Louisiana retirement taxes in 2026: what retirees pay

Louisiana taxes income at a single flat rate, so your tax bill doesn't climb into higher brackets as your income grows. For retirees, two features count most. Social Security benefits aren't taxed by the state at all. On top of that, each person aged sixty-five or older can exclude part of their pension, annuity and IRA income before the flat rate applies. The excluded amount is indexed, so it changes over time. For a married couple where both spouses qualify, the exclusion can apply twice.

Louisiana retirement taxes at a glance (2026)

Louisiana's income tax rate for 2026

Louisiana taxes income at a flat 3% 1.

How Louisiana treats retirement income

Each person 65 or older may exclude up to $12,324 of retirement income. 4 Pension, annuity and IRA income of each person 65 or older up to $12,324 in 2026, indexed each year (La. R.S. 47:44.1). 4

What three retirees would pay in Louisiana

These are estimates from Monte Climb's planner on 2026 law, for three example households. They start, as the app does, from federal taxable income: the 2026 standard deduction plus the extra amount at 65 5, the taxable part of Social Security 6 and the senior deduction 7. Those federal deductions are already taken off, and most states allow less of their own, so Louisiana's real bill can be higher than shown.

• A single retiree, 67 with $54,000 of income would owe about $0 to Louisiana, after $12,324 of retirement income is excluded and $11,300 of taxable Social Security is left out.
• A married couple, both 67 with $106,000 of income would owe about $0 to Louisiana, after $24,648 of retirement income is excluded and $35,700 of taxable Social Security is left out.
• A married couple, both 62, before Social Security with $76,000 of income would owe about $1,314 to Louisiana.

The same couple next door

The married couple, both 67, with $106,000 of income, in Louisiana and the states around it:

Every figure here starts from federal taxable income, as above, so a state whose own deductions are smaller can tax more than shown.

What these estimates leave out

• Louisiana's own standard deduction, exemptions and credits: the estimate starts from federal taxable income instead, which takes off the larger federal deductions.
• City income taxes, and capital gains rules a state applies apart from its rate.
• Rules for military and public-employee pensions that some states treat separately.

What this means for your plan

What this means for your plan: in Louisiana, the part of your income that gets taxed depends on how much comes from Social Security, how much comes from retirement accounts and pensions, and whether each person in the household has reached the qualifying age. Withdrawals above the exclusion, and income that doesn't count as retirement income, are taxed at the flat rate. Monte Climb runs these Louisiana rules on your own plan, year by year, so you can see how the exclusion and the flat rate affect your particular mix of income.

Sources

1. Louisiana income tax for 2026 (Monte Climb's audit grades it high)
2. Louisiana: a further official source for the 2026 tables
3. Louisiana: a further official source for the 2026 tables
4. Louisiana's retirement-income rule: La. R.S. 47:44.1
5. Rev. Proc. 2025-32 §4.14(1) and §4.14(3): the 2026 standard deduction and the additional amount at 65
6. IRC §86 and IRS Publication 915: how much of Social Security is taxable (thresholds set by statute, not indexed)
7. P.L. 119-21 (One Big Beautiful Bill Act) §70103: the $6,000 deduction for each person 65 or older, 2025–2028

Figures computed by code from Monte Climb's 2026 state tables (snapshot f024e17). An illustration, not tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Does Louisiana tax Social Security?

In 2026, Social Security is not taxed in Louisiana.

What is Louisiana's income tax rate in 2026?

Louisiana has a flat 3% for 2026.

How much state tax would a retired couple pay in Louisiana?

A married couple, both 67, with $106,000 of Social Security, pension and IRA income would owe about $0 to Louisiana in 2026, by Monte Climb's estimate.