Louisiana Estate
Tax Calculator

Louisiana does not impose a state estate tax or inheritance tax. The state's estate tax was tied to the federal credit and expired upon its elimination.

Louisiana estates face only the federal estate tax.

Louisiana's civil law tradition (derived from French and Spanish law rather than English common law) creates a unique legal framework for estate planning. Louisiana is the only U.S.

state that uses forced heirship provisions, requiring that a portion of the estate pass to certain descendants.

Only the federal estate tax applies to Louisiana estates. The **$15 million exemption with portability and 40%** top rate governs.

No state estate tax filing is required.

Louisiana is a community property state, providing the full basis step-up for both halves of community property at the first death. This can materially reduce capital gains for Louisiana families with appreciated oil and gas interests, real estate, or family business equity.

Louisiana's forced heirship rules (La. C.C.

art. 1493) require that children under 24 (or any age if permanently incapable of caring for themselves) receive a minimum portion of the estate.

This forced portion is one-quarter if there is one forced heir, or one-half if there are two or more. These provisions limit the testator's ability to structure the estate solely for tax efficiency.

Louisiana uses usufruct rather than a traditional trust in many contexts. The surviving spouse often receives a usufruct (right to use and benefit from property) over the decedent's community property, while the naked ownership passes to the children.

This structure has specific federal estate tax implications — the usufruct is generally included in the surviving spouse's estate under IRC 2044 if it qualifies for the marital deduction.

Louisiana's unique civil law framework adds complexity to federal estate tax planning. Use this calculator to estimate federal exposure and evaluate how forced heirship affects planning options.

Free for all states.

Because Louisiana does not impose a state estate tax, the federal estate tax is the only transfer tax layer. The current federal exemption of $15 million per individual (2025) shelters the vast majority of estates.

However, estates that exceed this threshold face a top marginal rate of 40%, making federal planning essential for high-net-worth Louisiana residents.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) doubled the federal exemption effective 2018, but this increase is scheduled to sunset after 2025. If Congress does not act, the exemption will revert to approximately $7 million (adjusted for inflation).

For Louisiana residents with estates between $7 million and $15 million, this sunset creates a planning window: transfers made now under the higher exemption will not be clawed back, even if the exemption later decreases.

The absence of a state estate tax in Louisiana simplifies the analysis — there is no gap between state and federal exemptions to navigate, no separate state return to file, and no risk of double taxation. However, this also means there is no state-level deduction to offset federal liability.

Federal planning tools — marital deductions, charitable deductions, and the unified credit — carry the full weight of estate tax mitigation. Use the Louisiana estate tax calculator to model current and post-sunset scenarios, and review the Louisiana probate cost calculator to understand full settlement costs.

Federal portability allows a surviving spouse to inherit the deceased spouse's unused estate tax exclusion (DSUE), effectively doubling the available federal exemption to $30 million for married couples. Electing portability requires filing Form 706 for the first-to-die spouse, even if no federal estate tax is owed — a step that is frequently overlooked when no tax appears to be due.

Because Louisiana does not impose a state estate tax, there is no state-level portability concern. The federal election is the only one that matters, and it applies automatically to the surviving spouse's estate once made.

This is simpler than in estate-tax states, where the lack of state portability forces the use of bypass trusts to preserve both exemptions.

Despite this simplicity, portability has limitations. The DSUE amount is not indexed for inflation — it locks in at the value of the first spouse's unused exemption at the date of death.

If the surviving spouse remarries and the new spouse dies, the DSUE from the first spouse is lost. For Louisiana families with significant wealth, bypass trusts may still be preferable to portability because they provide asset protection, generation-skipping benefits, and inflation-adjusted growth outside the surviving spouse's taxable estate.

Use the executor fee calculator and probate cost calculator to understand the full administration picture when comparing trust structures.

Without a state estate tax, Louisiana residents focus planning efforts on the federal layer. The current $15 million exemption provides substantial shelter, but the scheduled TCJA sunset makes it prudent to accelerate planning.

Irrevocable trusts — including ILITs, SLATs, and QPRTs — remove assets from the taxable estate permanently. Once transferred, these assets and their future appreciation are outside the federal estate, regardless of future exemption changes.

Annual exclusion gifts of $19,000 per recipient (2025) remain the simplest estate reduction tool. Married couples can jointly gift $38,000 per recipient through gift-splitting.

Over a decade, a family gifting to four beneficiaries annually removes $1.44 million from the estate with no gift tax return required. Charitable deductions — whether through outright bequests, donor-advised funds, or charitable trusts — further reduce the taxable estate while supporting philanthropic goals.

GRATs and GRUTs (grantor retained unitrusts) transfer appreciation to beneficiaries at minimal transfer tax cost. For Louisiana residents holding concentrated stock positions or rapidly appreciating assets, these vehicles are particularly efficient.

Family limited partnerships and LLCs may provide valuation discounts for gift and estate tax purposes, though the IRS scrutinizes these structures closely. Professional valuation and proper documentation are essential.

Model your federal exposure with the Louisiana estate tax calculator, or find an estate planning attorney in Louisiana for personalized guidance.