PART II. PROPERTY TAXATION
§18. Ad Valorem Taxes
Section 18.(A) Assessments. Property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed
on the assessment rolls at its assessed valuation, which, except as provided in Paragraphs
(C), (F), and (G), shall be a percentage of its fair market value. The percentage of fair market
value shall be uniform throughout the state upon the same class of property.
(B) Classification. The classifications of property subject to ad valorem taxation and
the percentage of fair market value applicable to each classification for the purpose of
determining assessed valuation are as follows:
Classifications Percentages
1. Land 10%
2. Improvements for residential purposes 10%
3. Electric cooperative properties, excluding land 15%
4. Public service properties, excluding land 25%
5. Other property 15%
The legislature may enact laws defining electric cooperative properties and public
service properties.
(C) Use Value. Bona fide agricultural, horticultural, marsh, and timber lands, as
defined by general law, shall be assessed for tax purposes at ten percent of use value rather
than fair market value. The legislature may provide by law similarly for buildings of historic
architectural importance.
(D) Valuation. Each assessor shall determine the fair market value of all property
subject to taxation within his respective parish or district except public service properties,
which shall be valued at fair market value by the Louisiana Tax Commission or its successor.
Each assessor shall determine the use value of property which is to be so assessed under the
provisions of Paragraph (C). Fair market value and use value of property shall be determined
in accordance with criteria which shall be established by law and which shall apply uniformly
throughout the state.
(E) Review. 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, all in accordance with procedures established by law.
(F) Reappraisal. (1) All property subject to taxation shall be reappraised and valued
in accordance with this Section, at intervals of not more than four years.
(2)(a) In the year of implementation of a reappraisal as required in Subparagraph (1)
of this Paragraph, solely for purposes of determining the ad valorem tax imposed on
residential property subject to the homestead exemption as provided in Section 20 of this
Article, if the assessed value of immovable property increases by an amount which is greater
than fifty percent of the property's assessed value in the previous year, the collector shall
phase-in the additional tax liability resulting from the increase in the property's assessed
value over a four-year period as follows:
(i) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the first levy
following reappraisal, the collector shall use the property's assessed value from the previous
year, which shall be called the base amount as used in this Subparagraph, and shall increase
the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding
an amount which is equal to one-fourth of the amount of the increase in the property's
assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall
constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad
valorem taxes for that taxable year.
(ii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the second
levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of
the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to
one-half of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the
reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable
value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable
year.
(iii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the third levy
following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the
property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to
three-quarters of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the
reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable
value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable
year.
(iv) In the fourth levy following reappraisal, the collector shall calculate ad valorem
taxes based on the property's full assessed value.
(b) The provisions of this Subparagraph providing for a phase-in of additional ad
valorem tax liability following reappraisal shall cease to apply upon the transfer or
conveyance of ownership of the property. Following a transfer or conveyance, the collector
shall calculate ad valorem taxes based on the property's full assessed value.
(c) Property subject to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be subject to
reappraisal by an assessor until after the four-year phase-in of the amount of the increase in
the property's assessed value is complete.
(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, the increase
in assessed valuation of property phased-in under this Subparagraph shall be included as
taxable property for purposes of any subsequent reappraisals and valuation for millage
adjustment purposes under Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution. The decrease in
the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by a taxing authority as a result of this phase-in
of assessed valuation shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any
additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent
reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of this phase-in of increase
in assessed valuation authorized in this Subparagraph shall neither trigger nor be cause for
a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Article
VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution.
(e) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to the extent the increase was
attributable to construction on or improvements to the property.
(G) Special Assessment Level.
(1)(a)(i) The assessment of residential property receiving the homestead exemption
which is owned and occupied by any of the following and who meet all of the other
requirements of this Section 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,
provided that such person or persons remain qualified for and receive the special assessment
level:
(aa) People who are sixty-five years of age or older.
(bb) People who have a service-connected disability rating of fifty percent or more
by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
(cc) Members of the armed forces of the United States or the Louisiana National
Guard who owned and last occupied such property who are killed in action, or who are
missing in action or are a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days.
(dd) Any person or persons permanently totally disabled as determined by a final
non-appealable judgment of a court or as certified by a state or federal administrative agency
charged with the responsibility for making determinations regarding disability.
(ii) Any person or persons shall be prohibited from receiving the special assessment
as provided in this Section if such person's or persons' adjusted gross income, as reported in
the federal tax return for the year prior to the application for the special assessment, exceeds
one hundred thousand dollars. For persons applying for the special assessment whose filing
status is married filing separately, the adjusted gross income for purposes of this Section
shall be determined by combining the adjusted gross income on both federal tax returns.
Beginning for the tax year 2026, and for each tax year thereafter, the one hundred thousand
dollar limit shall be adjusted annually by the Consumer Price Index as reported by the United
States Government.
(iii) 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 or, in the
parish of Orleans, the assessor of the district where the property is located.
(iv) An owner who is below the age of sixty-five and who has applied for and
received the special assessment level 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.
The provisions of this Item shall not apply to an owner who has qualified for and received
the special assessment level for persons sixty-five years of age or older or to such owner's
surviving spouse as described in Item (2)(a)(i) of this Paragraph or for an owner who is
permanently totally disabled as provided for in Subitem (i)(dd) of this Subsubparagraph.
(b) Any millage rate applied to the special assessment level shall not be subject to
a limitation.
(2) Provided such owner is qualified for and receives the special assessment level,
the special assessment level shall remain on the property as long as:
(a)(i) The owner who is sixty-five years of age or older, or that owner's surviving
spouse who is fifty-five years of age or older or who has minor children, remains the owner
of the property.
(ii) The owner who has a service-connected disability of fifty percent or more, or that
owner's surviving spouse who is forty-five years of age or older or who has minor children,
remains the owner of the property.
(iii) The spouse of the owner who is killed in action remains the owner of the
property.
(iv) The first day of the tax year following the tax year in which an owner who was
missing in action or was a prisoner of war for a period exceeding ninety days is no longer
missing in action or a prisoner of war.
(v) Even if the ownership interest of any surviving spouse or spouse of an owner who
is missing in action as provided for in this Subparagraph is an interest in usufruct.
(b) The value of the property does not increase more than twenty-five percent
because of construction or reconstruction.
(3) A new or subsequent owner of the property may claim a special assessment level
when eligible under this Section. The new owner is not necessarily entitled to the same
special assessment level on the property as when that property was owned by the previous
owner.
(4)(a) 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. The
property shall be immediately revalued at fair market value by the assessor and shall be
assessed by the assessor on the assessment rolls in the year it was sold at the assessment level
provided for in Article VII, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana.
(b) This new assessment level shall remain in effect until changed as provided by this
Section or this Constitution.
(5)(a) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in this Paragraph
who is unable to occupy the homestead on or before December thirty-first of a future
calendar year due to damage or destruction of the homestead caused by a disaster or
emergency declared by the governor shall be entitled to keep the special assessment level of
the homestead prior to its damage or destruction on the repaired or rebuilt homestead
provided the repaired or rebuilt homestead is reoccupied by the owner within five years from
December thirty-first of the year following the disaster. The assessed value of the land and
buildings on which the homestead was located prior to its damage shall not be increased
above its assessed value immediately prior to the damage or destruction described in this
Subsubparagraph. If the property owner receives a homestead exemption on another
homestead during the same five-year period, the damaged or destroyed property shall not be
entitled to keep the special assessment level, and the land and buildings shall be assessed in
that year at the percentage of fair market value set forth in this constitution. In addition, the
owner shall also maintain the homestead exemption set forth in Article VII, Section
20(A)(10) to qualify for the special assessment level in this Subsubparagraph.
(b) Any owner entitled to the special assessment level set forth in Subsubparagraph
(a) of this Subparagraph who is unable to reoccupy his homestead within five years from
December thirty-first of the year following the disaster shall be eligible for an extension of
the special assessment level on the homestead for a period not to exceed two years. A
homeowner shall be eligible for this extension only if the homeowner's damage claim is filed
and pending in a formal appeal process with any federal, state, or local government agency
or program offering grants or assistance for repairing or rebuilding damaged or destroyed
homes as a result of the disaster, or if a homeowner has a damage claim filed and pending
against the insurer of the property. The homeowner shall apply for this extension of the
special assessment level with the assessor of the parish in which the homestead is located.
The assessor shall require the homeowner to provide official documentation from the
government agency or program evidencing the homeowner's participation in the formal
appeal process or official documentation evidencing the homeowner has a damage claim
filed and pending against the insurer of the damaged property, as provided by law.
(c) After expiration of the extension authorized in Subsubparagraph (b) of this
Subparagraph, an assessor shall have the authority to grant on a case-by-case basis up to three
additional one-year extensions of the special assessment level as prescribed by law.
(6)(a) A trust shall be eligible for the special assessment level as provided by law.
(b) If a trust would have been eligible for the special assessment level pursuant to
this Subparagraph prior to the most recent reappraisal, the total assessment of the property
held in trust shall be the assessed value on the last appraisal before the reappraisal.
Amended by Acts 1979, No. 799, §1, approved Oct. 27, 1979, eff. Dec. 1, 1979; Acts
1997, No. 1491, §1, approved Oct. 3, 1998, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2002, No. 87, §1,
approved Nov. 5, 2002, eff. Dec. 11, 2002; Acts 2005, No. 511, §1, approved Nov. 7, 2006,
eff. Jan. 1, 2007; Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 70, §1, approved Sept. 30, 2006, eff. Oct. 31,
2006; Acts 2010, No. 1050, §1, approved Nov. 2, 2010, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2018, No. 718
and 721, approved Nov. 6, 2018, eff. Dec. 12, 2018; Acts 2020, No. 369, §1, approved Nov.
3, 2020; Acts 2022, No. 171, §1, approved Nov. 8, 2022, eff. Dec. 13, 2022.