LOUISIANA WITHHOLDING TABLES AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS

Louisiana Dep ar tme nt of Revenue

R - 13 0 6 ( 7 /0 9 )

LOUISIANA WITHHOLDING TABLES

AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR EMPLOYERS

Quick as a Click

Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTap) is the fastest and most accurate way to file and

pay your withholding with the Department of Revenue.

Register for LaTap at revenue.

Withholding Forms

Form

Number

Form Title

R- 16019 (CR-1)

Application for a Louisiana Tax

Identification Number

L-1

Employer¡¯s Quarterly, Monthly,

Semimonthly, or Annual Return

of Louisiana State Income Tax

Withheld

Filing Deadline

N/A

Quarterly returns are due the last day of

the month following the period.

Monthly returns are due the last day of the

month following the period.

How to Obtain Form

File your application electronically through

our Online Business Registration application,

or obtain the form from our website at

revenue.

Automatically mailed to newly registered

employers for withholding taxes or on our

website at revenue.

Semimonthly returns will have two periods

for each month. A semimonthly return is

due on the last day of the month for wages

paid during the first 15 day period of the

same month, and a semimonthly return is

due the 15th day of the following month for

wages paid between the 16th day and the

last day of a month.

Annual returns are due on or before

February 28 of the following year.

If the due date falls on a weekend or

holiday, the return is due the next business

day and becomes delinquent the first day

thereafter.

None

Withholding Tax Statement - State

copy of Federal Form W-2

Filed with Form L-3 on or before February

28 of the following year.

State copy of Federal Form W-2 accepted

L-3

Employer¡¯s Annual Reconciliation

of Louisiana Income Tax Withheld

On or before February 28 of the following

year.

Automatically mailed to newly registered

employers for withholding taxes or on our

website at revenue.

R-1300 (L-4)

Employee¡¯s Withholding Exemption

Certificate

An employee is required to submit this

certificate to his employer on or before

employment begins, or within 10 days of

any reduction to the number of exemptions

or credits for dependents.

On our website at revenue.,

or upon request

R-1307 (L-4E)

Exemption from Withholding

Certificate

N/A

On our website at revenue.,

or upon request

This public document was published at a total cost of $3,412.20. Five thousand copies of this public document were published in this

first printing at a cost of $3,412.20. The total cost of all printings of this document, including reprints, is $3,412.20. This document was

published for the Department of Revenue, Post Office Box 201, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0201, by the Division of Administration, State

Printing Office, to supply employers with withholding tables and instructions under authority of R.S. 47:112. This material was printed

in accordance with the standards for printing by state agencies established pursuant to R.S. 43:31.

Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

ONLINE FILING APPLICATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

YOUR DUTIES AS AN EMPLOYER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

WHICH FORM TO USE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

WHEN TO OBTAIN A TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

PAYING INCOME TAX WITHHELD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF TAX TO BE WITHHELD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Withholding for residents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

WITHHOLDING FOR NONRESIDENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SICK PAY MAY BE EXCLUDED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

WAGES TO BE EXEMPT FROM WITHHOLDING TAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

PAYROLL PERIOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

SUPPLEMENTAL WAGE PAYMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

WITHHOLDING EXEMPTIONS AND CREDITS FOR DEPENDENTS . . . . . . . . . . 6

PENALTY FOR FALSE CERTIFICATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

FILING PERIODS FOR SUBMITTING L-1 RETURNS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ADJUSTMENTS TO WITHHOLDING TAX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

COMPLETING AN AMENDED RETURN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

PROVIDING RECEIPTS FOR EMPLOYEES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

RECONCILING LOUISIANA TAX WITHHELD ANNUALLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

FILING FORM L-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

RECORDS TO KEEP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

PENALTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

INTEREST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ASSISTANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

COMPUTER FORMULA METHOD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

INTRODUCTION

This booklet provides a summary of an employer¡¯s responsibility

for withholding Louisiana income tax on wages for their employees.

It is not intended as a substitute for the actual statutes and

regulations. The responsibility for withholding income tax on

wages applies to all employers.

YOUR DUTIES AS AN EMPLOYER

As an employer, it is your duty to:

ONLINE FILING APPLICATIONS

Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTap) is a free online

service provided by the Louisiana Department of Revenue that

allows business taxpayers to access their accounts online, file

certain reports, and make payments. Use of this application is

recommended for filing the L-1 return and is available at

revenue..

? secure an Employee¡¯s Exemption Certificate, Form R-1300 (L4), from each employee at the time of employment and when

exemption status changes;

LaWage is another online application to be used to submit the

L-3 Annual Reconcilation of Louisiana Income Tax Withheld. This

application is also available at revenue..

? furnish each employee with a state copy of the Federal Form

W-2 at the end of their employment or before January 31 of the

following calendar year if employment is continued; and,

DEFINITIONS

Employer ¨C The term employer means any entity for whom an

individual performs or has performed any service, of whatever

nature, as an employee. An employer may be a resident or

nonresident individual; a corporation, including a nonprofit

corporation; partnership; trust; estate; or other unincorporated

organization, group, or entity; or any entity having control of or

making payment of wages on behalf of an employer. Thus, for a

governmental entity, the person designated as having control of

or making payments of wages is considered the employer.

? file an Annual Reconciliation of Tax Withheld, Form L-3, along

with state copies of all Federal Forms W-2 issued during the

year on or before the first business day following February 27

of the following year.

? register for a withholding tax identification number with the

Department of Revenue if you have employees who are subject

to withholding tax;

? withhold the proper amount of state tax;

? file and pay state withholding income tax on a semimonthly,

monthly, quarterly, or annual basis;

WHICH FORM TO USE

All the following forms except Federal Form W-2 are available on

our website at revenue.

R-16019 (CR-1) ¨C This form is an Application for a Louisiana

Tax Identification Number. You can easily submit your

application electronically by using our Online Business

Registration application, or use this form to apply for a tax

identification number.

Employee ¨C Every individual, whether resident or nonresident,

who performs services for wages and who is subject to the will

and control of an employer, is considered to be an employee for

the purposes of this tax. The employer could permit the employee

considerable discretion and freedom of action. Nevertheless, the

employer has the legal right to control both the method and the

result of the rendered services. If the relationship of employer and

employee exists, the description of the relationship by the parties of

anything other than that of employer and employee is immaterial.

L-1 ??¨C This form is the Employer¡¯s Return of Louisiana State

Income Tax Withheld and is used to submit state income

taxes withheld from wages paid during the tax period

covered. The information required on this form may be filed

electronically by using our LaTap application to file and pay

your withholding tax.

In general, persons who are in business for themselves are

not employees. For example, physicians, lawyers, dentists,

veterinarians, contractors, public stenographers, and others who

follow an independent trade, business, or profession in which they

offer their services to the public are not employees.

W-2 ¨C This is a federal form used to indicate the amount of

Louisiana wages earned and state income taxes withheld

from employees¡¯ wages during the year. Copies of W-2¡¯s are

submitted with the annual reconciliation form, L-3.

L-3 ¨C This form is the Employer¡¯s Annual Reconcilation of

Louisiana Income Tax Withheld used to reconcile the total

amount of income tax withheld that was reported with Form

L-1 filings during the calendar year to the total amount of

income tax withheld that was listed on your employees¡¯

Wage and Tax Statements, Form W-2. Form L-3 also serves

as a transmittal for sending the Department of Revenue

copies of your employees¡¯ W-2 forms. It is recommended

that the reconciliation be submitted electronically using our

LaWage application.

Taxable Wages ¨C All types of compensation for services performed

by an employee for an employer, whether paid in cash or in any

other medium, that are subject to federal withholding tax are also

subject to Louisiana withholding as defined in Revised Statute

47:111(A). Wages for Louisiana withholding purposes include

all compensation for personal services, such as salaries, fees,

bonuses, commissions, vacation allowances, back pay, and

retroactive wage increases. Wages also include the fair market

value of compensation paid other than in cash, such as property,

board, lodging, maintenance, meals, or other consideration given

for personal services. Payments may be based on the hour,

day, week, month, year, or on a percentage plan. Although an

employee must report tips or gratuities on their individual income

tax return, such payments are not included as wages when they

are paid to an employee by a customer. Amounts paid specifically

as advances or reimbursements for traveling or other bona fide

expenses incurred or reasonably expected to be incurred in the

employer¡¯s business are not subject to withholding. In order to be

excluded from the withholding requirements, expense payments

must be identified either by separate payment or by specifically

indicating the separate amounts where both wages and expense

allowances are combined in a single payment.

R-1300 (L-4) ¨C This form is the Employee¡¯s Withholding

Exemption Certificate that is completed by the employee, and

used to determine the correct amount of tax to be withheld

by providing the employer with the number of withholding

exemptions and the number of withholding credits for

dependents. The form must be completed by employees who

are Louisiana residents and by nonresidents who perform

services in Louisiana.

R-1307 (L- 4E) ¨C This form is the Exemption from

Withholding Certificate that is completed by the employee

and may be used by employees who incurred no liability for

Louisiana income tax for the prior year and who anticipate

no income tax liability for the current year. A properly

completed form, provided by the employee, will exempt

4

the employer from withholding any Louisiana income tax

from the employee. If, at any time, the employee¡¯s status

changes, and is expected to incur an income tax liability,

the employee must file R-1300 (L-4) with the employer.

nonworking days or days absent for which no wages were paid.

Multiply the total income earned by the employee by this percentage

to obtain the taxable Louisiana income. If the nonresident

employee¡¯s income is dependent upon the volume of sales

(such as a commissioned salesperson), the income earned from

sales negotiated within Louisiana would be subject to Louisiana

withholding.

WHEN TO OBTAIN A TAX IDENTIFICATION NUMBER

An employer who is opening a business with employees or who

has acquired the business of another employer must obtain a new

tax identification number. Exceptions to this rule are:

The employer may use the previous year¡¯s percentage to determine

the Louisiana taxable income for the current year. If the prior year¡¯s

percentage would not be applicable, the employee may furnish a

statement estimating the portion of his wages subject to Louisiana

withholding, or the employer may make such an estimate and

withhold on that basis. When withholding is based on an estimate

of the Louisiana wages, the employer must actually compute

the Louisiana wages prior to the close of the year. If the amount

withheld is insufficient, the employer must withhold additional tax

prior to the close of the year so that the proper amount will be

withheld for the year.

? sole proprietorships acquired by one spouse from the other;

? the sale of a partnership interest to one or more existing partners;

? corporation capital stock transfers where the corporation whose

stock is acquired continues its operation; and,

? employers who already have a tax identification number and elect

to report the withholding taxes of the newly acquired business or

newly opened location on their existing withholding account.

All correspondence concerning state income tax withholding must

include the employer¡¯s tax identification number.

SICK PAY MAY BE EXCLUDED

In reporting wages for Louisiana income tax withholding purposes,

employers may exclude payments made under a wage continuation

plan for periods of time when employees were absent from work

because of personal injuries or sickness to the extent that the

excludable amounts and rates are identical to those established

under federal income tax laws and regulations.

PAYING INCOME TAX WITHHELD

The employer is required to pay to the Department the entire amount

of Louisiana income tax withheld during the period when filing

each withholding tax return. If an employer fails to withhold the

required amount during a particular period, the employer¡¯s liability

to the Department remains until payment of the correct amount of

tax is made. In circumstances where the Department feels that

delay in filing the return would jeopardize the collection of the tax,

payment will be required immediately upon being withheld.

WAGES TO BE EXEMPT FROM WITHHOLDING TAX

According to R.S. 47:111(A)(10), the exclusions are the same as

those for federal withholding purposes so that wages exempt for

federal withholding will also be exempt for Louisiana withholding.

DETERMINING THE AMOUNT OF TAX TO BE WITHHELD

According to Louisiana Administrative Code 61:I.1501, employers

are required to deduct and withhold taxes in an amount determined

in accordance with the tables or formula provided through the

rulemaking process.

PAYROLL PERIOD

For the purposes of withholding income tax, an employee may

have only one payroll period for wages paid by any one employer.

The payroll period is the period of service for which the employer

ordinarily pays wages to an employee.

The Withholding Tax Tables method determines the amount of

tax to be deducted and withheld based upon the employee¡¯s

payroll period, number of withholding exemptions and dependency

credits, and wage brackets as illustrated in the tables that begin

on Page 10 of this booklet.

If an employee has a regular payroll period, the tax should be

withheld on the basis of that period even if the employee does not

work the full period.

In the case of an employee who has no payroll period, the tax to

be withheld must be determined as if payment were made on a

daily or miscellaneous basis. This method requires the employer

to determine the number of working days in the period covered by

the wage payment. If the wages are unrelated to a specific length

of time (for example, commissions paid on completion of a sale),

then the number of days in the payroll period must be counted

from the most recent of the following: (a) the last payment of wages

made during the same calendar year, (b) the date employment

commenced if during the same calendar year, or (c) January 1 of

the same calendar year.

The formula method produces equivalent amounts and is provided

on Page 9 of this booklet.

Withholding for residents

Wages earned in Louisiana are subject to Louisiana withholding

income tax. Wages earned in another state are subject to withholding

of income tax by the other state, unless that state does not levy an

income tax against its residents. For example, wages earned in

Mississippi are subject to Mississippi withholding and Mississippi

income tax withheld would be paid to that state. Conversely, wages

earned in Texas, which has no state income tax, would be subject

to withholding of income tax for Louisiana.

In cases where an employee is paid for a period of less than one

week and the employee submits a written and signed statement

that work was not performed for wages subject to withholding for

any other employer during the same calendar week, the employer

is permitted to compute the withholding on the basis of a weekly

payroll period, instead of a daily or miscellaneous period. If the

employee later begins working for wages subject to withholding for

another employer, the employee is allowed ten days to notify the

employer to whom he gave the written statement, and thereafter,

the employer must compute the withholding on the basis of a daily

or miscellaneous period.

WITHHOLDING FOR NONRESIDENTS

Wages earned in Louisiana are subject to Louisiana income tax

withholding. If a nonresident employee performs services partly

inside and partly outside the state, only wages for services

performed within the state are subject to withholding, provided

the employee files with the employer an Employee¡¯s Withholding

Exemption Certificate, Form R-1300 (L-4). If no certificate is filed, all

of the wages paid to the employee are subject to withholding.

To determine the Louisiana income subject to withholding tax,

calculate a percentage by dividing the number of days worked

in Louisiana by the total number of days worked. Do not include

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