Updated October 7, 2026. Quick answer: Not unless you ask. Louisiana’s Department of Revenue says withholding on pensions, retirement income and annuities “is not required as provided under R.S 47:111(A)(9)”, though “a recipient may request that withholding tax be deducted”.
Drawing a pension? Whether the state withholds tax from it, from its own documents: Louisiana tax withholding on pension payments.
Louisiana withholding at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Is it required? | No, as provided under R.S. 47:111(A)(9); a recipient may request withholding |
| Rate or amount | Not stated in the FAQ read |
| How to start or stop it | Request it from the payer; the FAQ read names no form or procedure |
| Direct rollover | Not stated in the documents read |
| Changed for 2026? | No change stated; the FAQ is undated |
What the Louisiana documents say
The Department of Revenue’s withholding FAQ asks whether Louisiana requires withholding on pensions, retirement income and annuities. The answer is that withholding income tax on those sources “is not required as provided under R.S 47:111(A)(9)”.
It continues that “a recipient may request that withholding tax be deducted” from those sources of income. The FAQ stops there: it gives no rate and names no form for the request.
A $50,000 withdrawal: cash in hand or a direct rollover
Take a $50,000 401(k) withdrawal paid to you. The IRS says a taxable eligible rollover distribution paid to you from an employer plan is subject to “mandatory income tax withholding (generally at a rate of 20%)”, which on $50,000 is $10,000 (computed as $50,000 times 20%) held back for federal tax. Louisiana adds nothing on its own: the FAQ says withholding is not required, so the Louisiana amount withheld is $0 unless you ask the payer for it.
The other path is a direct rollover to an IRA or another plan. For federal tax the IRS says “The mandatory withholding doesn’t apply in a direct rollover”. The Louisiana documents read do not say how a direct rollover is treated for state withholding, so confirm it with the payer before choosing.
What a mover should know
This page is about Louisiana as a state of residence. An instruction line written for a nonresident or part-year filer is not the rule for a resident, and none of the documents read settles a part-year or two-state case, so check each state’s own rule. The federal side is the same everywhere; CMG’s federal 20% withholding on a pension lump sum page covers it.
What the documents do not say
- The FAQ read is undated, states no rate, names no form, does not address a direct rollover, and states no change for 2026.
Common mistakes
- Assuming Louisiana tax was withheld because federal tax was; the FAQ says it is not required.
- Treating no withholding as no tax; a withdrawal that Louisiana taxes is still reported on the return.
- Assuming the answer for one state applies to another, or that state withholding settles the state tax owed at filing.
Related: how Louisiana taxes 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, Louisiana retirement taxes, retirement withholding calculator, and retirement taxes by state.
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Answer againSources
- Does Louisiana require withholding on pensions, retirement income, and annuities?: https://revenue.louisiana.gov/tax-education-and-faqs/faqs/withholding-tax/does-louisiana-require-withholding-on-pensions-retirement-income-and-annuities/
- IRS Tax Topic 413, Rollovers from retirement plans: https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc413
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 7, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a tax professional or the state agency itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.