How to Fill Out and File Louisiana Form L-3: Deadlines, LaWage, and Corrections

Louisiana Form L-3 is the annual withholding transmittal that reconciles the state income tax you withheld from employees across the year against what you reported on your four quarterly L-1 returns. You file it with the Louisiana Department of Revenue, attach copies of every W-2, W-2G, and 1099 showing Louisiana withholding, and submit it by January 31 following the end of the tax year. If you shut the business down mid-year, the deadline moves to 30 days after your final wage payment.¹ Employers issuing 50 or more information returns must file electronically through the state’s LaWage portal.²

Every employer with an open Louisiana withholding account has to file an L-3, even for quarters with no employees or no tax withheld. If you’ve permanently stopped paying wages, close the account formally rather than letting it sit open (covered below).

What You Need Before You Start

Pull these together before you open the form:

Your LDR withholding account number, printed on department correspondence and on your quarterly L-1 returns.
Your Federal Employer Identification Number.
All four quarterly L-1 returns for the tax year, showing what you reported to Louisiana each quarter.
Every W-2 you issued. Louisiana wages come from Box 16 and Louisiana income tax withheld from Box 17.³
Any W-2Gs for gambling winnings with Louisiana withholding.
Any 1099-NEC, 1099-MISC, or other 1099 series forms reflecting Louisiana state tax withheld.

Filling Out the Form

The L-3 has three working parts: a header, a quarterly reconciliation table with information-return counts, and a line-by-line transmittal schedule on the back pages.

Header

Enter your LDR account number, legal name, trade name if different, and mailing address. The form pre-prints the tax year, period end date, and due date, so check that those match the year you’re filing for. Check the “Amended” box only when you’re correcting a previously filed L-3.

Quarterly Reconciliation Table

The reconciliation table has a column for each quarter and three rows:³

Wages and payments per information returns — total Louisiana wages or payments from all W-2s, W-2Gs, and 1099s for the quarter.
Withholding per information returns — total Louisiana income tax withheld on those same forms for the quarter.
Withholding per Form L-1 — the withholding you reported on the quarterly L-1.

If you don’t have the information-return data broken out by quarter, enter the full-year totals in the “TOTAL” column instead. The whole point of the table is to compare what your W-2s and 1099s show you withheld against what you remitted on the L-1s. A mismatch means you over-reported or under-reported in that quarter and will need an amended L-1 for the affected period.⁴ A late-quarter payroll adjustment or a corrected W-2 is usually what throws the numbers off.

Information Return Counts

Below the table, write the total number of information returns you’re submitting, then break the count out by W-2s, W-2Gs, and 1099s. The counts have to match the documents physically attached.

Transmittal Schedule

The back pages of the form list every individual information return. For each person, enter the Social Security number, Louisiana state wages or payments, and Louisiana state income tax withheld. This gives the department a cross-reference without flipping through every attached W-2.³

Signature

Sign and date the form, then print your name, title, and phone number. A paid preparer who completed the return must also sign and provide a PTIN, or an FEIN or LDR account number if no PTIN exists. A paid preparer who skips the signature or the identification number faces a $50 penalty per occurrence.⁴

How to File

Electronic Filing Through LaWage

Issue 50 or more information returns and electronic filing through LaWage is mandatory.² The portal lives on the Louisiana Department of Revenue website and accepts bulk uploads built on the Social Security Administration’s EFW2 format specifications.¹ Most payroll software can generate this file; the upload is essentially the same file you send to the SSA, with Louisiana state wage records included.⁵ Employers with fewer than 50 returns can use LaWage voluntarily, and the department encourages electronic filing at any volume.

Paper Filing by Mail

With fewer than 50 returns you can file on paper. Mail the completed L-3 and copies of every W-2, W-2G, and 1099 to:

Louisiana Department of Revenue
P.O. Box 91017
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-9017⁶

A paper filing without the supporting W-2 and 1099 copies is treated as incomplete. Submitting on paper when you were required to e-file can bring a separate penalty for failing to comply with the electronic filing mandate.

Deadline and Late Penalties

Form L-3 is due on or before January 31 for the preceding tax year. If the business stops paying wages mid-year, the alternate deadline is 30 days after the final wage payment.¹

Louisiana charges a 5% penalty on the total tax due for each 30-day period, or fraction of one, that the return is late, capped at 25% after five periods. A separate 5% per-30-day penalty applies to any unpaid balance when you file on time but don’t remit the full tax, also capped at 25%.⁷ The two penalties don’t stack within the same 30-day window; one or the other applies for each period, and the combined total across periods still can’t exceed 25%.

Interest also runs on any unpaid tax. For 2026, Louisiana’s annual rate is 10.50%, roughly 0.875% per month.⁸ The rate is set each year and adjusts with prevailing rates, so it changes from year to year.

Fixing Mistakes After You File

Caught an error after submitting? File an amended return by checking the “Amended” box on a new Form L-3 and resubmitting the corrected data. If the problem started on a quarterly L-1 (over-reported withholding in Q2 and under-reported in Q3, for example), file amended L-1 returns for each affected quarter as well.⁴

Errors on individual W-2s require issuing corrected W-2c forms to the affected employees and to the SSA. Common triggers include transposed Social Security numbers, state wages pulled from the wrong box, and name spellings that don’t match Social Security records. Catching these before January 31 avoids the amendment work, so build in time for a final review instead of filing at the last minute.

Closing the Account If You Stop Paying Wages

When the business permanently stops paying wages, don’t just let the withholding account sit — you’ll keep owing L-3 filings, even zero-balance ones, until the account is formally closed. Submit Form R-3406 (Request to Close Business Tax Accounts) to the Department of Revenue by mail, fax, or email:⁹

Mail: Louisiana Department of Revenue, P.O. Box 1469, Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Fax: (225) 219-0806
Email: CentralReg@LA.Gov

You still owe a final L-3 covering January 1 through the last wage payment date, due within 30 days of that final paycheck.

How Long to Keep the Records

Keep the filed L-3, every supporting W-2 and 1099, quarterly L-1 returns, and the underlying payroll records for at least four years after the tax becomes due or is paid, whichever is later. The IRS requires employment tax records to be kept for a minimum of four years.¹⁰ If you filed through LaWage, keep the actual data file as well; a portal confirmation receipt doesn’t replace the submitted records.

1
Louisiana Department of Revenue. LaWage – W2/L3
2
Louisiana Department of Revenue. LAC 61 I.1515 – Withholding Tax Statements and Returns Electronic Filing Requirements
3
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Form L-3 Transmittal of Withholding Tax Statements
4
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Form L-3 Transmittal of Withholding Tax Statements – Instructions
5
Louisiana Department of Revenue. File Upload Instructions – LaWage
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. Form L-3 Transmittal of Withholding Tax Statements
7
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1602 – Penalty for Failure to File a Return or Pay Tax
8
Louisiana Department of Revenue. R-1111 Interest Rate Schedule
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Louisiana Department of Revenue. R-3406 Request to Close Business Tax Accounts
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Internal Revenue Service. Recordkeeping