Maraist & Maraist CPA's

08/25/2026

HIRING: Office Asst for regional construction firm. Must be proficient in MS Office suite products, able to send professional emails, organized, task list oriented. Position is in office in St Martinville, LA. Approx 25-30 hrs per week to start but will transition to full time. On the job training specific to the industry with potential to grow. Send resume' to [email protected]

12/22/2025

https://maraistcpas.com/safesend

Maraist & Maraist CPA's now uses SafeSend for all sensitive document transmissions online. You will receive an email from us in the new year requesting all documents be sent to us through the SafeSend portal. This portal also allows for digital signing of documents and payment of taxes electronically through the SafeSend portal.

For more information visit the link above

03/31/2025

Our office is still without power or internet as of 11am. If you are trying to reach the office you will get a busy signal until power is restored. Thanks.

05/23/2023

We have started to move our firm downtown to 215 S Main Street in St. Martinville. We should be fully operational there on Tuesday May 30. Thanks for your patience as we transition to our new office space.

05/23/2023

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-pandemic-era-tax-break-keeping-the-irs-up-at-night-f139e439?mod=business_minor_pos4

Employers have received more than $150 billion and the IRS is struggling to process another 800,000 claims for the employee-retention tax credit.

05/18/2023

As we begin our move downtown to 215 S. Main in St. Martinville, some customers may experience busy signals when calling the office as we have ported some phone lines over already. We should be completely moved over after Memorial Day and the issue will be resolved by then. Thanks and have a blessed day.

04/05/2023

When people are beating down your door to get you to take money there is usually a catch. We urge all business owners to take their CPA's advice and not these fly by night companies. The IRS has posted warnings about these companies 3 times in the last 45 days. Sadly many businesses will be persuaded to claim the credit and will be liable to pay it back with penalty and interest when these companies are long gone.

03/08/2023

IRS issues renewed warning on Employee Retention Credit claims; false claims generate compliance risk for people and businesses claiming credit improperly

IR-2023-40, March 7, 2023

WASHINGTON -- The Internal Revenue Service today issued a renewed warning urging people to carefully review the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) guidelines before trying to claim the credit as promoters continue pushing ineligible people to file.

The IRS and tax professionals continue to see third parties aggressively promoting these ERC schemes on radio and online. These promoters charge large upfront fees or a fee that is contingent on the amount of the refund. And the promoters may not inform taxpayers that wage deductions claimed on the business’ federal income tax return must be reduced by the amount of the credit.

“While this is a legitimate credit that has provided a financial lifeline to millions of businesses, there continue to be promoters who aggressively mislead people and businesses into thinking they can claim these credits,” said Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O’Donnell. “Anyone who is considering claiming this credit needs to carefully review the guidelines. If the tax professional they’re using raises questions about the accuracy of the Employee Retention Credit claim, people should listen to their advice. The IRS is actively auditing and conducting criminal investigations related to these false claims. People need to think twice before claiming this.”

02/13/2023

Let me help ease the most stressful time of the year: tax season! Right now you should be prepping your documents, so let’s go over the 6 things we need to file for you.

✏️ Income statements – to show how much you made from your job or business.
✏️ Other income statements – for income like investments or Social Security payments.
✏️ Tax deduction records – to claim deductions like charitable donations or mortgage interest.
✏️ Expense receipts – to claim deductions like medical bills, educational expenses, or charitable donations.
✏️ Personal info – full name and SSN (or TIN) for you, your spouse, and your dependents.
✏️ A copy of your last tax return – to help us see what changes there will be this year.

Once you have these all rounded up, we’ll take it from there! If you have any questions or aren’t certain about a specific form, don’t hesitate to email or call.

09/14/2022

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/09/14/irs-refunding-late-fees/

The IRS is refunding $1.2 billion in late fees. Taxpayers who still haven't filed their 2019 or 2020 returns have until Sept. 30 to get the penalty relief.