Louisiana — Tax Residency Rule

Summary

Day threshold

More than 183 days

Window

Calendar year

Also requires

A permanent place of abode in LA

Effect

Taxed on worldwide income

Authority

Louisiana Department of Revenue

Louisiana treats you as a statutory resident for income tax if both are true in the same calendar year: you spend more than 183 days in the state and you maintain a permanent place of abode in Louisiana. To stay outside this rule, keep your Louisiana days at 183 or fewer, or avoid keeping a permanent home there. When both conditions are met, Louisiana can tax your worldwide income for that year.

Who it applies to

This matters most if you are:

• A remote worker or frequent traveler spending long stretches in Louisiana without being domiciled there.
• Someone who keeps a home in Louisiana while living or working mostly in another state or country.
• A person who moved to or from Louisiana mid-year and is unsure how the days add up.

It applies to individuals regardless of citizenship or visa status — this test is about physical presence and a maintained home, not nationality.

The rule — and why it exists

Louisiana defines resident status for income tax through two independent routes:

• Statutory residency. More than 183 days of presence in the calendar year while maintaining a permanent place of abode in the state makes you a resident for that year.
• Domicile. If Louisiana is your domicile — your true, fixed, permanent home to which you intend to return — you can be taxed as a resident regardless of the day count, under a separate test.

Why it exists: states use physical presence and a maintained home as proxies for where your economic life really sits. Pairing the day count with an abode requirement stops people from claiming non-residency purely by shading their days while still keeping a base in the state.

Counting the days

1. 1Count each day, or part of a day, you are physically present in Louisiana during the calendar year (1 January to 31 December).
2. 2The count resets to zero at the start of each new calendar year — it is a fresh annual tally, not a rolling window.
3. 3Any part of a day generally counts as a full day, including arrival and departure days, unless you are only passing through in transit.
4. 4You become a statutory resident once you exceed 183 days while also holding a permanent place of abode in the state that year.

Because the window is the calendar year, a single stay split across a year-end can leave you under the threshold in each individual year even if the trip itself is longer.

Examples

Example 1 — clearly a statutory resident

You rent a year-round apartment in New Orleans and spend about 220 days in Louisiana this calendar year. You exceed 183 days and maintain a permanent abode, so you are a statutory resident and Louisiana can tax your worldwide income for the year.

Example 2 — over 183 days but no permanent abode

You spend 200 days in Louisiana staying in short-term hotels while working a temporary project, keeping no home suited to year-round living. The day count is met, but without a permanent place of abode the statutory-resident rule does not apply (a domicile analysis could still be relevant).

Example 3 — a stay across year-end

You keep a Louisiana home and stay from 1 October to 30 April — about seven continuous months. Split across the two calendar years, that is roughly 92 days in the first year and 120 in the second, so neither year on its own crosses 183. The annual reset keeps each year under the statutory threshold.

Exceptions & edge cases

• Domicile overrides the day count. If you are domiciled in Louisiana, you can be a resident for tax with fewer than 183 days — the statutory route is not the only way in.
• The abode must be genuinely maintained. A place kept only briefly, or a property not suited to year-round living, generally does not count as a permanent abode.
• Part-year residency. If you move into or out of Louisiana during the year, you may be a part-year resident, taxed on income for the portion of the year you were a resident.
• Two-state exposure. Meeting Louisiana's test does not erase another state's claim on you — you can be treated as a resident by more than one state at once, with credits sometimes easing double taxation.

Common misconceptions

• "Under 183 days means I'm safe." Not always — domicile can make you a Louisiana resident with far fewer days.
• "The days alone make me a resident." For the statutory rule you also need a permanent place of abode in the state that year; the day count on its own is not enough.
• "Only Louisiana income is taxed." A statutory resident is taxed on worldwide income for the year the test is met, not just income earned inside the state.
• "It's a rolling 12-month count." The window is the calendar year and resets each 1 January.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Individual income tax
• Louisiana Revised Statutes — Title 47, Income Tax