Updated July 29, 2026. Quick answer: Louisiana does not have a community property statute in the ordinary sense. Civil Code art. 2327 provides that “the legal regime is the community of acquets and gains”, and art. 2334 applies it “to spouses domiciled in this state, regardless of their domicile at the time of marriage or the place of celebration of the marriage.” It attaches by operation of law.
Why the civil-law framing changes the analysis
In the other eight states you ask whether a particular asset falls inside a statutory definition. In Louisiana a regime governs the marriage itself, and property classification follows from it. The practical results converge, but the entry point is different — and one consequence is unusually broad.
Domicile alone is enough. Art. 2334 applies the regime to spouses domiciled in Louisiana whatever their domicile when they married and wherever the wedding took place. A couple who married elsewhere and later moved to Louisiana come under it. That is a broader reach than a statute keyed to property acquired while domiciled in the state.
What it includes
Art. 2338 lists it: property acquired through the effort, skill or industry of either spouse; property acquired with community things; property donated to the spouses jointly; natural and civil fruits of community property; damages for loss of a community thing; and “all other property not classified by law as separate property.” That last clause makes community the residual category rather than the enumerated one.
The regime can be displaced by a matrimonial agreement, but that is an affirmative act taken under specific articles. Doing nothing puts you inside it — which is the opposite of the opt-in arrangements some common-law states have created.
Why the difference is worth knowing rather than trivia. Community property classification decides what happens to basis at the first death — IRC §1014(b)(6) gives BOTH halves a new basis, where a common-law state gives only one. So which assets are classified as community, and from what date, decides how much of that benefit you actually get.
Sources
Each state’s own codified statute as quoted on this page. The nine-state list and the federal treatment are per IRS Publication 555 and Internal Revenue Manual 25.18.1.2.3. IRC §1014(b)(6) for the basis consequence. All read July 2026.
This states what the cited authority says. It is not tax advice, and retirement-plan design turns on facts about your business and your other entities that no page can see. Every dollar limit referenced here is indexed and changes annually.