June 4, 2026 | GableGotwals has been recognized by Chambers USA 2026 as a leading firm in the areas of Corporate/Commercial (Band 1), Energy & Natural Resources (Band 1), Environment (Band 1), Insurance (Band 1), Intellectual Property (Band 2), Labor & Employment (Band 3), Litigation – General Commercial (Band 1), Native American Law (Band 1), Real Estate (Band 2), and Tax (Band 1) in Oklahoma by Chambers & Partners. In addition, 25 GableGotwals attorneys have also been recognized as leaders in their field.

Chambers rankings are assessed on technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client. Interviews are conducted with peers outside of the firm and clients in order to determine inclusion and rankings.

Attorneys recognized include:

Corporate/Commercial – Band 1

Jason B. Coutant (Band 3)

Jeffrey D. Hassell (Band 1)

Thomas Hutchison (Band 3)

Stephen W. Lake (Band 2)

Energy & Natural Resources – Band 1

Rob Robertson (Band 3)

Environment – Band 1

Lloyd Landreth (Band 1)

Tim Sowecke (Up and Coming)

Insurance – Band 1

Lance Leffel (Band 2)

Carrie McNeer (Up and Coming)

Leasa Stewart (Band 1)

Intellectual Property – Band 2

James F. Lea, III (Band 3)

Todd A. Nelson (Band 1)

Paul E. Rossler (Band 3)

David G. Woodral (Band 2)

Labor & Employment – Band 3

Ellen Adams (Band 3)

Chris S. Thrutchley (Band 2)

Litigation—General Commercial – Band 1

Adam Doverspike (Band 3)

Amelia A. Fogleman (Band 2)

Robert G. McCampbell (Band 2)

Amy Stipe (Band 3)

Native American Law – Band 1

Amelia A. Fogleman (Band 3)

Dean Luthey (Band 1)

Barrett L. Powers (Up and Coming)

Trent Shores (Band 2)

Real Estate – Band 2

Tina N. Soin (Band 3)

Tax – Band 1

James Scears (Band 2)

June 5, 2025 | GableGotwals has been recognized by Chambers USA 2025 as a leading firm in the areas of Corporate/Commercial (Band 1), Energy & Natural Resources (Band 1), Environment (Band 1), Insurance (Band 1), Intellectual Property (Band 2), Labor & Employment (Band 3), Litigation – General Commercial (Band 1), Native American Law (Band 1), Real Estate (Band 2), and Tax (Band 1) in Oklahoma by Chambers & Partners. In addition, 24 GableGotwals attorneys have also been recognized as leaders in their field.

Chambers rankings are assessed on technical legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial astuteness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client. Interviews are conducted with peers outside of the firm and clients in order to determine inclusion and rankings.

Attorneys recognized include:

Corporate/Commercial – Band 1

Jason B. Coutant (Band 3)

Jeffrey D. Hassell (Band 1)

Stephen W. Lake (Band 2)

Thomas Hutchison (Band 3)

Energy & Natural Resources – Band 1

Rob Robertson (Band 3)

Terry Ragsdale (Band 2)

Environment – Band 1

Lloyd Landreth (Band 1)

Insurance – Band 1

Leasa Stewart (Band 1)

Lance Leffel (Band 2)

Carrie McNeer (Up and Coming)

Intellectual Property – Band 2

James F. Lea, III (Band 3)

Todd A. Nelson (Band 1)

David G. Woodral (Band 2)

Paul E. Rossler (Band 3)

Labor & Employment – Band 3

Chris S. Thrutchley (Band 2)

Ellen Adams (Band 3)

Litigation—General Commercial – Band 1

David Bryant (Senior Statespeople)

Amelia A. Fogleman (Band 2)

Robert G. McCampbell (Band 3)

Native American Law – Band 1

Amelia A. Fogleman (Band 3)

Dean Luthey (Band 1)

Barrett L. Powers (Up and Coming)

Trent Shores (Band 2)

Real Estate – Band 2

Tina N. Soin (Band 3)

Tax – Band 1

James Scears (Band 2)

January 31, 2023 | By: Sheppard F. Miers, Jr.

The Oklahoma Tax Commission has published proposed changes to the administrative rules applicable to Oklahoma taxes (“OTC Proposed Rules”) for 2023.

The OTC Proposed Rules are formal statements of policy written by the Tax Commission as a state agency which have the effect of law if adopted and promulgated in accordance with the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act. The OTC Proposed Rules are published for consideration and approval pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act during the 2023 session of the Legislature. Persons wishing to present their views in writing may do so during a designated comment period and may appear at a scheduled hearing before the Tax Commission on the proposed changes. The published OTC Rules state persons wishing to present their views in writing may do so by February 7, 2023, and a hearing is scheduled for February 8, 2023, at the Tax Commission. The full text of the changes and additions stated in the OTC Proposed Rules, and further information on submitting comments and hearing on the rules, are published online by the Oklahoma Tax Commission at its website at http://www.tax.ok.gov.

The following is a summary of some of the changes stated in the OTC Proposed Rules for 2023.

Income Tax

Title 710, Chapter 50., Okla. Admin. Code

The proposed rules for Oklahoma income tax include changes and additions with respect to elimination of the existing $20,000 annual income tax deduction for nonrecurring adoption expenses and adding a new, refundable income tax credit for nonrecurring adoption expenses; rules to implement a change in the income tax law which authorized the decoupling of bonus depreciation so taxpayers may elect to not follow the federal bonus depreciation phase-out schedule; and a change in rules that implements the amended credit for qualified clean-burning motor vehicle fuel property.

Sales and Use Tax

Title 710, Chapter 65., Okla. Admin. Code

The proposed rules for Oklahoma sales and use tax include changes and additions with respect to a change in law which levies a tax at the rate of $0.03 per kilowatt hour or its equivalent on the electric current used to charge or recharge the battery or batteries of an electric vehicle, beginning January 1, 2024, with the vehicle charging tax collected and remitted to the Tax Commission to be in lieu of state and local sales tax; changes to clarify the taxability treatment of medical appliances, medical devices and other medical equipment furnished to Medicare/Medicaid program recipients, and the taxability treatment of drugs and prosthetic equipment; changes for expanding the sales tax exemption for surviving spouses of 100% disabled veterans to include sales to the surviving spouse of a veteran; changes for a sales tax exemption for sales of tangible personal property or services to a qualified nonprofit entity, the principal functions of which are to provide assistance to a natural person following a disaster, with program emphasis on repair or restoration to single family residential dwellings or the construction of a replacement single-family residential dwelling; rules for exempting from the sales tax sales to or by a women’s veteran’s organization, and its subchapters in Oklahoma, that is exempt from federal income taxation and is known as the Oklahoma Women Veterans Organization; a change providing a sales tax exemption for sales of tangible personal property or services to an organization that provides support to veterans, active duty members of the Armed Forces, reservists and members of the National Guard to assist with the transition to civilian life; and rule changes relating to direct pay permits, which allow hospitals, similar institutions and medical practitioners to purchase certain medical appliances, medical devices and other medical equipment without the payment of sales or use tax to the vendor, and refunds of sales tax in that context.

Ad Valorem (Property) Tax

Title 710, Chapter 10, Okla. Admin. Code

The proposed rules for Oklahoma ad valorem tax include changes and additions with respect to extended jurisdiction of the Court of Tax Review to complaints challenging an order of the county board of equalization sustaining a valuation of real or personal property with a fair cash value determined by the county assessor in excess of $3 million; a new requirement that at the time of filing a protest which relates to proposed increases of existing property values, the taxpayer must also file the form provided for listing of real or tangible personal property; and a change providing that at the time of filing a protest of valuation by a taxpayer the county assessor shall provide the taxpayer a standard schedule prepared by the OTC which includes all procedural deadlines and the consequences of failing to meet each deadline.

 

Gross Production Tax

Title 710, Chapter 45, Okla. Admin. Code

The proposed rules for Oklahoma gross production tax include changes and additions with respect to economically at-risk leases, and secondary and tertiary recovery projects.

If you have questions about the proposed Oklahoma Tax Commission rules, or other federal or state or local tax law matters, please contact any member of the GableGotwals tax law team.

This summary is provided for educational and information purposes only and does not contain legal advice. Information stated herein is not intended to be used by any taxpayer to avoid penalties under tax laws.

January 20, 2023 | By: David B. McKinney, James M. Scears, and Emily Ramseyer

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, Public Law No. 117-328, signed into law by the President on December 29, 2022, includes the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (“SECURE 2.0 Act”), providing many favorable changes in federal tax law affecting retirement benefits.

The following summarizes some of the significant changes enacted.

Retirement Benefit Provision	Existing Law in 2022	SECURE 2.0 Act	Discussion and Effect
Required beginning date of retirement distributions	Plan participants and IRA owners must begin taking distributions at a required beginning date of age 72.	Plan participants and IRA owners must begin taking distributions at a required beginning date of age 73 in 2023 and 75 starting in 2033.	The new required beginning dates allow plan participants and IRA owners to defer taxable plan distributions for longer periods.
Early Withdrawal of Retirement Benefits	Withdrawals are allowed for stated hardship situations without incurring an additional 10% income tax.	SECURE 2.0 Act provides a $1,000 distribution exception for emergency expense if unforeseeable or for immediate financial needs, after 2023.	Access to retirement plan accounts is provided for expenses related to emergencies without incurring an additional 10% income tax.
Tax Credit for Retirement Saving Changed to Saver’s Match	A refundable federal income tax credit is allowed to certain individuals who make contributions to 401(k) plans and IRAs.	SECURE 2.0 Act changes the tax credit to a matching contribution to be deposited to the 401(k) account or IRA of an individual, after 2026, subject to limitations.	An individual saving by contributing to a 401(k) plan or IRA gets a matching contribution of 50% of his or her individual contribution, up to $2,000.
Catch-Up Contributions	Under the law in 2022, employees attaining age 50 are permitted to make catch-up contributions under a retirement plan in excess of generally applicable limits.	SECURE 2.0 Act increases the catch-up contribution limits after 2024 for individuals who have attained ages 60 thru 63, indexed for inflation.	Substantially increased  retirement plan catch-up contributions will be allowed for employees approaching normal retirement age.
Student Loan Repayment Matching Contributions	Under law existing in 2022 there is no provision for student loan repayments to be taken into account with respect to employee contributions to a 401(k) plan.	SECURE 2.0 Act  allows matching contributions  under a 401(k) plan after 2023 for student loan repayments made by the employee for qualified higher education expenses.	Student loan repayment matching contributions help an employee add to retirement savings while paying off a student loan that reduces his/her ability to contribute to a 401(k) plan.

The SECURE 2.0 Act provides numerous other changes in federal tax law governing retirement benefits and employer sponsorship and administration of retirement plans. The changes include provisions to increase retirement savings by individuals, simplify and clarify retirement plan rules, make technical amendments to previously enacted law, enact administrative and revenue provisions, and provide for federal judge retirement plans.

If you have questions or would like to discuss the SECURE 2.0 Act, how it may affect you, an employer, or a retirement plan, please contact any attorney of GableGotwals you know or our Tax Law Practice Group, which includes:

David B. McKinney 918-595-4860 dmckinney@gablelaw.com	James M. Scears 918-595-4879 jscears@gablelaw.com	Emily Ramseyer

This alert is provided for information purposes. It does not contain legal advice or create an attorney-client relationship and is not intended or written to be used and may not be used by any person for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under federal or state tax laws. The information and explanations stated in this alert are based on initial consideration of new law after its enactment and may be subject to different interpretations of the law and its meaning and effect in the future.