Louisiana: Who Pays? 7th Edition
Louisiana
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All figures and charts show 2024 tax law in Louisiana, presented at 2023 income levels. Senior taxpayers are excluded for reasons detailed in the methodology. Our analysis includes nearly 100 percent of state and local tax revenue collected in Louisiana. These figures depict Louisiana’s EITC at its 2024 level of 5 percent of federal. The credit is set to decline to 3.5 in 2031. As seen in Appendix E, this will increase the bottom fifth’s overall tax rate by 0.2 percentage points and cause the state to move 1 spots in the ITEP Inequality Index rankings, from 10th to 9th most regressive.
State and local tax shares of family income
| Top 20% | |||||||
| Income Group | Lowest 20% | Second 20% | Middle 20% | Fourth 20% | Next 15% | Next 4% | Top 1% |
| Income Range | Less than $18,800 | $18,800 to $35,700 | $35,700 to $62,600 | $62,600 to $122,500 | $122,500 to $225,500 | $225,500 to $552,000 | Over $552,000 |
| Average Income in Group | $11,000 | $25,400 | $46,800 | $86,800 | $154,000 | $316,300 | $1,110,200 |
| Sales & Excise Taxes | 9.6% | 9.5% | 8.2% | 6.3% | 4.9% | 3.5% | 1.9% |
| General Sales–Individuals | 4.8% | 5.3% | 4.6% | 3.5% | 2.7% | 1.7% | 0.7% |
| Other Sales & Excise–Ind | 2.5% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 0.9% | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.2% |
| Sales & Excise–Business | 2.3% | 2.4% | 2.3% | 1.8% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 1% |
| Property Taxes | 2.9% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 1.8% | 1.9% | 1.4% |
| Home, Rent, Car–Individuals | 2.2% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.2% | 1% | 0.5% |
| Other Property Taxes | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Income Taxes | 0.5% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3% |
| Personal Income Taxes | 0.4% | 1.3% | 2.2% | 2.7% | 3.2% | 3.1% | 2.9% |
| Corporate Income Taxes | 0% | 0% | 0.1% | 0% | 0% | 0.1% | 0.1% |
| Other Taxes | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| TOTAL TAXES | 13.1% | 12.7% | 12.5% | 10.9% | 10.1% | 8.7% | 6.5% |
| Individual figures may not sum to totals due to rounding. | |||||||
ITEP Tax Inequality Index
ITEP’s Tax Inequality Index measures the effects of each state’s tax system on income inequality. According to this measure, Louisiana has the 10th most regressive state and local tax system in the country. Income disparities are larger in Louisiana after state and local taxes are collected than before. (See Appendix B for state-by-state rankings and the report methodology for additional detail.)
Tax features driving the data in Louisiana
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Graduated personal income tax structure, though top rate kicks in at $50,000 (single) so a large share of families face top rate
Partially refundable dependent care tax credit
Refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
State sales tax base excludes groceries
Levies a business franchise tax
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Offers exclusion for gains from sales of certain Louisiana-based property
Does not use combined reporting as part of its corporate income tax
Comparatively high combined state and local sales tax rates
Comparatively high reliance on sales and excise taxes
Comparatively low Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
Does not levy a tax on estates or inheritances
Local sales tax bases include groceries
No Child Tax Credit (CTC)
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