Louisiana tax forms & filing.

Things to know about filing in Louisiana

• Louisiana's state filing deadline is May 15, not April 15. Payment is also due May 15 to avoid penalty and interest.
• Louisiana is a community property state. Married couples filing separately split community income 50/50. Louisiana has additional complexities around separate-property tracing that differ from other community property states.
• Louisiana allows a deduction for federal income taxes paid on the state return — similar to Alabama, Missouri, and a small number of other states, this rare quirk reduces state taxable income.
• Louisiana has a parish-level (county-equivalent) sales tax structure that varies widely. This doesn't affect the state income tax return but is relevant for self-employed filers tracking sales-tax compliance.

Louisiana May 15 filing deadline — one of the latest in the country

Louisiana's individual income tax filing deadline is May 15 — a full month later than the federal April 15 deadline. The extension also covers payment, meaning Louisiana tax owed is not delinquent until May 16 even though the federal payment was due April 15.

Practical effect: Louisiana filers commonly use the federal extension period (April 15 to May 15) to complete the federal return first, then prepare the Louisiana return with finalized federal figures. This avoids amending the LA return when federal numbers shift during the federal-prep phase.

Louisiana also extends the deadline for state estimated tax payments to align with the May 15 cadence. Q1 LA estimated tax is typically due May 15 instead of April 15.

Louisiana parish (county-equivalent) sales tax — variability matters for self-employed

Louisiana's state sales tax is supplemented by parish-level sales taxes that vary widely by parish (and sometimes by city within a parish). This doesn't affect the individual income tax return — but matters for self-employed Louisiana residents tracking sales-tax compliance for their businesses.

Self-employed Louisiana residents selling taxable goods or services must register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue for state sales tax AND with the appropriate parish for parish-level tax. Multi-parish operations require multiple registrations and remittances.

We don't handle parish-level sales tax filings (separate engagement) but we flag exposure at intake when a new Louisiana self-employed client describes their business model.

Where's my refund?

The Louisiana Department of Revenue runs the official refund-status tracker. You'll need your Social Security number, filing status, and exact refund amount (in some cases, the tax year and a return-amount input).

Check your Louisiana refund status →

Multi-state considerations

If you lived or worked in more than one state during the tax year, you typically file a part-year resident return in each state. If you live in one state and work in another, you usually file as a resident where you live and as a nonresident in the work state — claiming a credit on the resident return for taxes paid to the work state. Reciprocity agreements between some neighboring states change this default; we map this out at intake.

Louisiana-specific multi-state nuances are addressed in the quirks list above when they apply.

Get the current-year forms

State tax rates, brackets, and forms change every year. We point to the Louisiana Department of Revenue as the authoritative source for current-year information. Form numbers above are stable; rates, deduction amounts, and credit limits are not — always verify before relying on a specific dollar amount.

Open the Louisiana Department of Revenue website →