Louisiana Non-Resident Income Tax: Rate, Deductions, and Deadlines

If you don’t live in Louisiana but earned money from a Louisiana source during the year, you owe Louisiana non-resident income tax at a flat 3% on that income, and you file it on Form IT-540B by May 15 of the following year — provided you’re also required to file a federal return.¹ Louisiana taxes based on where the income was earned, not where you live, so a commute across the state line, a contract job in Baton Rouge, or a rental house in New Orleans can each pull you into the state’s tax system.

Who Counts as a Non-Resident

Louisiana treats you as a non-resident if you are neither domiciled in the state nor maintain a permanent home there. If you fit that description and you had any taxable Louisiana-source income for the year, you must file Form IT-540B as long as you also have a federal filing obligation.¹ There is no separate dollar floor for Louisiana income. Any amount of it, paired with a federal return requirement, triggers the state filing.

One point worth flagging for remote workers: Louisiana does not apply a “convenience of the employer” rule. If you work from another state for a Louisiana employer, your wages are sourced to where you physically do the work. You owe Louisiana tax only on wages earned while you were actually present in Louisiana.

What Louisiana Considers Louisiana-Source Income

The state taxes non-residents on income that originates from activity inside its borders. The common categories are wages for work physically performed in Louisiana, profits from a business operating in the state, rental income from Louisiana property, and royalties tied to Louisiana resources. The controlling question is where the economic activity happened, not where the payment was mailed from.

Gambling Winnings

Gambling winnings from Louisiana casinos, sports bets placed in the state, and Louisiana lottery proceeds are Louisiana-source income for non-residents.¹ Casinos and gaming operators withhold Louisiana tax at the top individual rate on slot winnings over $1,200 and on other gaming winnings that trigger federal withholding.² Even if nothing was withheld, the winnings still count.

Mobile Workforce Exemption

Short-term or incidental work in Louisiana can qualify for a mobile workforce exemption under Revised Statute 47:248, which excludes those wages from Louisiana taxable income for non-residents who meet the criteria.³ The exemption is written into the definition of non-resident tax table income under Revised Statute 47:293.⁴ It’s aimed at traveling professionals, consultants, and employees who make occasional trips into the state.

Military Spouses

Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a military spouse living in Louisiana solely to be with a servicemember stationed there can be exempt from Louisiana tax on wages, interest, and dividends, so long as the spouse is domiciled elsewhere and did not elect Louisiana residency.⁵ The exemption does not reach every category. Gambling winnings, rental income, and royalties from Louisiana sources remain taxable.

The 3% Rate and Standard Deduction

Beginning with the 2025 tax year, Louisiana replaced its graduated brackets with a single flat rate of 3% on all taxable income, regardless of filing status or income level.⁶ Non-residents apply that rate only to the Louisiana portion of their income.

For the 2026 tax year, the standard deduction is $12,875 for single filers and married filing separately, and $25,750 for joint filers, qualifying surviving spouses, and heads of household. Non-residents don’t get the full deduction. You get a proportionate share, based on the ratio of your Louisiana income to your total federal adjusted gross income.⁷ Earn half your total income from Louisiana, and you claim half the deduction.

How the Taxable Amount Is Figured

The calculation starts by identifying all income earned from Louisiana sources, then allocating and apportioning it under the rules in Revised Statutes 47:241 through 47:247. For someone with a single Louisiana employer, this is straightforward. Louisiana wages are Louisiana income. Business owners, partners, and taxpayers with income from multiple states use the apportionment formulas to determine what share belongs to Louisiana.

Revised Statute 47:293 defines non-resident “tax table income” as the allocated and apportioned Louisiana income, reduced by the proportionate standard deduction and certain other adjustments.⁴ The proportion is Louisiana income divided by federal adjusted gross income. When federal adjusted gross income is less than Louisiana income, the ratio is treated as 100%.⁸

Non-residents can also claim deductions tied directly to Louisiana income, including business expenses and investment-related costs, as long as the expenses are substantiated and connected to Louisiana-source activity. The Department of Revenue can ask for documentation, so keep organized records of both the income and any expenses you allocate to the state.

Avoiding Double Taxation

If you live in a state with its own income tax, paying Louisiana on the same dollars can look like double taxation. Louisiana does not offer a credit to non-residents for taxes paid to their home state. The relief runs the other way. Most states that tax income let their residents claim a credit on the home-state return for tax paid to Louisiana, usually limited to the lesser of the Louisiana tax actually paid or the home-state tax on the same income.

Louisiana’s own credit for taxes paid to other states, under Revised Statute 47:33, is available only to Louisiana residents earning income elsewhere.⁹ As a non-resident, your fix runs through your home state’s return, not the Louisiana one. Check your home state’s rules, since most handle the credit through a schedule attached to the resident return.

If your home state has no income tax — Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and several others — there’s no double taxation to worry about. The 3% Louisiana tax on your Louisiana-source income is your only state income tax on those dollars.

Deadlines, Extensions, and Estimated Payments

Non-residents file Form IT-540B. Louisiana’s individual income tax deadline is May 15, not April 15.¹⁰ If May 15 falls on a weekend or holiday, filing moves to the next business day.

If you cannot file by May 15, Louisiana grants an automatic six-month extension to November 15. No form is needed to receive it.¹ The extension covers only the return, not the tax. If you expect to owe, send a payment with Form R-2868V by May 15 to avoid penalties and interest.¹⁰

Estimated tax payments come into play if you expect your Louisiana tax after withholding and credits to exceed $1,000 (or $2,000 for joint filers). Rental income, business profits, and gambling winnings without Louisiana withholding often push non-residents into this requirement. The calendar-year quarterly deadlines are April 15, June 15, September 15, and January 15 of the following year. Filing your return and paying the full balance by January 31 also avoids the underpayment penalty.¹¹

Penalties and Interest for Missing the Deadline

Louisiana treats late filing and late payment as separate problems, and the penalties stack.

The late filing penalty is 5% of the tax due for the first 30 days the return is late, plus another 5% for each additional 30-day period or fraction of one, capped at 25% of the tax owed.¹²

The late payment penalty is 0.5% of the unpaid tax for each 30-day period the balance remains outstanding. It applies to whatever remains unpaid and keeps accruing until the tax is paid in full.¹²

Interest runs on top of both penalties, from the original due date until the tax is paid. Louisiana sets the rate annually at three percentage points above the state’s judicial interest rate. For 2026, that comes to 10.50% per year.¹³ Interest cannot be waived, and it continues to accrue even under a payment plan.¹⁴

If the Department of Revenue finds that an underpayment resulted from negligence, it can add an accuracy-related penalty of 20% of the tax deficiency. That 20% is also presumed whenever a taxpayer understates tax by 10% or more.¹⁵ Between the filing penalty, the payment penalty, interest, and a possible negligence charge, the cost of ignoring a Louisiana filing obligation climbs quickly. Filing and paying by May 15 avoids all of it.

1
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Individual Income Tax
2
Louisiana Department of Revenue. LAC 61.III.1525 Income Tax Withholding on Gaming Winnings
3
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 RS 47-248 Exemption for Certain Nonresident Individuals Mobile Workforce
4
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 RS 47-293 Definitions
5
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin No. 24-015 Individual Income Tax Filing Requirements for Military Servicemembers and Spouses
6
Louisiana Department of Revenue. What Are the Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
7
Louisiana Department of Revenue. 02-10-2026 Proposed Regulation Income Tax Withholding Tables
8
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statute 47-293
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statute 47-33
10
Louisiana Department of Revenue. General Information and Instructions for Completing Form IT-540B Louisiana Nonresident Individual Income Tax Return 2025
11
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Declaration of Estimated Income Taxes
12
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statute 47-1602 Penalty for Failure to Make Timely Return Penalties Related to Nonpayment or Underpayment
13
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin No. 26-002 2026 Annual Interest Rate
14
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statute 47-1601 Interest on Unpaid Taxes
15
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statute 47-1604.1 Accuracy-Related Penalty