Louisiana Tax Residence

Summary

Louisiana treats you as a resident for income tax if you spend, added together, more than six months of the tax year in the state. No home in Louisiana is needed for this. The law gives the limit in months and not in days, so Countr uses 181 days, the shortest six calendar months. You are also a resident if Louisiana is your permanent home in law, or if you maintain a permanent place of abode there. A resident is taxed on income from all sources. The Louisiana Department of Revenue applies the rule.

Limit

More than six months. Countr counts this as 181 days

Period

The tax year, for most people 1 January to 31 December

A day counts when

Not defined in the statute. Countr counts any part of a day

Home needed

No. The time test works without a home in Louisiana

Law

Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 47:31(1)

Run by

Louisiana Department of Revenue

Who it applies to

• People from Texas, Mississippi or other states who work in Louisiana for long periods and live in hotels, work camps or short lets.
• Film, energy, port and construction workers on long projects in the state.
• People who spend the winter in Louisiana each year.
• People who moved out of Louisiana and still spend a large part of the year there with family.

The rule

R.S. 47:31(1) names three kinds of resident individual. The first is every natural person domiciled in the state. Domicile is the place that is your permanent home in law. The second is every other natural person who maintains a permanent place of abode within the state. The third is every other natural person who spends in the aggregate more than six months of the taxable year within the state. Each of the three is 'deemed to be a resident' for income tax. The word 'or' joins the second and third, so the time test stands alone.

This makes Louisiana different from most states on this subject. In many states a day count works only together with a home in the state. In Louisiana, more than six months of presence is enough, even when you sleep in hotels. And a permanent place of abode is enough, even with few days.

The Department of Revenue describes the result in plain terms: individuals who reside in the state for more than six months are considered residents for the entire year. So the rule does not tax you only from the day you cross the line. It changes your status for the whole tax year.

The statute does not say how many days are in six months and does not say whether a part of a day counts. Six calendar months have between 181 and 184 days, depending on the months. On domicile, the Department says that a temporary absence from Louisiana does not by itself change your domicile, and that a person who claims a new domicile must show real steps, such as registering to vote, registering a vehicle or getting a driving licence in the new state.

Why it exists

Louisiana has many people who come for work that lasts months: on rigs, in ports, in plants and on film sets. They often keep a legal home in another state. The six-month test lets Louisiana treat a person who is in the state for most of the year like any other resident, without a long argument about intention or about what kind of housing the person uses.

Counting the days

You add together all the time you spent in Louisiana during the tax year and ask whether it is more than six months. Because the law gives no number of days, a careful count uses the lowest number that six calendar months can have.

1. Take the tax year. For most people this is 1 January to 31 December.
2. Mark every calendar day on which you were in Louisiana, including arrival and departure days.
3. Add the days from all stays. The time does not need to be in one block.
4. Compare with 181 days, which is February to July in a normal year. Up to 181 days you are not over six months on any reading.
5. Between 182 and 184 days the answer is not clear from the statute, so treat this zone as over the limit unless a professional tells you otherwise.
6. Check the other two routes as well: your domicile, and any permanent place of abode you keep in Louisiana.

Examples

A film job in New Orleans

Andre is domiciled in Georgia and works on film sets. In 2026 he works on two productions in New Orleans and stays in short lets from 5 January to 31 July. That is 27 days in January and 181 days from February to July, 208 days in total. He has no permanent home in Louisiana, but he spent more than six months of the year there. He is a Louisiana resident for all of 2026.

A winter visitor from Michigan

Carol is domiciled in Michigan and takes a different holiday let near Lafayette each winter. In 2026 she is in Louisiana from 1 January to 20 March, 79 days, and from 10 November to 31 December, 52 days. Her total is 131 days, well under six months. The time test does not make her a resident. If she kept one dwelling in Louisiana all year for her own use, the separate permanent place of abode route would need a look.

Which six months?

Two people each spend six full calendar months in Baton Rouge in 2026. Lee stays from 1 February to 31 July, which is 181 days. Nora stays from 1 July to 31 December, which is 184 days. The statute says 'more than six months' and gives no number of days, so it does not settle how many extra days put each of them over. Countr warns both of them after 181 days, the lower number.

Exceptions

• The time test adds together all stays in the tax year. Several short stays can pass six months in total even when no single stay is long.
• A person who is domiciled in Louisiana is a resident whatever the number of days. A temporary absence does not change domicile.
• A person who maintains a permanent place of abode in Louisiana is a resident under the second route, even with fewer than six months in the state.
• A person who moves into or out of Louisiana during the year and changes domicile is treated as a part-year resident and files the nonresident and part-year resident return, Form IT-540B.
• Federal law protects members of the armed forces: a service member does not become a resident of a state only because military orders station him or her there.

Common misconceptions

“I have no house or flat in Louisiana, so I cannot be a resident.”

The six-month test in R.S. 47:31(1) does not ask for a home. More than six months of presence in the tax year is enough, wherever you sleep.

“Louisiana uses 183 days.”

The statute says 'more than six months' and gives no number of days. Six calendar months can be 181, 182, 183 or 184 days. A count that waits for day 184 may be too late.

“If I pass six months, only my income after that date is taxed as a resident's.”

The Department says that people who reside in the state for more than six months are considered residents for the entire year.

“Staying under six months always keeps me a nonresident.”

There are two other routes. If Louisiana is your domicile, or if you maintain a permanent place of abode there, you are a resident with fewer days.

Questions and answers

How many days is six months in Louisiana tax law?

The statute does not say. It only says 'more than six months of the taxable year'. Six calendar months have between 181 and 184 days, so a careful person treats 181 days as the line. Countr does the same.

Do the six months have to be in a row?

No. The statute says 'in the aggregate', which means that all your time in Louisiana in the tax year is added together.

Do days spent only driving through Louisiana count?

The statute has no rule for transit days and no rule for part days. Countr counts every day with any presence, because it cannot tell a stay from a passage. If transit days decide your case, ask the Department or a tax professional.

I was billed by Louisiana for a year when I lived in another state. What does the Department want to see?

The Department asks for documents that show your domicile in the other state, for example a voter registration, a vehicle registration or a driving licence from that state. A temporary absence from Louisiana is not enough to change domicile.

Can I be a resident of Louisiana and of my home state at the same time?

Yes. Your home state can tax you as a person domiciled there, and Louisiana can treat you as a resident under the six-month test. States normally give a credit for tax paid to another state on the same income, but you must claim it.

Does the six-month count carry over from last year?

No. The test looks at one taxable year. A stay from October to March is split between two years, and each year is counted alone.

Sources

• Louisiana Revised Statutes, R.S. 47:31, Imposition of tax, resident individuals
• Louisiana Department of Revenue, FAQ on a bill for a year when you were not a Louisiana resident

Read more: The 183-day rule: what it means and what it does not.

Other rules for United States

• Arizona Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
• California Tax — Visitors 181 days in each calendar year
• California Tax Residence 273 days in each calendar year
• Connecticut Tax — 30 Days or Fewer 30 days in each calendar year
• Connecticut Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
• Delaware Tax Residence 183 days in each calendar year
• Hawaii Tax Residence 200 days in each calendar year
• Idaho Tax Residence 270 days in each calendar year

See all trackers

This page explains the rule and how the days are counted. It is not legal or tax advice. The authority decides each case on its own facts.