Does Louisiana Tax Retirement Income?

No. Louisiana does not tax Social Security benefits.

Social Security benefits that are taxed federally are excluded from Louisiana taxable income.

The Louisiana answer is separate from the federal one. Depending on combined income, up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be taxable on the federal return regardless of what Louisiana does, so the state rule changes the state line only. Our guide to states that do not tax Social Security shows where Louisiana sits among the states that still tax benefits.

Partly. Louisiana taxes some pension income, subject to an exclusion or age rule.

Benefits from Louisiana state and local retirement systems, including teachers, state employees, police, firefighters, and DROP disbursements, are exempt, as are federal civil service annuities. Private pension income is taxable except for the age-65 exemption.

The annual retirement income exemption is $12,000 per person 65 or older for 2025, doubled from $6,000 by Act 11 of 2024, and it is indexed to inflation beginning January 1, 2026, so the 2026 figure is somewhat above $12,000. Each spouse who is 65 claims it against their own retirement income. The standard deduction is $12,875 for a single filer and $25,750 on a joint return for 2026.

Public and private pensions, annuities, and retirement-plan distributions do not always get the same treatment. The pension comparison lists which states exempt pensions broadly, partly, or only for certain plans.

Partly. Louisiana taxes some traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals, subject to an exclusion or age rule.

Traditional 401(k) and IRA withdrawals are taxable. A taxpayer 65 or older can apply the annual retirement income exemption to them, and anything above the exemption is taxed at 3%.

Two timing points matter in Louisiana. A Roth conversion is taxable in the year it is done, and Louisiana starts from federal adjusted gross income, so a large conversion can land in a year when the state exclusion does not cover it. Qualified Roth withdrawals later are generally not taxable at either level. Required minimum distributions follow the same Louisiana rules as any other traditional-account withdrawal.

Every state page on this site runs the same retiree profile so the states can be compared: $30,000 of Social Security, $40,000 withdrawn from a traditional 401(k), and a $20,000 private pension, $90,000 in total.

A 68-year-old single filer with $30,000 of Social Security, $40,000 from a 401(k), and a $20,000 private pension excludes the Social Security and applies the age-65 exemption to the $60,000 of other income. After the $12,875 standard deduction, roughly $35,000 is taxed at 3%, about $1,050 of Louisiana tax.

Step one, exclude the $30,000 of Social Security. Step two, subtract the age-65 retirement income exemption, $12,000 plus the 2026 inflation adjustment, from the $60,000 of 401(k) and pension income, leaving roughly $48,000. Step three, subtract the $12,875 standard deduction for about $35,100 of taxable income. Step four, 3% of that is roughly $1,050. Contrast a married couple, both 68, with the same $90,000 where the $40,000 401(k) belongs to one spouse and the $20,000 pension to the other: each spouse claims a $12,000 exemption against their own income, the joint standard deduction is $25,750, and the couple's tax falls to roughly $300. A $150,000 lump-sum IRA withdrawal by the single filer adds $4,500 at the flat rate, with no bracket jump but no relief either.

The same $90,000 profile looks different a state line away. The rows below come from the reviewed 51-state table; each state name links to its own guide.

• Texas: has no individual income tax at all.
• Mississippi: treats Social Security as exempt, pensions as exempt, and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals as exempt, with a top rate of 4.00% and qualified retirement income is exempt.
• Arkansas: treats Social Security as exempt, pensions as partially taxed, and 401(k) and IRA withdrawals as partially taxed, with a top rate of 3.70% and up to $6,000 of eligible retirement income.

The headline is the flat 3%, but the structural point is that Louisiana exempts public pensions entirely and private ones only up to the age-65 exemption. A retired state employee and a retired private-sector engineer with identical pensions can have very different Louisiana bills.

Military retirement: Military retirement pay and military Survivor Benefit Plan payments are excluded from Louisiana income in full. See the military retirement tax map for every state's treatment.

Estate and inheritance tax: Louisiana has no estate or inheritance tax.

Selling a home or investments in Louisiana: retirement-income rules do not cover capital gains. See Louisiana capital gains tax before selling appreciated property or a brokerage position in the year you move or retire.

• Confirm the exclusion you are claiming. The annual retirement income exemption is $12,000 per person 65 or older for 2025, doubled from $6,000 by Act 11 of 2024, and it is indexed to inflation beginning January 1, 2026, so the 2026 figure is somewhat above $12,000. Each spouse who is 65 claims it against their own retirement income. The standard deduction is $12,875 for a single filer and $25,750 on a joint return for 2026.
• Part-year residents. If you moved into or out of Louisiana during the year, retirement income is generally allocated to the period of residency, and the former state may still tax distributions received before the move. Document the move date, the new domicile, and where each distribution was received.
• Withholding and estimates. Pension and IRA custodians often withhold federal tax but not Louisiana tax. If Louisiana taxes any part of your retirement income, check whether quarterly estimated payments are needed to avoid an underpayment penalty.
• Federal side. The federal return has its own rules: up to 85% of Social Security can be taxable, the temporary $6,000 federal senior deduction is available for 2025 through 2028 subject to income limits, and Roth conversions are taxed in the conversion year. State exemptions do not change any of that.
• Large one-time distributions. Split retirement assets so both spouses have retirement income in their own names once each turns 65; the exemption is per person on that person's income, and a spouse with nothing in their own name wastes it. Before 65, there is no exemption at all, so early retirees should lean on exempt sources first.

Comparing states before a move? Use the retirement taxes by state table and the moving states tax guide, and read retirement tax planning for how distributions, conversions, and a move are sequenced together.