Before you start

An SSN or ITIN
Form W-4 with your employer for federal withholding, and Form L-4 for Louisiana withholding
Records of foreign income and foreign financial accounts
A homestead exemption filing with the parish assessor, if you buy

Step-by-step

1
Complete the W-4 and Louisiana's L-4 on day one
Louisiana has its own employee withholding exemption certificate alongside the federal W-4. With a single flat rate the state calculation is simple; getting the federal form wrong remains the commonest cause of an April surprise.
Via employerWho: YouFirst week of employment
2
Determine your US tax residency
The substantial presence test counts weighted days over three years to decide whether the US taxes your worldwide income or only US-source income. Your visa category does not decide this.
OnlineWho: You
3
Check for an applicable tax treaty
The US has treaties with around 70 countries that can reduce or exempt tax on particular income. Louisiana builds its return from federal figures, so a federal treaty exclusion generally carries through to the state return.
OnlineWho: You
4
File federal and Louisiana returns by 15 May
The tax year is the calendar year, the federal return is due 15 April, and Louisiana's individual return is due 15 May — a month later, which is a small but real difference from most states in this app.
OnlineWho: YouFederal 15 April; Louisiana 15 May
5
If you buy a home, file for the homestead exemption
Louisiana's homestead exemption removes a substantial slice of assessed value from parish property tax on an owner-occupied home, and it is why the property tax bill here is modest by American standards. It is granted on application to the parish assessor, not automatically, so file it the year you buy.
In personWho: You
6
File an FBAR if foreign accounts exceed $10,000
Aggregate foreign account balances over $10,000 at any point in the year trigger a FinCEN filing, separate from and additional to your tax return.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Form W-2 from each employer, issued by 31 January
Form 1099s for freelance, interest and investment income
Louisiana Form L-4, filed with your employer
Passport and travel history for the substantial presence day count
Deed and proof of occupancy for the homestead exemption
Foreign account statements for FBAR reporting

Things most newcomers don’t know

The whole Louisiana tax bargain is: low on income, very high on sales.

Louisiana went flat at 3% for tax years from 2025 and no city or parish levies an income tax at all — a genuinely low wage-tax burden by American standards. It funded that partly by raising the state sales tax to 5% on the same date, and Baton Rouge's local levies take the combined rate to 10%. If you spend most of what you earn, the trade is worse for you than the headline income rate suggests; if you save, it is better.

Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue — individual income tax

The state sales tax has an expiry date on it.

The 5% state rate runs from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2029 and is scheduled to fall to 4.75% from 1 January 2030 as a temporary component lapses. Anything you read that quotes 4.45%, the pre-2025 figure, is out of date; anything that treats 5% as permanent is also slightly wrong.

Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue — state sales tax rate

The local half of the sales tax has four separate components, and they differ by municipality.

In the City of Baton Rouge it is 2% city, 2% East Baton Rouge Parish School Board, 0.5% for sewer improvements and 0.5% for streets. Baker's city rate is 2.5% and Central's school levy is 2.5%, so the total differs across the parish. Which municipality the sale happens in decides the rate, which is a live question in a parish with five separate cities in it.

Source: City of Baton Rouge — sales and use tax rates

Louisiana's return is due 15 May, not 15 April.

The federal deadline is 15 April; the Louisiana individual income tax return is due 15 May. Almost every state in this app aligns the two, so people who have moved from elsewhere file both in April out of habit — which is harmless — or assume Louisiana's is April and panic. It is worth knowing the extra month exists.

Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue — individual income tax

Common mistakes to avoid

Comparing a flat 3% income tax against another state's without also comparing a 10% sales tax.
Quoting Louisiana's pre-2025 4.45% state sales rate, or treating the current 5% as permanent.
Assuming the local rate is the same everywhere in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is not.
Buying a home and never filing for the homestead exemption.
Assuming your visa type settles your tax residency.
Missing the FBAR because a home-country account did not feel 'foreign'.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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