Louisiana SUTA Tax Calculator
Figure basis: Official U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment InsuranceState Unemployment Tax Act (SUTA) tax is the state unemployment insurance tax that employers pay to fund unemployment benefits in Louisiana. This calculator estimates your Louisiana SUTA liability for the 2026 tax year. Enter the average annual wages per employee, your number of employees, and your assigned SUTA rate to see the taxable wages, tax per employee, and total tax. SUTA is charged only on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages (the 2026 Louisiana taxable wage base); wages above that per employee are not taxed. Your rate is set by the state based on your business's unemployment claim history (your "experience rating"); new employers are assigned the industry-average rate. SUTA is separate from the federal FUTA tax and, in most states, is paid entirely by the employer and never deducted from employee wages. All wage-base and rate figures are sourced from U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance and verified for 2026. Replace the default rate with the rate on your state tax-rate notice for an exact figure.
In Louisiana, employers pay SUTA on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages for 2026, and new employers are assigned the industry-average rate. For 5 employees earning $50,000 each at 3%, the estimated annual SUTA tax is $1,050.00 ($210.00 per employee).
How Louisiana SUTA tax works
Louisiana charges state unemployment tax on each employee's wages up to the taxable wage base of $7,000 for 2026. Once an employee has earned that much in the year, no further SUTA is due on that employee. Your rate is assigned by the state from your experience rating; new employers are assigned the industry-average rate.
taxable wages per employee = min(annual wages, $7,000)
SUTA tax per employee = taxable wages per employee x rate / 100
total SUTA tax = SUTA tax per employee x number of employees
Worked example: 5 employees each earning $50,000 in Louisiana at 3%. Each employee's taxable wages are capped at $7,000, so the tax per employee is $210.00 and the total is $1,050.00.
Louisiana SUTA figures (2026)
| Figure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Taxable wage base | $7,000 | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| New employer rate | Industry average | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
| Experience rate range | 0.09% to 6% | U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance |
The experience-rate range shown is the base statutory range. Most states add mandatory assessments on top (for example a fund-building, solvency, or administrative surcharge), so an employer's effective rate can be higher than the range shown, and the new-employer rate may exclude those add-ons. Your exact assigned rate is on your annual state tax-rate notice.
Louisiana's industry-average approach for new employers
Louisiana works differently from most states in this group, and new employers should understand the distinction before budgeting. Rather than assigning a single flat new employer rate, Louisiana gives a new business the average rate for its industry, so a construction firm and a professional office can start at very different percentages. Your industry classification, not a universal figure, sets your opening rate.
The taxable wage base is low: $7,000, the federal floor, which is the same base used for FUTA. SUTA applies only to the first $7,000 each employee earns in the year, so even at the top of the schedule the per-employee cost stays modest by national standards. Experience-rated employers in Louisiana run from about 0.09% to 6%. At the floor that is roughly $6.30 per employee per year, and at the ceiling about $420.00 per employee, a narrower dollar spread than states with larger wage bases.
Because there is no single new employer number to quote, the calculator above defaults to an editable example rate. Do not treat that default as your rate. New Louisiana employers should obtain their assigned industry-average rate from the Louisiana Workforce Commission, then enter that exact percentage above. Once you have your own claims history, the Commission replaces the industry figure with a true experience rate, which can move you toward the low end if your account stays clean.
Louisiana SUTA tax: frequently asked questions
What is the Louisiana unemployment (SUTA) taxable wage base for 2026?
For 2026, Louisiana employers pay state unemployment tax on the first $7,000 of each employee's wages. Wages above $7,000 per employee are not subject to SUTA.
What is the Louisiana new employer SUTA rate?
Louisiana assigns new employers the average rate for their industry rather than a single fixed rate, so your rate depends on your industry classification. Enter your assigned rate above to see your tax.
How is Louisiana SUTA tax calculated?
Multiply each employee's wages, capped at the $7,000 taxable wage base, by your assigned experience rate, then add up across employees. SUTA is primarily an employer-paid tax and is not deducted from employee pay.
Is the Louisiana SUTA rate the same for every employer?
No. After the new-employer period, Louisiana assigns each employer an experience rate based on its history of layoffs and claims, generally ranging from about 0.09% to 6% for experience-rated employers before any state add-on surcharges. The rate field above defaults to the new-employer rate; replace it with the rate on your state tax notice for an exact figure.
Official sources
- Louisiana unemployment taxable wage base and rates (tax year 2026): U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Unemployment Insurance, as at Jul 15, 2026.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 15 July 2026. See our methodology. General information, not tax or legal advice.