Louisiana taxes

Louisiana taxes personal income at a flat 3% from 2025, with a larger standard deduction and no personal exemptions. A sole proprietor owes no separate business tax, and an LLC pays a $25 annual report fee. C corporations pay a flat 5.5% corporate income tax, and corporations still owe the franchise tax on capital for 2025, its last year.

Personal income tax

Louisiana residents file Form IT-540, due May 15, 2026. You automatically get until November 16, 2026 to file, with no form needed, but any tax owed is still due by May 15, 2026. The rate is a flat 3% for every filing status.

Louisiana rewrote its income tax for 2025. The flat rate replaced three brackets, the standard deduction rose to $12,500 for single filers and $25,000 for married couples filing jointly, and personal exemptions were abolished. Head of household filers get the full $25,000. Anything describing Louisiana exemptions or brackets is about 2024 or earlier.

From age 65, up to $12,000 of retirement income per person is exempt.

Return

Form IT-540

Due date

May 15, 2026, with an automatic extension to November 16, 2026

Rate

3% for every filing status

Standard deduction

$12,500 single or married filing separately, $25,000 married filing jointly, head of household or qualifying surviving spouse

Personal exemption

None. Repealed from 2025

Age 65 and over

Up to $12,000 of retirement income exempt for each person

Sole proprietor

A sole proprietor with no LLC owes Louisiana nothing at the business level. The annual report is for registered businesses only, so there is no report and no fee.

Your business profit is taxed on your own Form IT-540, at the personal rate above.

Single-member LLC

Every Louisiana LLC files a Secretary of State annual report each year, however few members it has. The fee is $25, owed whatever the business earned.

The filing window is short: within 30 days of the anniversary of the LLC's formation. Louisiana raises its filing fees from October 1, 2026, so this fee is the 2025 figure. The LLC's profit is taxed on your own Form IT-540.

Partnership

A Louisiana partnership files Form IT-565, the Louisiana partnership return. The profit passes through to the partners, who report it on their own returns.

A partnership can choose to be taxed as if it were a C corporation, paying Louisiana tax itself instead of leaving it to the partners. The choice is made on the return, and once made it stays in force for later years until it is ended.

S corporation

A Louisiana S corporation files Form CIFT-620, the corporation income and franchise tax return. The profit passes through to the shareholders, who report it on their own returns. Like a partnership, it can choose on the return to pay Louisiana tax itself instead, and the choice stays in force until it is ended.

It also falls under the corporation franchise tax, charged at $2.75 per $1,000 of capital employed in Louisiana rather than on profit. The tax is repealed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, which means it is still owed for 2025.

C corporation

A C corporation files Form CIFT-620 and pays corporate income tax at a flat 5.5% of its Louisiana income. The flat rate replaced graduated brackets from January 1, 2025. Most corporations selling into other states count only their Louisiana share, measured by Louisiana revenue over total revenue. Transportation, broadcasting and oil and gas businesses have their own formulas.

It also owes the corporation franchise tax, at $2.75 per $1,000 of capital employed in Louisiana, so a year with no profit does not remove it. It is repealed for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2026, so 2025 is the last year it is owed.

Return

Form CIFT-620

Corporate income tax

5.5% of Louisiana income

Multi-state profit

Louisiana revenue over total revenue, for most businesses

Franchise tax

$2.75 per $1,000 of capital employed in Louisiana, for the last time in 2025

Estimate your state tax

Pick your business type and enter this year's numbers to see the state business tax Louisiana charges. It assumes all your sales are in Louisiana.

An estimate for planning, not tax advice.

Sources

• Louisiana 2025 IT-540 instructions (IT540i-WEB-2025-Revised-7-26)
• Louisiana Form IT-540, 2025
• Form CIFT-620 (1/25): the combined income and franchise return, and the pass-through entity tax election at Line O
• revenue.louisiana.gov Corporation Income & Franchise Tax: the 5.5% flat rate from 2025 and the franchise tax repeal date
• Form CIFT-620 (1/25): the 2025 return, which still computes franchise tax on lines 5C and 7
• Form CIFT-620 Instructions (2024): income tax apportionment percentage, and Schedule L line 4 ($2.75 per $1,000)

Last reviewed August 2026.