Are Louisiana unemployment benefits taxed?

Louisiana Works can hold back 10% of each weekly payment for federal tax, and you make that choice yourself in your HiRE account. Form 1099-G, which shows what you were paid and anything that was withheld, arrives at the end of January.

Federal tax on your benefits

You generally have to include all the unemployment compensation you receive in your income for the year.

Form 1099-G shows the unemployment compensation paid to you during the year in Box 1, and any federal income tax withheld from it in Box 4. Report the Box 1 amount on line 7 of Schedule 1 of Form 1040, and attach that schedule to your Form 1040 or Form 1040-SR. The IRS sets out the rest on its page on unemployment compensation.

Having 10% held back each week

You can choose to have 10% of your weekly benefit withheld for federal taxes.

That choice is not locked in for the life of the claim. Your HiRE account is where you change tax withholding, alongside updating your address or banking information and checking the status of the claim.

Louisiana's own income tax

For taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025, Louisiana's individual income tax is a flat 3%, and the graduated brackets and rates that came before it have been repealed.

Louisiana returns and payments are due on or before May 15 of the following year. What belongs on a Louisiana return is a question for the Department of Revenue, and its individual income tax page is where to start.

Your Form 1099-G

Louisiana Works issues Form 1099-G at the end of January, showing the benefits paid to you and any federal income tax withheld at the time the benefits were paid. You can view it in your HiRE account.

For another copy, log into HiRE and choose Unemployment Services from the left-hand menu, then Form 1099-G Information. If you cannot get into the account online, call 1-866-783-5567 for help.

If something on the form looks wrong

A total larger than what you kept is expected if you repaid an overpayment, because the figure on the form is not reduced by repayments. Louisiana Works tells claimants who repaid to keep their own proof of it, such as reimbursement receipts or canceled check notices, and to use that proof to adjust taxable income on the return.

Anything else is worth a call: a total that matches nothing you were paid, or a form for a claim you never filed, goes back to the agency that issued it. The Easy Call System on 1-866-783-5567 is the line for questions about a Louisiana claim.

Benefits you have been asked to pay back are on denials, appeals, and overpayments, and the agency's other ways to get help are on how to reach Louisiana Works.