Information in this article is current as of October 1, 2026. Louisiana statutes and benefit amounts are subject to legislative change. Verify with the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs (vetaffairs.la.gov) or the statute itself at legis.la.gov before filing claims.

Louisiana has a 25% mandatory auto insurance discount for military members based in the state. Mandatory. If you’re active duty, a reservist, or Louisiana Guard based here, your insurer is legally required to give it to you. Most service members stationed here have never heard of it, and plenty who ask get told no by an agent who hasn’t either.

That’s Louisiana’s military benefits in a nutshell. The laws are decent, enforcement is weak, and it’s on you to know what exists and ask for it.

U.S. Army soldier in uniform holding family photos against an American flag backdrop
Photo by George Pak on Pexels

Who Louisiana’s laws cover

Stationed in Louisiana, not a Louisiana resident. Your military pay is fully exempt from Louisiana state income tax. You qualify for the auto insurance discount and state-law lease protections. Property tax exemptions generally require a Louisiana homestead and a VA disability rating.

Louisiana resident serving outside the state. If you’re on 120+ consecutive days of active duty, up to $50,000 of military pay for service outside Louisiana is excluded from state income tax. Property tax exemptions follow your VA disability rating. The auto insurance mandate covers members based in Louisiana, so if you’re stationed elsewhere, ask your insurer whether you qualify.

Louisiana veteran, now residing in Louisiana. Property tax exemptions scaled to your VA disability rating, no-fee disabled veteran license plates at 50%+, and surviving spouse protections.

National Guard benefits get their own section below.

Auto insurance: the 25% discount you have to ask for

Louisiana RS 22:1482 requires every auto insurer in the state to give a 25% discount on the premium of your automobile liability policy if you’re active duty military, a military reservist, or a Louisiana Army or Air National Guard member, and you’re based in Louisiana. Louisiana Guard members were added in 2023 (Acts 2023, No. 406), and that law covers all Louisiana Guard members, not only those on activation orders. Reservists were added effective January 1, 2025 (Acts 2024, No. 173).

Retirees and 50%+ disabled veterans: it’s optional, not mandatory. The statute lets insurers claim a state tax credit when they give the same discount to retired military and veterans rated 50% or more. It doesn’t require them to. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs says those groups “may be eligible.” Ask your insurer directly, and if one says no, shop the ones that say yes.

The discount is tied to liability coverage. The statute’s wording is “automobile liability insurance policy,” so don’t expect 25% off comprehensive, collision, or your whole premium. Confirm with your insurer how it shows up on your bill. It’s still real money: the Legislative Fiscal Office put the average discount at about $645 per policy in FY 2022.

You have to request it. Ask your insurer for its military discount application, send proof of status (orders or a commander’s letter, for example), and ask whether they need it again at renewal. If you’re active duty, a reservist, or Louisiana Guard based here and an agent tells you it doesn’t apply, call the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 1-800-259-5300.

Income tax: when Louisiana can’t touch your military pay

Stationed in Louisiana but not a Louisiana resident: Louisiana cannot tax your military pay. The federal SCRA says military pay isn’t income from the state you’re stationed in if you’re not domiciled there, and the Louisiana Department of Revenue says the same. If you also have Louisiana-source civilian income (a side job, rental property, a business), you may need to file a nonresident return (IT-540B) for that income. Don’t let a tax preparer file you as a resident without checking your actual domicile. It happens more than it should.

Louisiana resident on 120+ consecutive days of active duty: Louisiana excludes up to $50,000 of military pay earned for service outside Louisiana (tax years 2022 and later, RS 47:293(9)(e)). The 120 days is about unbroken active duty, not days spent out of state. In the Department of Revenue’s own example, a member serves 40 of their first 120 days in Louisiana, and the pay from day 41 on is exempt, up to $50,000. Claim it on Schedule E (code 10E) and keep your orders, including endorsements, with your return.

Combat zone pay: Louisiana’s starting point is your federal adjusted gross income, so combat pay that’s excluded federally never shows up on your Louisiana return.

Spouse income: If your spouse moved to Louisiana only because of your orders, federal law lets them keep their home-state residency for tax purposes. It also lets them elect your state of residency, or Louisiana if that’s your permanent duty station. Wages from a Louisiana job may then be protected, but Louisiana-source business, rental, or gambling income can still be taxed. JAG tax assistance or a military-experienced CPA can walk through the specifics.

Property tax exemptions

Louisiana’s constitution (Article VII §21(K)) gives veterans with VA disability ratings extra property tax exemptions on their homestead. They stack on top of the standard homestead exemption, which covers the first $7,500 of assessed value:

VA RatingExtra exemption (assessed value)Approx. market value exempted*
50–69%Next $2,500~$25,000
70–99%Next $4,500~$45,000
100% unemployability (TDIU) or totally disabledAll remaining assessed value of the homesteadFull

Louisiana assesses land and residential improvements at 10% of fair market value, so a $2,500 assessed-value exemption equals about $25,000 of market value removed from the tax base. These are the amounts in Article VII §21(K) as of October 2026. The Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs notes that 100% veterans can still owe certain municipal assessments.

Surviving spouses: At every tier (50%, 70%, and 100%), the surviving spouse of a qualifying veteran is eligible for the same exemption, even if the veteran never claimed it, as long as the spouse occupies and still owns the property. Right now that ties the exemption to the house. On November 3, 2026, Louisiana voters decide a constitutional amendment (Acts 2026, No. 39) that would let a surviving spouse transfer the exemption one time to a new homestead, starting with the 2027 assessment year.

To claim it, file with your parish assessor’s office with your VA rating letter and proof that the home is your homestead. Nothing here is automatic, and each parish sets its own deadline. Miss it and you can lose a year, so call your assessor before assuming a date.

Vehicle benefits

Louisiana residents with a service-connected disability of 50% or more can get a “DV” military honor license plate (RS 47:490.4). Purple Heart recipients rated 50% or more can get the “Purple Heart Disabled Veteran” version (RS 47:490.32). Under both laws, no fee is charged for the plates, they aren’t subject to the standard plate renewal requirements, and you can get one for each vehicle registered in your name. The DV plate also carries the same parking privileges as a mobility-impairment plate, and the Office of Motor Vehicles will issue a free hang tag if you ask. Ask OMV what other registration costs, if any, still apply to your vehicle.

About the “veteran vehicle sales tax exemption” you may have heard about: a 2025 bill (SB 45) would have exempted recently separated or retired veterans from sales tax on a vehicle purchase. It passed the Senate but stalled in a House committee, and we found no record of it becoming law, or of a replacement passing in the 2026 session. If a dealer or a forum post tells you otherwise, ask for the statute number and check it at legis.la.gov.

Louisiana’s SCRA expansions

The federal SCRA’s 6% interest cap only covers debts you took on before entering military service (our SCRA 6% guide covers how to use it). Louisiana adds two state laws on top.

RS 29:312 caps interest and finance charges at 6% per year while you’re deployed on active duty, on obligations entered into on or after June 29, 2005. That includes debt you took on during service, which the federal cap doesn’t reach. It covers purchase-type obligations (retail installment contracts and other contracts for goods or services, plus the notes that come with them), protects your spouse too, and counts governor-ordered state active duty. Interest above 6% is forgiven, not deferred. To use it, send the creditor written notice and a copy of your orders (and any extensions) no later than 180 days after you’re released from active duty. A court can let the creditor charge more if your service didn’t materially affect your ability to pay. Few people ever invoke this one, so bring RS 29:312 to a JAG attorney by name.

RS 9:3261 (lease termination) is Louisiana’s own military lease law, and federal SCRA lease rights still apply alongside it. It covers active, Reserve, Guard, and Coast Guard members. Triggers include PCS orders to move 35 or more miles away, temporary duty orders of more than three months that take you 35 or more miles away, discharge or retirement, and being ordered into government quarters. Serve your landlord written notice with a termination date at least 30 days out, and no more than 60 days before you have to leave. Give the landlord a copy of your orders (or a commander’s letter) before the termination date. You owe at most one month’s rent if you’ve completed less than six months of the lease, or half a month’s rent if you’ve completed six months or more. You get your full deposit back if you otherwise complied with the lease.

National Guard benefits

LA STEP (State Tuition Exemption Program): Actively drilling Louisiana Army or Air National Guard members in good standing who live in Louisiana can attend in-state public colleges and universities tuition-free while working toward an associate’s, bachelor’s, or master’s degree. It’s tuition only. The Guard says STEP doesn’t cover fees, and you must stay in good academic standing.

Patriot Scholarship: This one covers the fees STEP doesn’t. It pays the mandatory fees on your fee bill (the school sets the exact amount) for Guard members in good standing who are eligible for the Guard tuition exemption and enrolled in at least one credit hour at a Louisiana public school. It runs up to 12 semesters (or 16 quarters). The state’s student aid office, LOSFA, administers it at (225) 219-1012.

Federal Reservists: Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, and other federal reserve components don’t qualify for STEP or the Patriot Scholarship. Both are Louisiana National Guard programs.

Income tax on state-status duty: The $50,000 exclusion above is written for active duty in the U.S. armed forces. We couldn’t confirm from the statute or Department of Revenue guidance how Title 32 or state active duty pay is treated, so don’t assume it qualifies. Ask a JAG tax center or the Department of Revenue before you file.

The gotchas

The auto insurance discount isn’t automatic. This is the most common miss. Ask for it, prove your status, and ask whether your insurer wants updated proof at renewal.

“Louisiana resident” and “stationed in Louisiana” are not the same thing. Your domicile, your legal home of record, determines your tax treatment. Assignment orders to Barksdale or Fort Polk don’t change it. Our domicile and state income tax guide walks through how domicile works.

RS 29:312 has a 180-day clock. Notice and orders have to reach the creditor no later than 180 days after you’re released from active duty, and it only covers purchase-type obligations.

The surviving spouse property exemption is tied to the house, for now. The November 3, 2026 ballot amendment would allow a one-time transfer to a new home.

How to claim these benefits

Auto insurance discount: Call your insurer and ask for the RS 22:1482 military discount. Have proof of status ready. If you’re active duty, a reservist, or Louisiana Guard based here and they decline, call the Louisiana Department of Insurance at 1-800-259-5300.

Income tax exclusion: Residents claim the 120-day exclusion on the Louisiana IT-540 (Schedule E, code 10E) and keep orders with endorsements. Nonresidents with only military pay owe Louisiana nothing on it; IT-540B is for other Louisiana-source income. Free tax help is available through many installation tax centers and Military OneSource’s MilTax.

Property tax exemptions: Contact your parish assessor’s office directly. Bring your VA rating letter and proof the home is your homestead. Deadlines vary, so call first.

Disabled veteran license plate: Apply through the Office of Motor Vehicles with proof of your 50%+ service-connected rating (and Purple Heart documentation for that plate).

SCRA or RS 29:312 issues: Your installation’s legal assistance office advises on both federal and state protections at no charge. Watch the 180-day notice deadline on RS 29:312.

National Guard education benefits: Start with your unit’s education officer or the Louisiana National Guard’s education page at geauxguard.la.gov/education. For the Patriot Scholarship, contact LOSFA.

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