KEY TAKEAWAYS: Louisiana’s Work-Based Learning Tax Credit now offers $2.50/hour for student hires. Credit applies to internships, apprenticeships, and qualifying positions for students and some young adults. Total credits capped at $1M first year, growing to $7.5M with increased participatio n. Applications open Jan. 1–Feb. 28 via Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTap). A revamped incentive gives Louisiana businesses a larger income tax break for hiring young workers for internships, apprenticeships and other qualifying positions. The new version of the state’s Work-Based Learning Tax Credit, approved in 2025, took effect this month. It replaces two prior incentives and supports learning requirements in Louisiana’s new school accountability system. The nonprofit Leaders for a Better Louisiana advocated for the tax credit changes because few employers took advantage of the old ones, chief policy officer Barry Erwin said. “The change in the accountability system has prompted school districts and superintendents to consider more ways to involve students in internships and other work-based learning experiences in high school, so hopefully it will be a win-win,” Erwin said in an email, “Help meet school performance goals for students and provide employers a stronger incentive to hire them.” In 2024, Louisiana’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education approved a school accountability system that places a greater emphasis on high schools offering work-based learning experiences to their students. The system went into effect for the 2025-26 school year. A student who takes part in a work-based learning program under the accountability system also qualifies their employer for the tax credit. The credit is available to businesses who make eligible hires in 2026. The amount of the credit is $2.50 per hour worked, up to a maximum of $2,500 per eligible worker per year. Students must work for their employers for at least 100 hours in the tax year for the business to qualify for the credits. The old credit offered $1.25 per hour worked and required businesses to employ the student for at least 250 hours per year. In certain circumstances, the credit can apply to workers up to age 24 who are not in high school. It is non-refundable, but any credit that exceeds a company’s Louisiana tax liability can be carried forward for up to five years. Employers can claim the credit on their tax returns beginning in 2027. Total tax credits are capped at $1 million the first year but are allowed to grow to a maximum of $7.5 million in future years if participation grows. Louisiana lags well behind other Southern states in the number of young people participating in internships and apprenticeships. Only about 5% out of the more than 40,000 Louisiana high school students who graduate annually hold an internship credit each year. The percentage is up to five times higher in Georgia and Tennessee, according to a Leaders for a Better Louisiana report last year. The same goes for apprenticeships. Louisiana has fewer apprenticeships than many of its neighboring states, and they pay the least. Only three out of every 1,000 Louisiana students graduate high school with apprenticeship experience, compared with nine in Arkansas. Apprenticeships in Louisiana pay an average of $14.90 per hour, comparable to the Arkansas wage but much less than Mississippi’s $21 per hour, according to the Leaders for a Better Louisiana report. Applications for Louisiana’s tax credit will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis and must be submitted between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28 each year through the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point, known as LaTap for short. More information can be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Revenue. ...read more read less