Free Louisiana Tax Calculator

Louisiana uses a flat 3% income tax for 2026: the flat rate (effective 2025) replaced the old 1.85%-4.75% bracket system. Louisiana pairs it with a generous standard deduction of $12,875 single / $25,750 married plus a $4,500 deduction per dependent. The federal standard deduction does NOT apply — the state deduction stands alone, which keeps the effective rate low for middle earners.

The math on $70,000 single: taxable income after the $12,875 state deduction is $57,125, all of it taxed at the flat 3% — about $1,714, a strikingly low 2.4% effective rate. Louisiana is genuinely one of the cheapest income-tax states for middle earners.

Louisiana fully exempts Social Security and gives a generous retirement exclusion: up to $6,000 per person of annual retirement income (pensions, 401(k), IRA) escapes state tax, plus military pensions are fully exempt. New Orleans adds no city income tax on wages (there's a peculiar occupational license tax for businesses, not employees).

Property tax averages 0.74% — low — but sales tax is the opposite: 9.55% combined average, the HIGHEST in the nation, driven by a 4.45% state rate plus some of the country's highest local add-ons. Louisiana's revenue model shifts burden from income/property to consumption, which is worth factoring into relocation math.

Filing in Louisiana: the resident return is Form IT-540, sent to the Louisiana Department of Revenue — and Louisiana's deadline is May 15, a full month after the federal deadline, the latest state filing deadline in the country. Free e-file is available.