Louisiana voters approved Constitutional Amendment No. 6 on Nov. 3, according to unofficial results, opening the door for parishes and cities to give homeowners 65 and older an extra homestead exemption worth up to $30,000 of assessed value. Nothing changes on a property-tax bill yet. The earliest an exemption could apply is the tax year beginning Jan. 1, 2028, and only in places where local voters adopt it.
The unofficial count shows 900,356 votes in favor (64%) and 516,251 against (36%), out of 1,416,607 cast on the measure. All 3,722 Election Day precincts had reported, and early and absentee ballots were in from all 64 parishes. Those totals stay unofficial until the state certifies them.
Who the extra exemption is written for
The Louisiana Secretary of State’s election results portal lists the measure as CA No. 6, tied to Act 274 of the 2026 session and House Bill 514. The Legislature’s bill digest shows Rep. Farnum as the author and describes an additional exemption for owner-occupied homes whose owners are 65 or older.
The exemption sits on top of the standard homestead exemption and grows with age. The law firm Liskow, which summarized the act, lists the tiers: $6,000 of assessed value for owners 65 to 68, $12,000 for 69 to 72, $18,000 for 73 to 76, $24,000 for 77 to 80, and $30,000 at 81 and older.
Assessed value is not market value. WAFB in Baton Rouge translated the tiers into the market-value terms most homeowners think in, running from $135,000 for the youngest group to $375,000 for owners 81 and older, measured against the standard homestead exemption of $75,000. The station reported that figure before the election.
The assessment freeze is the gate
The extra exemption is not open to every Louisiana homeowner over 65. The act limits it to owners who also qualify for the state’s special assessment level, the freeze that stops a qualifying home’s assessed value from rising. A senior who is not in that program does not get the new exemption even where a parish adopts it.
For anyone 65 or older who owns and lives in a Louisiana home, the first question is whether that home is already in the assessment freeze, and the second is whether the parish or city will put the exemption to a local vote. Only owners who clear both would see a lower assessed value on a 2028 or later bill.
Stay ahead of property tax and utility bill news: Miss an enrollment or claim deadline and the money can be gone. Join the Retirement Money Brief and we’ll send you our Property Tax & Utility Relief Finder as a welcome gift.
Get the Brief + the relief finder →
We may earn a commission from links on this page.
That freeze carries an income limit. WAFB reported that the current cutoff starts from a $100,000 threshold, adjusted for inflation. A separate measure, Amendment 9, would raise that base to $150,000. Multistate’s results tracker showed Amendment 9 at 58.58% yes but still listed as pending.
Why a 2026 or 2027 bill will not change
Statewide approval only makes the exemption legal. Under the act, each parish or municipality has to adopt it, and it takes effect there only if a majority of that place’s voters approve it at a separate local election called for the purpose. A parish that never schedules the vote never offers the exemption.
WAFB put it plainly before the election: the change would not immediately reduce taxes, and the earliest the expanded exemptions could take effect is 2028. The act applies to tax years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2028, so even a parish that votes in 2027 would not reach a bill before then.
Liskow’s summary adds that the cost lands on the local taxing authority. Under the act, officials cannot use reappraisal, valuation or millage adjustments to shift the lost collections onto other taxpayers because of the exemption. A school board or sheriff’s office would absorb the reduction in the base it taxes.
What the dollar tiers mean on a tax bill
Property tax in Louisiana is levied in mills, and one mill is $1 for every $1,000 of assessed value. The $30,000 top tier therefore takes $30 off a bill for every mill the exemption covers, and the $6,000 bottom tier takes off $6 per mill. The size of any saving depends on the local rates, which the amendment does not change.
Because the tiers step up with age, the exemption is worth the most to the oldest owners, and the $30,000 tier is reserved for owners 81 and older. A parish that adopts the exemption would apply the same dollar amounts.
The act also covers surviving spouses. A spouse who keeps living in the home and either owns it or holds a usufruct, and who is no more than five years younger than the deceased owner, can keep the exemption. Property held in trust may also be eligible as provided by law, according to Liskow.
The vote was lopsided in the Legislature as well. The House passed House Bill 514 on April 20 by 93 to 0, and the Senate passed it on May 20 by 34 to 0, according to the bill tracker LegiScan.
What homeowners can do before 2028
People 65 and older who are not yet in the assessment freeze have the most to sort out. The income limit, not age alone, decides who gets in, so a household near the $100,000 line should watch whether Amendment 9 is called in favor of the higher $150,000 base once counting is final.
Anyone already in the freeze can simply watch parish and city councils for an ordinance calling the local election. No parish has announced a local election date. The full amendment text and the official vote tally sit on the Secretary of State’s and Legislature’s sites.
Is the home already in the assessment freeze?
A homeowner who misses the freeze misses the new exemption, because Act 274 only reaches seniors already in it. And a parish vote nobody tracks can pass without a household ever learning it affects the 2028 bill.
The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit lays out the 5 kinds of property-tax relief and includes an application log and renewal calendar, so each program, date and contact sits in one place. Part 4 covers appealing the assessment, and Part 7 is the yearly routine for keeping the filings current.
See the 5 kinds of property-tax relief in The Senior Property Tax & Home-Cost Relief Kit →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
