a transaction in a particular manner.
g. A taxpayer may not rely on an opinion or advice that a regulation is invalid to establish that the taxpayer acted with reasonable cause and good faith unless the taxpayer discloses the position that the regulation in question is invalid in a statement attached to and filed with the taxpayer’s return containing the understatement.
h. A taxpayer may not rely on an opinion or advice that is contrary to existing, applicable case law.
i. For purposes of this Paragraph, advice is any communication, including the opinion of a professional tax advisor, setting forth the analysis or conclusion of a person, other than the taxpayer, provided to (or for the benefit of) the taxpayer and on which the taxpayer relies, directly or indirectly, with respect to the imposition of the R.S. 47:1604.1 negligence penalty. Advice does not have to be in any particular form.