Louisiana
Reviewed July 2026Federal §453 conformity
Yes — Louisiana starts from the federal return and taxes installment gain as payments arrive, and the 2024 reform simplified the answer dramatically: a flat 3% individual rate from 2025, a larger standard deduction, and (for entity planning) a corporate overhaul that flattened the corporate rate and repealed the franchise tax. At 3%, Louisiana is now one of the cheapest income-tax states in the country for a large gain — anything modeled on the old brackets deserves a fresh run.
Nonresident sourcing
Gain from Louisiana real estate or a business operating in Louisiana is Louisiana income for sellers anywhere, and the payments keep that character; intangible gain generally follows the seller home.
Withholding
Louisiana imposes no closing-table withholding on nonresident real estate sellers. Pass-throughs handle nonresident owners through composite filing or agreements each recognition year unless an entity-level election covers it.
Selling, then moving (residency change)
Louisiana-source gain stays taxable here after a move; other gain travels with the seller, and no rule accelerates deferred gain at the border. At a 3% flat rate, Louisiana is rarely the reason anyone leaves.
Pass-through entity (PTE) tax election
Louisiana was an early adopter of the entity-level election back in 2019 — but the reform changed its math. With individuals now at a flat 3%, an election taxing the entity at higher rates can cost more than the federal deduction saves. Re-model any standing election against the new rates before the next recognition year.
Estate and IRD
Louisiana has no estate or inheritance tax, and it is a community property state: both halves of a married couple's community assets step up in basis at the first death. For married sellers of appreciated Louisiana property, the sequencing question — sale before or after that step-up — comes first. Louisiana's civil-law regime (forced heirship in limited cases, usufruct in place of common-law trusts' roles) makes local succession counsel part of the team, not an afterthought.
Planning notes
Louisiana's list: re-run any pre-reform projection at the 3% flat rate; re-model any standing PTE election against the new spread; put the community property sequencing question first for married sellers; and bring Louisiana succession counsel in early, because the civil law moves notes differently at death.
A flat 3% individual rate, a bigger standard deduction, corporate flattening, and franchise-tax repeal — projections and PTE elections built on the old brackets are stale. Re-run the numbers before relying on anything drafted pre-reform.
Educational information, current as of the July 2026 review. State law changes; confirm treatment with a qualified advisor before structuring a transaction.
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