Does Louisiana Have an Inheritance Tax? (2026 Answer)

No. Louisiana does not have an inheritance tax. The Louisiana inheritance tax was repealed effective July 1, 2008 for any death occurring on or after that date. If you inherit property, money, or any other asset from a Louisiana decedent, you do not owe state inheritance tax on it.

When did Louisiana repeal the inheritance tax?

The Louisiana’s inheritance tax was repealed by Act 822 of the 2008 Regular Session, but the repeal applied retroactively — the tax does not apply to deaths occurring on or after July 1, 2004. The repeal also eliminated any unpaid inheritance tax liability from prior years that hadn’t yet been collected. Before that date, Louisiana imposed an inheritance tax on a graduated scale based on the relationship between the heir and the decedent, with closer relatives paying lower rates.

If your loved one died before July 1, 2004, the old inheritance tax rules may still apply in theory — though those returns are long past due and the Louisiana Department of Revenue does not actively pursue them.

Louisiana’s separate estate transfer tax (also gone)

Louisiana actually had two separate succession taxes before 2005:

• Inheritance tax — repealed by Act 822 of 2008, applicable to deaths on or after July 1, 2004 (as discussed above)
• Estate transfer tax — a separate state-level estate transfer tax that applied to estates with a net value of $60,000 or more. The estate transfer tax stopped applying to deaths on or after January 1, 2005, because of a federal tax-code change that eliminated the underlying federal credit it relied on.

Both taxes are gone. New Orleans also had a short-lived local inheritance tax in the late 1980s — long since repealed. No level of Louisiana government currently imposes a tax on inheritance or estate transfers.

What about the federal estate tax?

The federal estate tax is a separate matter. As of 2024, the federal estate tax exemption is $13.61 million per individual (or roughly $27.22 million for a married couple using portability). Estates valued below the exemption owe no federal estate tax.

For the overwhelming majority of Louisiana families, this means there is no estate tax of any kind owed:

• No Louisiana inheritance tax (repealed)
• No Louisiana estate tax (never existed)
• No federal estate tax (well under the $13.61M exemption)

The 2026 sunset — Louisiana families with land or business interests should pay attention

The current high federal estate tax exemption is scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025 absent congressional action. If the exemption drops to its projected post-sunset level of roughly $6–7 million per person, many Louisiana families currently below the threshold will find themselves newly exposed to federal estate tax.

Families with illiquid assets — family farmland, rental real estate, closely-held business interests — face particular risk. Federal estate tax is due in cash within nine months of death, even when the estate’s value is tied up in property that can’t be quickly sold. Planning ahead of a potential exemption reduction may include:

• Making use of the current exemption through gifting before any change
• Establishing irrevocable trusts that lock in current exemption amounts
• Reviewing life insurance and liquidity strategies for the estate tax payment
• Coordinating Louisiana community property and forced heirship rules with federal planning

If your estate (or your parents’) is in the $5–15 million range and includes hard-to-sell assets, the next 12–18 months are a planning window worth using.

Are inherited assets taxed as income?

Generally, no. Inheritance is not income for federal or Louisiana income tax purposes. You don’t report inherited cash on your tax return as income, and you don’t pay income tax simply for receiving inherited property.

However, there are some important nuances:

• Income generated AFTER inheritance is taxable. If you inherit a rental property, the rent you collect after inheriting it is taxable income. If you inherit stocks and they pay dividends, those dividends are taxable. If you inherit CDs, the interest paid after you receive the CDs is your taxable income.
• Capital gains on inherited assets get a “stepped-up basis.” The cost basis of inherited property is generally reset to its fair market value at the date of death. If you sell shortly after inheriting, your taxable gain is usually small or zero. This is a major benefit over property transferred during life by gift, which carries the original owner’s lower basis.
• The Louisiana “double step-up” on community property. When a married Louisiana decedent’s community property passes through succession, the surviving spouse also receives a stepped-up basis on their own half of the community property — not just the half passing to heirs. This double step-up is one of the most valuable and underappreciated features of Louisiana’s community property system. A couple who bought a home for $80,000 in 1985 and sees it worth $400,000 at the first death gets the entire $400,000 basis at first death — potentially eliminating decades of capital gain if the surviving spouse later sells.
• Inherited retirement accounts have a built-in income tax liability. Inherited IRAs, 401(k)s, and pensions are the most tax-significant assets most Louisiana families inherit. Every dollar withdrawn is ordinary income to the beneficiary. The SECURE Act of 2019 requires most non-spouse beneficiaries to fully withdraw the inherited account within 10 years. SECURE 2.0 (2022) updated some of the required-minimum-distribution rules within that 10-year window but didn’t change the basic 10-year requirement. A $300,000 inherited IRA withdrawn over 10 years adds roughly $30,000 of taxable income per year — potentially pushing the beneficiary into a higher bracket. Planning the withdrawal cadence matters.
• Surviving-spouse IRA rollovers are an exception — a surviving spouse can roll an inherited IRA into their own IRA and treat it as their own, avoiding the 10-year rule entirely. This is one of the cleanest planning moves available to a Louisiana surviving spouse.
• Inherited annuities have varying tax treatment depending on the contract type, whether the annuity is qualified or non-qualified, and how the heir takes payments (lump sum, 5-year stretch, or lifetime). Consult a tax professional for specific cases.
• Inherited bank and brokerage accounts have no income tax at the moment of inheritance. Future earnings on the account are taxable to the beneficiary.

What taxes ARE involved in a Louisiana succession?

Even though there’s no inheritance or estate tax, certain costs and filings come up in a Louisiana succession:

• Court costs and filing fees for the succession itself
• Recording fees when real estate transfers are recorded
• Attorney fees for handling the succession
• Final income tax return for the decedent (for the year of death)
• Fiduciary income tax returns for the estate, if the estate generates income during administration
• Louisiana Department of Revenue affidavit of small succession (for small successions with real estate), which is a procedural filing — not a tax assessment

What about states OTHER than Louisiana?

A handful of U.S. states still impose an inheritance tax: Iowa (being phased out), Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania as of 2024. If you inherit property located in one of these states, that state’s inheritance tax may apply even if you live in Louisiana.

A separate group of states (Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia) impose a state-level estate tax. Louisiana does not.

Federal gift tax and the annual exclusion

The federal government taxes large gifts made during life, but the gift tax rarely affects ordinary Louisiana families. The two thresholds to know:

• Annual exclusion. Each donor may give a set dollar amount per recipient per year without filing a gift tax return or using any lifetime exemption. The annual exclusion is indexed for inflation and adjusts roughly every year or two (verify the current IRS figure before relying on it). Spouses can “split gifts” to double the per-recipient amount.
• Lifetime exemption. Gifts above the annual exclusion don’t trigger immediate gift tax — they reduce the donor’s combined lifetime gift-and-estate-tax exemption (the same $13.61 million figure discussed above). Once the lifetime exemption is exhausted, gift tax applies at the federal estate tax rate.
• Reporting. Donors making gifts above the annual exclusion must file IRS Form 709 even if no tax is due (because the lifetime exemption is being drawn down). The IRS uses Form 709 filings to track how much of the lifetime exemption has been used over a person’s lifetime.

Louisiana has no separate state gift tax. Only the federal gift tax rules apply to gifts made by Louisiana residents.

Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax (GSTT)

When wealth is transferred two or more generations down — for example, a grandparent leaving assets directly to a grandchild, bypassing the grandchild’s parent — the IRS may apply a separate generation-skipping transfer tax in addition to the regular estate or gift tax. The GSTT exists to prevent families from sidestepping a layer of estate tax by skipping a generation.

Each individual has a GSTT exemption equal to the lifetime estate tax exemption, and married couples can effectively double it through portability. Properly structured generation-skipping trusts can shelter substantial assets across multiple generations, but this kind of planning is highly technical and benefits from coordinated legal and tax guidance.

For most Louisiana families, the GSTT is not a near-term concern — but for families with substantial wealth and multi-generational planning goals, it’s a key element of the overall picture.

Common misconceptions about Louisiana inheritance taxes

“I need to file an inheritance tax return in Louisiana”

No. There is no inheritance tax return to file in Louisiana for deaths on or after July 1, 2008. The Louisiana Department of Revenue’s small succession affidavit filing (Form R-3318) is a procedural confirmation step for real-estate transfers — not a tax assessment.

“The estate owes inheritance tax to Louisiana”

No. Louisiana abolished both inheritance tax (2008) and never had an estate tax. The estate itself owes no tax to Louisiana.

“Different heirs pay different inheritance tax rates”

This was true before 2008 — Louisiana’s inheritance tax used a graduated scale based on relationship (spouses and direct descendants paid lower rates than distant relatives or non-relatives). Since the 2008 repeal, no inheritance tax applies regardless of relationship.

“My inheritance counts as income”

Generally false. Inherited property is not income for income tax purposes. However, income GENERATED by inherited property after you receive it (rental income, dividends, withdrawals from inherited retirement accounts) is taxable.

Frequently asked questions

Does Louisiana have an inheritance tax in 2026?

No. Louisiana’s inheritance tax was repealed by Act 822 of 2008 (applicable to deaths on or after July 1, 2004) and remains repealed in 2026. If you inherit from a Louisiana decedent, you do not owe Louisiana inheritance tax.

Does Louisiana have an estate tax?

No. Louisiana has never had a state-level estate tax separate from its (now-repealed) inheritance tax. There is no Louisiana estate tax in 2026.

Is inheritance taxable income in Louisiana?

No. Inheritance is not income for Louisiana state income tax purposes. The same rule applies federally — receiving an inheritance is not a taxable event.

Do I have to pay any tax on my Louisiana inheritance?

For the inheritance itself, no — Louisiana doesn’t tax it, and the federal government only taxes estates over $13.61 million (2024 exemption). Income generated by inherited assets after you receive them (rent, dividends, retirement-account withdrawals) is taxable as ordinary income.

What about the federal estate tax?

The federal estate tax applies only to estates over the federal exemption ($13.61 million per individual in 2024, adjusted annually for inflation). The vast majority of Louisiana estates are well below this threshold and owe no federal estate tax.

What is the Louisiana Department of Revenue affidavit of small succession?

This is a procedural filing (LDR Form R-3318) used when a small succession affidavit transfers real estate. It confirms no inheritance tax is owed — which is automatically true since the tax was repealed in 2008. It’s a procedural confirmation, not a tax assessment. See our guide to the Louisiana small succession affidavit for details.

Is the inheritance tax repeal permanent?

The Louisiana inheritance tax repeal (Act 822 of 2008) was passed by the Legislature with no sunset clause. It would take affirmative legislative action to reinstate any form of inheritance tax in Louisiana. As of 2026, no such legislation is pending.

If there’s no inheritance tax, why do successions cost money?

Successions involve court costs, recording fees, attorney fees for handling the process, certified copies of death certificates, and other administrative expenses — but none of these are taxes. They’re the cost of the legal process needed to transfer ownership of the decedent’s property to the heirs.

Are gifts before death taxed?

Louisiana does not impose a gift tax. The federal gift tax applies, but most gifts fall under the annual exclusion ($18,000 per recipient in 2024) or use a portion of the donor’s lifetime gift/estate tax exemption. For most Louisiana families, gifts are tax-free.

What if my loved one died before July 1, 2004?

The pre-repeal Louisiana inheritance tax rules technically still apply to deaths before July 1, 2004, though any such return is decades overdue. For practical purposes, the Louisiana Department of Revenue will not actively pursue inheritance tax for those pre-repeal deaths at this point. Consult a tax attorney if you discover an unfiled pre-2008 inheritance tax matter.

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If you have questions about a Louisiana succession or your inheritance situation, contact Scott Law Group — Estate Counsel or call (504) 264-1057. We handle Louisiana successions and probate matters statewide.

This article provides general information about Louisiana inheritance taxation and is not legal or tax advice. Specific situations should be reviewed with a qualified Louisiana attorney or tax professional.