Louisiana Payroll Tax Guide (2026)
Louisiana withholding runs on a flat 3% income tax, but the 2026 tables deliberately withhold at 3.09% to build in a small refund cushion. The unemployment wage base fell to $7,000 for 2026, and the state sets no minimum wage of its own.[8]
Louisiana payroll at a glance
Louisiana runs two state payroll taxes: a flat 3% income tax withheld from employee pay, and unemployment insurance paid entirely by the employer on the first $7,000 of wages.[8]
What changed for Louisiana payroll in 2026
Five items moved for Louisiana employers this year. Anything below is what have changed since the 2025 tables, so a rate card carried over from last year will be wrong in at least one place.
2026 Louisiana payroll tax calculator
Enter one employee’s annual gross wages to see what the employer owes, what comes out of the paycheque, and the true cost of employment.
Employer pays
Withheld from the employee
State income tax withholding is not included above: it depends on the employee’s Form R-1300 (L-4), Employee Withholding Certificate and filing status, so it cannot be estimated from gross pay alone.
Payroll tax rates & the nexus question
Louisiana runs two state payroll taxes. The table below is the whole state layer for 2026.[8]
The state payroll taxes
| Tax | Paid by | 2026 rate | Wage base |
|---|---|---|---|
| UI | Employer | 0.09%–6.00% | $7,000 |
| Income tax withholding | Employee | 3.00% flat | No limit |
Experience rated employers fall on a reserve ratio table that runs from 0.09% to 6.00% for 2026. New employers are not given a single statewide rate; they are assigned the average rate for their industry classification, so the figure on your own rate notice governs.[8]
Who has to register
An employing unit becomes a liable employer once it pays $1,500 or more in wages in a calendar quarter, or has one or more individuals in employment for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks, in the current or preceding calendar year.[8] Income tax withholding is administered separately by Louisiana Department of Revenue, so most employers end up with two state account numbers, not one.
Multistate and remote employees
When an employee works in more than one state, the four-part test below decides which state the wages are reported to. The tests run in order: you stop at the first one that gives an answer.
- 1. Localisation of service→
- 2. Base of operations→
- 3. Place of direction & control→
- 4. Employee’s residence
One remote employee is usually enough. A single person working from home in Louisiana generally creates an obligation to register and report wages here, even if the business has no office, property or customers in the state.
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Ask a Payroll SpecialistRegistration & return filing
Registration is online and free. The unemployment account and, where one exists, the withholding account are opened separately and carry different numbers.[8]
How to register
- Cross the wage threshold→
- the state online filing system→
- Receive account number→
- File & deposit online
An employing unit becomes a liable employer once it pays $1,500 or more in wages in a calendar quarter, or has one or more individuals in employment for some portion of a day in each of 20 different calendar weeks, in the current or preceding calendar year.[8]
Deposit schedule
Payment frequency follows the amount withheld each month. Less than $500 monthly is remitted quarterly, $500 up to $5,000 monthly is remitted monthly, and $5,000 or more monthly must be remitted semimonthly by electronic funds transfer.[2]
Returns, reports & due dates
| Form | What it is | Due |
|---|---|---|
| Employer’s Quarterly Wage and Tax Report (Form LWC ES-4) | Quarterly unemployment return | April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31 |
| Form L-1, Employer’s Return of Louisiana Withholding Tax, is filed for every quarter… | Income tax withholding returns | Payment frequency follows the amount withheld each month. Less than &# |
| Annual reconciliation | Year-end withholding reconciliation | January 31 |
| Form 941 | Federal quarterly return | Last day of the month after quarter end |
| Form 940 | Federal unemployment, annual | January 31 |
| New hire report | Report of newly hired employees | Within 20 days of start date |
Quarterly unemployment returns are due April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. A return filed one day late is delinquent, and in most states the penalty attaches to the return, not the payment.[8]
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Subject wages vs. exempt payments
Not every dollar an employee receives is a taxable wage. The split below governs what goes into the unemployment wage base and what is reported at year end.[8]
Subject wages
- Salaries, hourly pay, overtime and piece rates
- Commissions, bonuses and incentive pay
- Most cash tips reported by the employee
- Vacation, holiday and paid sick leave when taken as wages
- Severance and payments in lieu of notice
- The cash value of meals and lodging provided as compensation
- Employer contributions to a non-qualified deferred compensation plan
Not subject
- Reimbursements of genuine business expenses under an accountable plan
- Employer contributions to a qualified retirement plan
- Employer-paid premiums for accident and health insurance
- Most third-party sick pay after the sixth calendar month
- Payments to a genuine independent contractor
- Workers compensation benefits
The wage base is per employer, per year, not per job. If you hire someone in August who already earned $7,000 elsewhere, your unemployment clock still starts at zero. The one exception is a successor employer taking over an existing payroll, who inherits the wages already paid.
Glossary of key terms
- Taxable wage base
- The slice of each employee’s annual pay that unemployment tax is calculated on. In Louisiana that is $7,000 for 2026. Earnings above it are still wages, they are simply no longer taxed for unemployment.
- Experience rating
- The method Louisiana Workforce Commission uses to set each employer’s own unemployment rate from its history of claims. Employers with fewer charged claims move down the schedule; those with more move up.
- New employer rate
- The rate assigned before an employer has enough history to be experience rated. It normally applies for two to three years, then the account moves onto the experience schedule.
- Form R-1300 (L-4), Employee Withholding Certificate
- The state withholding certificate. It sets how much income tax comes out of each cheque and is filed with the employer, not with Louisiana Department of Revenue.
- Reserve account
- The running balance of contributions an employer has paid in, less the benefits charged against it. The ratio of that balance to taxable payroll is what drives the assigned rate.
- Successor employer
- A business that acquires another’s payroll may inherit both its experience rate and the wages already paid toward the wage base for the year. Getting this wrong is a common acquisition error.
- Localisation of service
- The first of four tests deciding which state a multistate employee’s wages are reported to. If substantially all the work is in one state, that state wins and the remaining tests are never reached.
- FUTA credit reduction
- A reduction in the 5.4% federal unemployment credit applied to states that have carried an outstanding federal loan for two or more consecutive Januaries. It raises the effective FUTA rate and is settled each November.
- Supplemental wages
- Bonuses, commissions, awards and similar payments made outside the regular payroll cycle. Many states set a separate flat withholding rate for them.
Louisiana payroll tax, layer by layer
Federal tax applies everywhere and is the larger number. The state layer is what changes when you cross a border.
Layer 1: Federal
| Tax | Rate | 2026 base |
|---|---|---|
| Social Security | 6.2% each side | $184,500 |
| Medicare | 1.45% each side | No limit |
| Additional Medicare | 0.9% employee only | Over $200,000 |
| FUTA, standard | 0.6% net | $7,000 |
| Federal income tax | Per Form W-4 | No limit |
Louisiana has no FUTA credit reduction for 2026, so the standard 0.6% net rate applies, $42 per employee. The final list is not published until 10 November 2026.[14]
Layer 2: State
| Tax | Rate | 2026 base |
|---|---|---|
| UI, experienced | 0.09%–6.00% | $7,000 |
| Income tax, standard | 3.00% flat | No limit |
Layer 3, county & city: no payroll tax, but a wage floor
No county or city in Louisiana levies its own payroll or income tax withheld by employers. The local layer shows up as minimum wage, not as tax.[12]
The state minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which is the federal floor, effective 2009-07-24. The tipped cash wage is $2.13. No local ordinance sets a higher floor. Louisiana has no state minimum wage law. Employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act pay the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour, and no Louisiana parish or city minimum wage was identified for 2026.[12]
Overtime exemption is a separate test. A salaried employee is exempt from overtime only above $35,568 a year ($684.00 a week) federal FLSA, and only if the duties test is also met. Paying a salary is not by itself enough.[13]
Louisiana payroll FAQs
Louisiana’s individual income tax is a flat 3%, but the withholding tables and formulas in Form R-1306 effective January 1, 2026 compute at 3.09%. The extra 0.09% is a deliberate cushion from the Department of Revenue so fewer employees owe at filing time. Use the published tables rather than a straight 3% calculation.
Frequency depends on how much you withhold each month. Less than $500 a month is remitted quarterly, $500 up to $5,000 a month is remitted monthly, and $5,000 or more a month must be remitted semimonthly by electronic funds transfer. Form L-1 is still filed for every quarter, even a quarter with no withholding at all.
Louisiana taxes only the first $7,000 of each employee’s wages in 2026, down from $7,700 in 2025. Experience rated employers pay between 0.09% and 6.00%, so the annual cost runs from roughly $6 to $420 per employee at the full wage base. Your exact rate comes from the Louisiana Workforce Commission.
Louisiana does not use one flat new employer rate. A new account is assigned the average contribution rate for its industry classification, so two new businesses in different industries can pay very different rates. Work from the rate notice the Louisiana Workforce Commission issues for your account rather than assuming a standard figure.
No. Louisiana has no state minimum wage law, so employers covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act pay the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour. Tipped employees may be paid a 2.13 dollar cash wage as long as tips bring them up to at least $7.25 an hour.
No. Louisiana has no employee paid disability, paid family leave or unemployment contribution, so state income tax is the only state level deduction from wages. Unemployment insurance is funded entirely by the employer and cannot be deducted from employee pay.
$7,000 per employee per calendar year. Once an employee reaches that in wages from you, no further unemployment tax is due on that employee for the rest of the year. The count restarts on 1 January and does not carry over from a previous employer.
$7.25 an hour, which matches the federal floor. No local ordinance sets a higher rate. The tipped cash wage is $2.13.
April 30, July 31, October 31, January 31. A return is delinquent the day after the deadline even if the tax itself was paid on time, so file the return whether or not you can pay.
Sources & methodology
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – What are the individual income tax rates and brackets?
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – Louisiana Withholding Tables and Formulas (R-1306), effective January 1, 2026
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – Why do the withholding tables use 3.09%?
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – When must I file Form L-1?
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – How often must I submit my withholding tax?
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – What is Form L-3 and when is it due?
- Louisiana Department of Revenue – Are supplemental wage and vacation payments subject to withholding?
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration – Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, January 2026
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration – Significant Provisions of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, January 2025
- Louisiana Workforce Commission rules, via Justia Regulations – Louisiana Administrative Code Title 40, Part IV, Section 307, Contributions, Interest, Mailing Date of Contributions and Contribution Reports
- Louisiana Revised Statutes, via Justia – Louisiana Revised Statutes 23:1472, Definitions
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division – State Minimum Wage Laws
- U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division – Fact Sheet 17A: Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration – FUTA Credit Reductions
Need help with Louisiana payroll compliance?
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Running payroll in more than one state?
Louisiana alone means its own registration, its own deposit calendar and its own year-end reconciliation. Add a second state and the work compounds rather than doubles. CrownGlobe runs multistate payroll end to end: registration, deposits, quarterly returns and year-end.
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