Louisiana Homestead Exemption: Amount, Freeze and How to Apply

Louisiana's homestead exemption takes the first $7,500 of assessed value of an owner-occupied home off the rolls for state, parish and special property taxes, under Article VII, Section 20(A) of the Louisiana Constitution and La. R.S. 47:1703. Because land and residential improvements are assessed at 10 percent of fair market value, that $7,500 of assessed value corresponds to the first $75,000 of a home's market value. You apply to your parish assessor, and you must own and occupy the home on or before December 31 of the year you claim it. The exemption does not reach most city taxes, and Louisiana has no single statewide application form or filing deadline that this article could verify, so check with your assessor. For other states, see our guide to homestead exemptions by state.

Information last verified on October 7, 2026. This article has not been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article covers Louisiana's property-tax homestead exemption (La. Const. art. VII, sec. 20 and La. R.S. 47:1703), the special assessment level in art. VII, sec. 18(G), the additional exemptions in art. VII, sec. 21, the homestead measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot, and the creditor homestead in La. R.S. 20:1. It does not cover individual parish filing deadlines or forms beyond what is stated here, business property, millage rates, or the law of other states.

How much is the Louisiana homestead exemption?

The exemption is $7,500 of assessed value. Article VII, Section 20(A) of the Louisiana Constitution provides that a bona fide homestead "shall be exempt from state, parish, and special ad valorem taxes to the extent of seven thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation." La. R.S. 47:1703 restates the amount: "the exemption, for a bona fide homestead exemption as defined in Section 20 of Article VII of the Constitution, shall be seven thousand, five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation."

The figure is assessed value, not market value. Under Article VII, Section 18(B), land and residential improvements are assessed at 10 percent of fair market value, so the $7,500 exemption corresponds to the first $75,000 of market value. This article does not estimate a dollar saving, because that depends on the millage rates where you live.

These amounts are set in the constitution as of October 7, 2026 and are not indexed to inflation. The income limit for the special assessment level is the exception; it is covered below.

Which taxes the exemption reduces

The exemption reduces state, parish and special property taxes, but not most city taxes. Article VII, Section 20(A) states: "This exemption shall not extend to municipal taxes. However, the exemptions shall apply (a) in Orleans Parish, to state, general city, school, levee, and levee district taxes and (b) to any municipal taxes levied for school purposes."

So if you live inside a city other than New Orleans, expect to pay that city's own property tax on the full assessment, apart from any city tax levied for schools.

Who is eligible for the homestead exemption

The home must be a bona fide homestead that you both own and occupy. The research behind this article identified these conditions in the constitution and R.S. 47:1703:

• Ownership and occupancy by December 31. R.S. 47:1703 states that the owner "must own and occupy the homestead on or before December thirty-first of the calendar year in which the exemption is claimed regardless of its homestead exemption status as of January first of the calendar year in which the homestead exemption is claimed."
• Natural persons or certain trusts. The owner must be one or more natural persons, or a trust created by natural persons whose beneficiaries are natural persons.
• One per person. No one may receive more than one homestead exemption in Louisiana.
• Acreage. The exemption covers up to 160 acres, rural or urban, including the land and buildings.
• Mobile homes. A primary residence that is a mobile home can qualify even if the homeowner does not own the land, but the exemption then does not apply to the land.
• Co-owners. On co-owned property, the exemption is limited to the occupying owner's pro rata share.
• Spouses, trusts and usufructuaries. The exemption extends to a surviving or former spouse who occupies the home (under the title conditions in Article VII, Section 20(A)(2)), to a trust whose principal beneficiaries are the settlors and were the immediate prior owners, where a principal beneficiary occupies the home, and to up to two usufructuaries who were the immediate prior owners, where a usufructuary occupies the home.
• Bond for deed. Property bought under a bond for deed does not qualify, except where the exemption was granted before June 20, 2003.

How and when to apply

You apply to the assessor of the parish where the home is located. Louisiana has 64 assessors, and the Louisiana Assessors' Association says its site will help the public in "locating information on each of the sixty-four assessors" in the state. This article could not verify a single statewide application form or online portal; each assessor uses its own application.

What to bring depends on the parish. As one example, the Jefferson Parish assessor asks applicants to "Bring a recorded copy of your act of sale and a photo ID showing the property address." Check your own assessor's list before you go.

Deadline. This article could not verify a statewide filing deadline, and parish assessors set their own procedures. The rule the statute does set is the ownership date: you must own and occupy the home on or before December 31 of the year you claim the exemption. Ask your assessor when it must receive your application for the current tax year.

Orleans Parish has its own timing rule. R.S. 47:1703 provides: "In the parish of Orleans, the status of real and personal property on the first day of August of each year, except as provided in Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section, shall determine its liability for exemption from taxation for the following calendar year." Paragraph (A)(2) is the December 31 own-and-occupy rule quoted above.

Do you reapply each year? In most parishes, no. Under La. R.S. 47:1703.1, the assessors of 60 of the 64 parishes (all except Bossier, Madison, Plaquemines and St. Charles) must provide a form for permanent registration of the homestead exemption, and an exemption claimed that way "shall remain valid without necessity of renewal of the claim as long as the claimant and property qualify for the exemption." The form includes a sworn statement that you own and occupy the home and are not claiming any other property as your homestead. Jefferson Parish, one of the listed parishes, states: "After the initial filing, you will receive a receipt in the mail each year confirming the exemption remains in place." In Bossier, Madison, Plaquemines and St. Charles, ask your assessor whether it requires re-filing.

Disaster-damaged homes. If a disaster or emergency declared by the governor damaged your homestead and you cannot live in it, Article VII, Section 20(A)(10) and R.S. 47:1703(E) let you keep the exemption by filing an annual affidavit of intent to return with the assessor before December 31 of each year you claim it, for up to five years. Two more years are available only if your claim to repair or rebuild is filed and pending in a formal appeal with a government agency or program, or against your insurer, and you give the assessor official documentation of it. After that, the assessor may grant up to three more one-year extensions case by case, but only if you document a good-faith attempt to secure a contractor or builder and the project is held up by contractor or builder delays outside your control. A parallel rule in R.S. 47:1703(E)(2) protects the special assessment level on a damaged home.

The special assessment level (Louisiana's assessment freeze)

Louisiana does not cap annual assessment increases for every homestead, but it freezes the assessment for certain owners. Article VII, Section 18(G) provides that a qualifying homestead's assessment "shall not be increased above the total assessment of that property for the first year that the owner qualifies for and receives the special assessment level."

The freeze covers residential property that receives the homestead exemption and is owned and occupied by:

• a person 65 or older;
• a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of 50 percent or more;
• a person who is permanently totally disabled, as established by a court judgment or a state or federal agency certification; or
• members of the U.S. armed forces or the Louisiana National Guard who owned and last occupied the home and were killed in action, or have been missing in action or a prisoner of war for more than 90 days.

Income limit. The current constitutional text sets the limit at adjusted gross income of $100,000, with the special assessment level unavailable if income "exceeds one hundred thousand dollars." The test uses adjusted gross income on the federal return for the year before you apply, and for applicants married filing separately, the adjusted gross income on both federal returns is combined. The constitution provides for an annual inflation adjustment of that figure beginning with tax year 2026. This article could not verify the adjusted figure that applies for 2026, so ask your assessor for the current number.

How to apply. Section 18(G) states: "An eligible owner or the owner's spouse or other legally qualified representative shall apply for the special assessment level by filing a signed application establishing that the owner qualifies for the special assessment level with the assessor of the parish." Most owners under 65, such as veterans rated 50 percent or more, must certify their income each year; the constitution exempts permanently totally disabled owners, and owners who qualified at 65 or older and their qualifying surviving spouses, from that annual certification. In the words of the constitution, such an owner "may qualify for and receive the special assessment level in the subsequent year by certifying to the assessor of the parish that such person or persons' adjusted gross income in the prior tax year satisfied the income requirement of this Section."

How long it lasts. The freeze stays in place while the qualifying owner remains the owner, subject to surviving-spouse rules, unless the property's value increases by more than 25 percent because of construction. It does not move to a new home. Section 18(G) states: "The special assessment level on property that is sold shall automatically expire on the last day of December in the year prior to the year that the property is sold."

Reappraisal phase-in. Separately, Article VII, Section 18(F)(2) phases in over four years any reappraisal increase of more than 50 percent on residential property that receives the homestead exemption.

Disabled veteran and first responder exemptions

Disabled veterans. Article VII, Section 21(K) adds exemptions on top of the $7,500 for "property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating." A veteran rated 50 percent to under 70 percent can exempt the next $2,500 of assessed value, and one rated 70 percent to under 100 percent the next $4,500. For a veteran rated 100 percent unemployability or totally disabled, the exemption reaches "the remaining assessed valuation of property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a veteran with a service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent unemployability or totally disabled." Under the current text, a surviving spouse who occupies the home and remains its owner can continue to receive it. Apply to your parish assessor with your VA rating documentation.

First responders (parish option). Section 21(O) lets "a parish governing authority" approve "an ad valorem tax exemption of up to two thousand five hundred dollars of the assessed valuation of property receiving the homestead exemption that is owned and occupied by a qualified first responder." It is not statewide: "The exemption provided for in this Paragraph shall only apply in a parish if it is approved by the parish governing authority." Where it exists, the first responder applies to the assessor each year with documentation from the employer.

False claims, penalties and appeals

Lying to get the exemption is a crime. R.S. 47:1703(C) makes it a misdemeanor to knowingly make a false statement or furnish false information to obtain the exemption, or to help someone else do so, punishable "by a fine of not less than one hundred dollars, nor more than five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment of not less than one month, nor more than six months, or both."

The exemption depends on ownership and occupancy, and in most parishes you must report a change. In the 60 parishes covered by permanent registration under La. R.S. 47:1703.1 (all except Bossier, Madison, Plaquemines and St. Charles), "Any person who fails to notify the assessor in writing that the property upon which he has claimed a homestead exemption under this Section no longer qualifies for that exemption, within sixty days after the disqualification occurs, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor." The penalty is a fine of $100 to $500, one to six months in jail, or both. If you move out, rent the home or sell it, tell your assessor in writing within 60 days. In the other four parishes, ask your assessor how to report the change.

If you disagree with your assessment, the constitution sets the review path. Article VII, Section 18(E) provides: "The correctness of assessments by the assessor shall be subject to review first by the parish governing authority, then by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor, and finally by the courts."

Homestead measures on the November 3, 2026 ballot

Louisiana voters will decide several constitutional amendments on November 3, 2026, according to the Secretary of State's list of proposed amendments. None is law unless voters approve it.

• Amendment 9 (Act 220 of 2025) would raise the special assessment level income limit from $100,000 to $150,000 for tax years beginning January 1, 2027, with inflation adjustments starting in tax year 2028. The ballot question asks: "Do you support an amendment to increase the maximum amount of income a person may receive and still qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption? (Effective January 1, 2027)"
• Amendment 1 (Act 39 of 2026) would let the surviving spouse of a deceased veteran who had the service-connected disability exemption make a one-time transfer of that additional exemption "to a subsequent qualifying property," effective January 1, 2027.
• Amendment 6 (Act 274 of 2026) would allow an additional, age-tiered exemption for a homestead owned and occupied by someone 65 or older who qualifies for the special assessment level, from the next $6,000 of assessed value at ages 65 to 68 up to the next $30,000 at 81 and older, effective January 1, 2028. It would apply only in a parish or municipality whose voters approve it at a local election. It would add a new paragraph to Article VII, Section 21.
• Amendment 2 (Act 273 of 2026) concerns the rule for adjusting millage rates in Article VII, Section 23(C). It affects tax rates, not the homestead exemption itself.

Louisiana's creditor homestead: La. R.S. 20:1

Louisiana also uses the word "homestead" for a different law. La. R.S. 20:1 limits how much of a home's value many creditors can seize, and it has nothing to do with property taxes. The $7,500 tax exemption and the creditor homestead are separate; a figure from one never applies to the other.

Amount. R.S. 20:1 states: "This exemption extends to thirty-five thousand dollars in value of the homestead." For obligations arising directly from a catastrophic or terminal illness or injury, the exemption covers the full value of the homestead, based on its value one year before the seizure; the statute defines those as uninsured health care obligations of more than $10,000 that also exceed 50 percent of the three-year average adjusted gross income. The exemption also extends to separately escrowed disaster insurance proceeds, and to a surviving spouse or minor children.

What land it covers. The homestead includes the residence and its land, buildings and appurtenances, plus contiguous tracts "up to a total of five acres if the residence is within a municipality, or up to a total of two hundred acres of land if the residence is not located in a municipality."

No recorded declaration in R.S. 20:1. The text of R.S. 20:1 defines the homestead by its use as a residence and does not require a recorded declaration. An owner may waive the exemption (with the spouse's consent, and not for medical treatment or services), and "all such waivers shall be recorded in the mortgage records of the parish where the homestead is situated."

What it does not protect against. The exemption does not apply to the purchase price; to labor, money and materials for building, repairing or improving the homestead; to taxes or assessments; to the rent privilege; to homestead or building and loan association loans; to mortgage advances; to liabilities of fiduciaries, officers and attorneys for money they received; or "For any obligation arising from the conviction of a felony or misdemeanor which has the possibility of imprisonment of at least six months." A creditor homestead reduces exposure; it does not make a home safe from every creditor.

Bankruptcy. Louisiana opts out of the federal bankruptcy exemption list. La. R.S. 13:3881(B)(1) provides that "there shall be exempt from the property of the estate of an individual debtor only that property and income which is exempt under the laws of the state of Louisiana and under federal laws other than 11 U.S.C. 522(d)." For how the homestead works in a bankruptcy case, see Louisiana bankruptcy laws. To look up your parcel's assessment or deed, see Louisiana property records.

When a homeowner dies

Beyond the creditor homestead's extension to a surviving spouse or minor children, Louisiana Civil Code article 3252 gives a small allowance: when a surviving spouse or minor children "shall be left in necessitous circumstances, and not possess in their own rights property to the amount of one thousand dollars," they may demand from the succession enough to bring their property to $1,000. For the rest of the succession process, see Louisiana probate laws.

Related

• Homestead exemptions by state
• Louisiana bankruptcy laws
• Louisiana probate laws
• Louisiana property records

This article is general legal information about Louisiana law (La. Const. art. VII, secs. 18, 20 and 21; La. R.S. 47:1703 and 47:1703.1; La. R.S. 20:1; La. R.S. 13:3881; and La. Civil Code art. 3252), verified as of October 7, 2026. It is not tax or legal advice. For your situation, contact your parish assessor, the Louisiana Tax Commission, or a lawyer licensed in Louisiana.

Last updated: October 8, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the homestead exemption in Louisiana?

It exempts the first $7,500 of a home's assessed value from state, parish and special property taxes (La. Const. art. VII, sec. 20(A); La. R.S. 47:1703). Because homes are assessed at 10 percent of market value, that is about the first $75,000 of market value.

When is the deadline to file for homestead exemption in Louisiana?

This article could not verify a statewide filing deadline; each parish assessor sets its own procedure, so ask yours. R.S. 47:1703 requires that you own and occupy the home on or before December 31 of the year you claim the exemption.

Do I have to reapply for homestead exemption every year in Louisiana?

In most parishes, no. Under La. R.S. 47:1703.1, assessors in 60 of the 64 parishes (all but Bossier, Madison, Plaquemines and St. Charles) offer permanent registration, and an exemption registered that way stays valid without renewal as long as you and the property still qualify. You must notify the assessor in writing within 60 days if the home stops qualifying. In the other four parishes, ask your assessor. Separately, most owners under 65 on the special assessment level, such as disabled veterans, must certify their income each year; permanently totally disabled owners do not.

Does the Louisiana homestead exemption cover city taxes?

Mostly no. Article VII, Section 20(A) says it does not extend to municipal taxes, except Orleans Parish's state, general city, school, levee and levee district taxes and any municipal taxes levied for school purposes.

Is there a property tax freeze for seniors in Louisiana?

Yes. The special assessment level in La. Const. art. VII, sec. 18(G) freezes the assessment of a homestead owned and occupied by someone 65 or older and certain disabled owners and veterans, if adjusted gross income is within the limit ($100,000 in the constitutional text, adjusted for inflation beginning tax year 2026). You apply to your parish assessor, and it expires when the home is sold.

Do disabled veterans pay property tax in Louisiana?

Veterans with a homestead and a service-connected rating get more than the $7,500: the next $2,500 of assessed value at 50 to under 70 percent, the next $4,500 at 70 to under 100 percent, and all remaining assessed value at 100 percent unemployability or total disability (La. Const. art. VII, sec. 21(K)).

Does the Louisiana homestead exemption protect my house from creditors?

The tax exemption does not. A separate law, La. R.S. 20:1, protects up to $35,000 in value of a homestead from many creditors, with exceptions such as purchase-price, improvement and mortgage debts, taxes, and certain criminal obligations.

What is Amendment 9 on the 2026 Louisiana ballot?

Amendment 9 (Act 220 of 2025) would raise the special assessment level income limit to $150,000 for tax years beginning January 1, 2027. It is on the November 3, 2026 ballot and is not law unless voters approve it.