What actually sets Louisiana apart
In Louisiana the property tax is rarely the number that decides affordability. Flood and windstorm insurance premiums along the coast and in the river parishes routinely run to several times the annual tax, and lenders escrow both. Get an insurance quote for the specific address before you rely on any payment estimate.
Property taxes in Louisiana at a glance
- Average effective tax rate: 0.55% of home value per year
- Median home value: $208,700
- Estimated tax on a median-value home: $1,146 per year (about $96 per month)
- Rank by tax rate: 39th of 50, highest first
- Rank by amount actually paid: 47th of 50, highest first
- Where these figures come from: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, for the Louisiana statewide averages shown above — ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates, last reviewed September 2026.
What the Louisiana rate leaves out
Louisiana is 39th of the fifty by rate and 47th by the bill a median-value owner receives — a shift of 8 places, and the $208,700 median home value is what causes it. The rate is a reasonable shorthand here, but it is not the whole answer, and both numbers are worth checking before comparing Louisiana with anywhere else.
How Louisiana works out what you owe
Residential property is assessed at 10% of fair market value, and millage is levied by the parish, the school board, the sheriff, levee districts and municipalities.
Owners aged 65 or older within an income limit can have the assessed value of their homestead frozen under the special assessment level, which holds even as the market moves.
Exemptions Louisiana homeowners should claim
Each of these reduces a Louisiana bill every year you hold the property, and almost none are granted without a claim:
- Homestead exemption: Exempts the first tranche of market value on an owner-occupied home from all taxes except municipal levies, which is why many Louisiana homeowners outside city limits pay very little.
- Disabled veteran exemption: Veterans with a service-connected disability rating receive an additional exemption on top of the standard homestead amount.
Where you buy inside Louisiana changes the bill
A statewide average hides its extremes. Where they show up in Louisiana:
- Orleans Parish: New Orleans, where municipal millage applies on top of the parish rate and the homestead exemption therefore shelters less of the bill
- East Baton Rouge Parish: the state capital, with city-parish consolidated government and a large school levy
- Jefferson Parish: suburban New Orleans, where levee and drainage district millage is a visible line on every bill
Louisiana and its neighbours
The same $208,700 — the Louisiana median — taxed at each neighbouring state's average rate:
- Texas at 1.58%: about $3,297 a year, roughly $2,151 more than the $1,146 a Louisiana owner would pay on the same value.
- Arkansas at 0.57%: about $1,190 a year, roughly $44 more than the $1,146 a Louisiana owner would pay on the same value.
- Mississippi at 0.74%: about $1,544 a year, roughly $398 more than the $1,146 a Louisiana owner would pay on the same value.
Appealing a Louisiana assessment
If the assessed value on your Louisiana home overstates what it is worth, the route is an appeal to the parish Board of Review, then the Louisiana Tax Commission. The window is during the public inspection period, generally in late August and early September, and it is strict — missing it means waiting a full cycle.
Frequently asked questions
When are Louisiana property taxes due, and when must exemption claims be filed?
Bills are mailed in late November and are due by 31 December. The homestead exemption is filed once with the parish assessor after closing and remains in force while you occupy the home.
Does this calculator use my exact Louisiana county tax rate?
No — it applies the Louisiana statewide average of 0.55%. Rates are set locally, and the spread inside Louisiana is wide enough to matter: on a $208,700 home, $909 a year separates Louisiana from an averagely taxed state before any county variation is counted. Check the parcel's own rate with its Louisiana county before relying on this figure.
Reference sources
Related calculators
How this estimate is built
Principal and interest come from the standard amortization formula, worked through in full on the formula reference page. Property tax, insurance, PMI and loan-program figures layer on top from published assumptions — each one sourced, dated and listed on the methodology page. Every result here is an estimate built from public data, not a quote: confirm the specifics with a lender before relying on it.
For developers
This calculation is also available as a REST API and through an MCP server, both running the same engine as this page — so the figures match by construction rather than by convention. No key required.