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[RolandPfingsten1955]

Hello.. a little background.  My wife and I live in Louisiana, we are both retired.  She has a pension from the local school board but does not get social security.  I get Social Security, but no pension.  So basically our income has remained almost the same for the past several years.  No stocks or bond sales for several years and we live in the same house we've been in for decades.  So my question is this:  The last two years ( including this year ) when I have done our state income taxes, I have ended up owing nothing but not getting a refund either.  This has happened for 2 consecutive years.  Does this sound normal or am I doing something wrong in my calculations?

[AnnetteB6]

It sounds perfectly correct if your income consists of Social Security and a pension from a local school board.  Louisiana does not tax Social Security benefits, nor do they tax retirement benefits for school employers (among others retirement benefits exempt from Louisiana tax).  

So, if you had no other income reported on your return and you had no Louisiana income tax withheld, then your return would be zero refund and zero balance due.  However, if you are required to file a Federal return and you are a Louisiana resident, you are still required to file the Louisiana return.

[RolandPfingsten1955]

Thank you so much for your reply.  The way you explained it made perfect sense, so thank you for helping to alleviate my concerns.  

Rp