How to Fill Out Louisiana’s L-4 Withholding Exemption Form

To fill out the Louisiana L-4 form, choose a standard deduction level (0, 1, or 2) in Block A, enter your name, Social Security number, filing status, and address on the numbered lines, add a per-paycheck adjustment on Line 7 if you need one, then sign the form and give it to your employer’s payroll department. If you never turn in an L-4, your employer must withhold state tax as if you claimed no deduction at all, which pulls more money out of each paycheck than you likely owe.¹

Block A Is the Only Real Decision

Everything else on the form is bookkeeping. Block A is where you tell your employer which standard deduction to build into your withholding, and the number you pick goes on Line 6.¹

Enter 0 for no standard deduction. Your employer withholds tax on your full wages. This is the right choice when you are married with a working spouse or hold more than one job and want to avoid under-withholding.
Enter 1 to claim the single or married-filing-separately deduction of $12,500 per year. Only use this if you have not already claimed it at another job and your spouse has not claimed it on their own L-4.
Enter 2 to claim the $25,000 deduction available to those filing jointly, as head of household, or as a qualifying surviving spouse.

Whatever number you enter has to line up with the filing-status box you check on Line 3. The options there are “No deduction,” “Single or married filing separately,” and “Married filing jointly, qualifying surviving spouse, or head of household.”

The Rest of the Lines

The current L-4 has seven numbered lines, and most of them are straightforward.¹

Line 1: Full legal name, first, middle initial, last.
Line 2: Social Security number.
Line 3: One filing-status box, matching your Block A choice.
Lines 4 and 5: Home address, city, state, ZIP.
Line 6: The number from Block A (0, 1, or 2).
Line 7: Optional per-paycheck adjustment in dollars. Leave blank or enter zero if you don’t need one.

Sign and date at the bottom. Your signature certifies under penalty of perjury that the information is accurate. The completed form goes to your employer; you don’t send it to the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

When to Use Line 7

Line 7 is the flexible piece. Enter a positive dollar amount if you want extra tax pulled from each paycheck, typically because you expect to owe more at year-end from freelance income, investment gains, or other non-wage earnings. Enter a negative amount if you want less withheld because credits or other circumstances will lower your bill. The one hard limit is that your total withholding for a pay period cannot go below zero.¹

To size the number, estimate your Louisiana tax for the year (taxable income after the standard deduction, times 3%), subtract what your employer will already withhold based on your Block A choice, and divide the remaining difference across the pay periods you have left. That gets you close enough for a starting point.

Two Jobs or a Working Spouse

This is where most people trip up. Only one L-4 across all your jobs should claim the standard deduction. If both you and your spouse claim “2” at your respective employers, payroll systems act as though your household gets $50,000 in deductions when your joint return will only apply $25,000. That gap becomes a balance due in April.

For a married couple filing jointly, decide together which spouse’s L-4 carries the “2” and have the other spouse enter “0.”¹ If you file separately, each spouse can claim “1” independently because each gets their own $12,500 deduction. For a single person with two jobs, claim “1” at your higher-paying job and “0” at the second one.

When You Can Skip the L-4 Entirely

If you had no Louisiana income tax liability last year and expect none this year, file Form L-4E instead. That form tells your employer to withhold nothing for state income tax.² “No liability” means your return showed no tax before the withholding credit was applied. If any tax appeared on the return before that credit, you don’t qualify.

The exemption is not permanent. File a new L-4E each year to keep it in effect. If your situation changes mid-year and you expect to owe tax, switch back to a standard L-4 so withholding restarts.

Military spouses stationed in Louisiana under orders but legally resident in another state may also use the L-4E to stop Louisiana withholding, under the federal Military Spouses Residency Relief Act. If you file one, make sure you are meeting withholding or estimated-payment obligations in your home state.

When You Need to File a New L-4

Your employer keeps your most recent L-4 on file and uses it until you replace it. A new form is required when your circumstances change:¹

If your standard deduction decreases, file a new L-4 within 10 days. A common trigger is divorce, which drops you from the $25,000 joint deduction to the $12,500 single deduction. The 10-day deadline does not apply if the decrease is caused by the death of a spouse.
If your standard deduction increases, you can file a new L-4 whenever you want. No deadline applies.

Submitting the Form

Hand the completed L-4 to your payroll or HR department. Many employers include it in new-hire paperwork or offer it through onboarding software, so you may complete it electronically instead of on paper. The current PDF is also posted on the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s website.³

How soon the change reaches your paycheck depends on whether you had an L-4 on file already. If this is your first one, it takes effect at the start of the first payroll period ending on or after the day you submit it, which usually means your next check. If you are replacing an existing certificate, the change technically takes effect on the first status determination date (January 1 or July 1) that falls at least 30 days after submission, though employers can process it sooner and most do.⁴ If a pay cycle or two goes by without any change showing up, follow up with payroll rather than assuming the form made it through.

1
Louisiana.gov. Employee’s Withholding Certificate (L-4)
2
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Exemption from Withholding Louisiana Income Tax Form L-4E
3
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Employee Withholding Certificate (L-4 Certificate)
4
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 – Section 113