Lynn..question about La. exempted retirement income

[Cathy]

Has anyone noticed that the LA Dept. of Rev. has changed their instructions on Schedule E?  In the years past, a taxpayer who has Louisiana retirement income could get an exemption for different retirement exempted items such as State retirees, Federal retirees, Fire and Police retirees, City retirees, etc...  Such as the case if the taxpayer had Louisiana retirement (no matter the total) and also up to $6,000 of other retirement if they were 65.  I pulled the instructions on both 2018 and 2019, and their is definitely different instructions.

Unless the actual law was changed, and I doubt that it was due to the election year in 2019, it appears that someone new and/or too young doesn't remember the lawsuit that changed how each and every state was forced to exempt Federal retirement if they had exempted their State's own  retirement.  It seems that Louisiana was right in the middle of the lawsuit if I remember correctly. 

The new instructions puts a kink in that law as those people with exempted retirement incomes now have lost the other exemption (such as IRA's or employer retirement) that could have exempted an additional $6,000 in income.  Another slap in the face to the teachers!

In the case that someone found something somewhere in the Revised Statutes that prevented the way of taxing retirement, one might think that we, as taxpayers and tax preparers, should have been informed!!!

OK...my soap box is getting tired.  Back to work!

[Cathy]

POOF...AND THE INSTRUCTIONS HAVE BEEN CHANGED (RECENTLY UPDATED...)

Don't know what happened, while on hold for ATX because a retirement check would not show as retirement on page 1 of the 1040.  The amount of the retirement would only appear in box 1 as Wages, tips and other compensation.  I actually fixed it while on hold for the technician...deleted the 1099-R and re-entered it.  I asked the tech what is going on with the program and she kind of laughed and said yeah, you know with changes with the instructions even we have to go back.....ahhhhhh.  Don't go on hold.  Just post your problem and POOF, it will be fixed.

Especially the newbies, just be very careful.  I haven't ever seen a program making these (and other kinds of errors) in all of my career.