Clear Money Guide
What this state guide covers
A quick view of the questions, practical details and source notes below.
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2026 edition · statute-cited · part of Clear Money Guide’s 51-state retirement tax series. This guide covers state taxes on retirement income and estate transfers; property and sales taxes vary by county and are outside its scope.
Updated July 24, 2026. Quick answer: Louisiana rewrote its income tax and most retirement guides haven’t caught up: as of tax year 2025 the state levies a flat 3% (Act 11, 2024 Third Extraordinary Session) — the old 1.85%/3.5%/4.25% brackets are gone — and the 65+ exclusion for private retirement income doubled to $12,000 per person. Social Security and government pensions (federal, Louisiana state/local, Louisiana public systems) were already fully exempt. No estate tax; the inheritance tax has been dead since mid-2004.
The Act 11 corrections (flat 3%, $12,000 at 65+)
Two figures to fix in older coverage: the rate — a flat 3% from TY2025, replacing the three-bracket schedule still quoted across the web — and the age-65 exclusion for private pensions, 401(k)s and IRAs, which rose from $6,000 to $12,000 per person effective TY2025 (La. R.S. 47:44.1(A)). A 65+ couple can shelter $24,000 of private retirement income on top of fully exempt Social Security and any government pension — then pay just 3% on the rest, among the lowest rates of any income-taxing state.
How Louisiana taxes retirement income (statute-cited)
| Income tax | Flat 3% (Act 11, effective TY2025) |
| Social Security | Not taxed (fully exempt) |
| Government pensions | Fully exempt: federal, Louisiana state/local, Louisiana public retirement systems |
| Private pension / 401(k) / IRA | 65+: exclude up to $12,000/person (raised from $6,000, TY2025); flat 3% above |
| Military retirement | Fully exempt (incl. Survivor Benefit Plan income) |
| Estate / inheritance tax | None (inheritance tax repealed for deaths after June 30, 2004) |
Succession (probate, Louisiana-style): the 2.5% commission and the $200,000 small succession
Louisiana’s civil-law system calls it succession, and the executor’s default statutory commission is 2.5% of the gross inventory value absent a testament provision or agreement (La. C.C.P. art. 3351); attorney fees are reasonable with no schedule. Estates of a decedent domiciled in Louisiana with gross property of $200,000 or less at death qualify as a small succession (La. C.C.P. art. 3421), with an affidavit procedure (art. 3431 et seq.) that skips court administration — among the higher small-estate lines in the South. Context: probate cost by state · small-estate limits by state.
Is Louisiana a good state to retire in for taxes?
Post-Act 11, genuinely strong: exempt Social Security and government pensions, $12,000/person private exclusion at 65+, and a flat 3% that undercuts every neighbor with an income tax. Government retirees do best; even portfolio retirees pay less here than in most of the South. The planning notes are structural — Louisiana’s community-property and forced-heirship rules make estate documents matter more than tax rates — and that 2.5% executor commission rewards a well-planned succession.
Louisiana vs. common alternatives
| State | Social Security | Pension / 401(k) / IRA | Estate tax | Inheritance tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | Not taxed | Gov pensions exempt; $12,000/person at 65+ otherwise (flat 3%) | None | None |
| Mississippi | Not taxed | Qualified retirement income fully exempt | None | None |
| Texas | Not taxed | Not taxed (no income tax) | None | None |
| Florida | Not taxed | Not taxed (no income tax) | None | None |
Comparison rows summarize general rules; see our 51-state retirement tax table for statute-cited detail.
Considering a Roth conversion? The converted amount is taxed as ordinary income in the year you convert, and Louisiana may treat it differently from the retirement income above — see how all 51 jurisdictions tax Roth conversions.
Finding a financial advisor in Louisiana
Per the SEC’s July 2026 Investment Adviser roster, Louisiana has 79 SEC-registered advisory firms (#32 nationally) managing $98.1 billion (#34 by AUM). Full breakdown: Louisiana advisor statistics. Reviewing fee structures: fee-drag calculator.
What probate costs in Louisiana
Louisiana uses a hybrid standard — a statutory ceiling or floor with reasonableness applied inside it — so the fee has a bound but not a fixed number. Its small-estate route of $200,000 reaches real property only where the decedent died intestate — La. C.C.P. art. 3431 opens the small-succession affidavit to an intestate Louisiana domiciliary with no exclusion for immovables, and closes it to a testate domiciliary who left immovable property here. Full detail with the governing statute, the court filing fee and the threshold: Louisiana probate cost. To price a specific estate, use the probate cost calculator.
Cite or share this guide
Suggested citation: Clear Money Guide, “Louisiana Retirement Taxes (2026 edition),” statute-cited; clearmoneyguide.com/louisiana-retirement-taxes/. Free to cite with attribution and a link. Data verified July 23–24, 2026 against state statutes, session laws, and revenue-department guidance.
Primary sources
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/louisiana/La-Admin-Code-tit-61-SS-I-1311
- https://revenue.louisiana.gov/tax-education-and-faqs/faqs/income-tax-reform/did-the-annual-retirement-exemption-change/
- https://revenue.louisiana.gov/tax-education-and-faqs/faqs/individual-income-tax/is-there-a-list-of-retirement-system-benefits-that-may-be-excluded-from-louisiana-income-tax/
- https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/estate-inheritance-taxes/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/code-of-civil-procedure/article-3351/
- https://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2021/code-of-civil-procedure/article-3421/
- https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=111725