Transfer tax
Louisiana has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the clerk of court.
Donate a house, camp or land in Louisiana, in any of the 64 parishes
Louisiana property specialists: (888) 228-7320
Donate Real Estate in Louisiana
Louisiana is the one state whose property law comes from the civil code rather than English common law, and almost every term is different: parishes instead of counties, acts of sale and donation instead of deeds, usufruct instead of a life estate, forced heirship rules that do not exist anywhere else. It changes the paperwork, not the possibility.
Fully IRS Compliant
We Handle the Paperwork
Form 8283 Done Right
501(c)(3) Recognized Charity
Louisiana rules for a property donation
Federal tax rules are the same in every state. These three are set by Louisiana and by the county where the property sits.
Civil law, notaries and forced heirship
A Louisiana transfer is an authentic act passed before a notary with two witnesses, filed with the parish clerk of court. Succession rules can leave an heir with a naked ownership interest while someone else holds a usufruct, and both have to be dealt with for a clean transfer. We work with Louisiana notaries rather than assuming common law procedure.
Recording
Deeds are recorded with the clerk of court for the parish where the property sits. You sign the act of donation before a notary and two witnesses wherever you live, and we handle the filing.
What Louisiana owners call us about
Four situations the state produces that no other state does in quite the same way.
A succession nobody ever opened
Property still in a grandparent’s name because the succession was never completed. It has to be opened before title can move, and that is normal work rather than a dead end.
Naked ownership with a usufruct outstanding
One person holds the use of the property for life while others own it. Both interests have to be addressed, and we will tell you which you hold.
A house still carrying storm damage
Wind, flood and elevation requirements that make rebuilding cost more than the finished house is worth. The lot usually still has value.
Mineral servitudes that may have lapsed
Louisiana mineral rights are servitudes that prescribe after ten years without use, so what was severed decades ago may have returned to the land. It is worth checking before assuming.
Louisiana property we accept
Each links to the full guide for that type, including how a donation compares with selling.
Houses in LouisianaShotgun and creole cottages, raised houses, brick ranches and camps.
Louisiana landTimber, marsh and batture parcels, rural acreage and city lots.
Farm groundSugarcane, rice, soybean and crawfish ground.
Commercial propertyMain street buildings, storefronts and small offices.
Industrial buildingsWarehouse and yard space along the river and the coast.
Bond for deedLouisiana’s version of a land contract. We take over the payments and deliver title at payoff.
What a donation looks like by region
Six Louisianas, from the delta to the piney hills.
New Orleans
Shotgun and creole cottages, successions that were never opened, and flood elevation questions that vary block by block.
Baton Rouge and the river parishes
Post-war housing, industrial corridor property and inherited family homes.
Acadiana
Sugarcane and rice ground, camps on the bayou and family land held across many heirs.
Southwest Louisiana
Storm-damaged housing, rice and crawfish ground, and coastal parcels losing ground to the water.
North Louisiana
Pine timber, hunting land and small-town housing with real carrying costs.
The Florida parishes
Pasture and timber, lake property and rural acreage held by families who moved south.
Louisiana real estate donation questions, answered
Is a donated deed subject to Louisiana transfer tax?+
Louisiana has no statewide real estate transfer tax on deeds. Recording fees are set locally by the clerk of court.
I live outside Louisiana. Do I have to travel there to sign?+
No. We prepare the deed in the form Louisiana requires for the county where the property sits, you sign before a notary where you live, and we record it with the parish clerk of court.
The succession was never opened. Can we still donate?+
Usually, once it is opened, and that is ordinary Louisiana work rather than an obstacle. Property sitting in a deceased relative’s name is one of the most common calls we take from this state. Tell us who died, roughly when, and who is still living.
Does Louisiana give a state tax deduction for a property donation?+
Louisiana has a state income tax, and how it treats a charitable contribution is set by Louisiana law rather than by us. Your federal deduction follows the usual IRS rules. Take the state question to your own advisor.
I own the property but my mother has the usufruct. Can I give my part?+
Tell us and we will read the act. Naked ownership is a real interest and can sometimes be transferred while the usufruct continues, though what a charity can do with it in the meantime is limited. There are usually better options if the usufructuary is willing to participate.
We do not provide tax or legal advice. State and local transfer tax rules change; we confirm current requirements when we prepare each deed. Consult your own advisor.
Tell us about your Louisiana property and we will review it
The county and a parcel number are enough to start.