Louisiana — Sales & Use Tax

Louisiana imposes state sales and use tax on four broad categories of transactions: (1) the sale at retail, use, consumption, distribution, and storage for use or consumption of tangible personal property or digital products; (2) the lease or rental of tangible personal property or digital products; (3) the sale of enumerated services defined in statute; and (4) certain telecommunications services. The combined state rate is 4.97% effective January 1, 2025, composed of four separate levies: 2% under R.S. 47:302, 1% under R.S. 47:321, 0.97% under R.S. 47:331, and 1% under R.S. 47:321.1 (consisting of a 0.45% permanent levy plus a 0.55% temporary levy through December 31, 2029). Local parishes and municipalities impose additional sales taxes on top of the state rate, resulting in combined rates that can exceed 10%.

Source: La. R.S. 47:302; La. R.S. 47:321; La. R.S. 47:331; La. R.S. 47:321.1; Louisiana Department of Revenue – General Sales & Use Tax

Louisiana's state sales and use tax rate is 4.97% effective January 1, 2025. This rate is composed of four separate permanent levies plus one temporary levy:

Permanent levies:

• 2.00% under R.S. 47:302
• 1.00% under R.S. 47:321
• 0.97% under R.S. 47:331
• 0.45% base rate under R.S. 47:321.1

The permanent levies total 4.42%.

Temporary levy:

• 0.55% additional levy under R.S. 47:321.1(A)(1)(b), effective January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029

The temporary levy brings the total state rate to 4.97% from January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2029. Beginning January 1, 2030, the R.S. 47:321.1 temporary additional levy expires, reducing the total state rate to 4.42% (the sum of the four permanent levies).

R.S. 47:331 imposes its levy at the rate of "ninety-seven hundredths of one percentum" (0.97%), not a full 1%. R.S. 47:321.1 imposes a base rate of "forty-five hundredths of one percent" (0.45%) plus, beginning January 1, 2025, an additional temporary levy of "fifty-five hundredths of one percent" (0.55%) through December 31, 2029, for a combined R.S. 47:321.1 rate of 1% during that period.

Source: La. R.S. 47:302; La. R.S. 47:321; La. R.S. 47:321.1; La. R.S. 47:331

Louisiana requires remote sellers without physical presence in the state to register and collect sales and use tax if, during the previous or current calendar year, the seller's gross revenue from retail sales delivered into Louisiana exceeds $100,000. Effective August 1, 2023, Louisiana eliminated the alternative 200-transaction threshold that previously existed alongside the revenue threshold. Remote sellers should exclude sales made through marketplace facilitators when calculating whether they meet the threshold, because those sales count toward the marketplace facilitator's threshold instead.

Source: La. R.S. 47:301(4)(k)(i); Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers – FAQ

A marketplace facilitator must collect and remit Louisiana state and local sales and use tax if, during the previous or current calendar year, its gross revenue for retail sales delivered into Louisiana exceeds $100,000. The 200-transaction threshold was eliminated effective August 1, 2023. A marketplace facilitator is deemed the dealer for each remote sale transacted on its marketplace on behalf of a marketplace seller and is responsible for all dealer obligations. Within 30 days of meeting the threshold, the facilitator must apply to the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers; collection must commence within 60 days.

Source: La. R.S. 47:340.1

Louisiana sales and use tax returns are due on or before the 20th day of the month following the tax period. Dealers whose taxes average $500 or more per month file monthly; dealers whose taxes average less than $500 per month file quarterly. Quarterly returns are due by the 20th of the first month of the next quarter. The Secretary of Revenue determines the average tax due and assigns filing frequency by regulation. Dealers must file returns even when no tax is due.

Source: La. R.S. 47:306(A)(1)(b); Louisiana DOR Sales Tax FAQ

Any person who qualifies as a "dealer" under Louisiana law must apply for a sales tax certificate before collecting sales tax from customers. Louisiana defines a dealer broadly under R.S. 47:301(4) to include any person who: (a) manufactures or produces tangible personal property for sale at retail, use, consumption, distribution, or storage; (b) imports tangible personal property or digital products for sale at retail or for use, consumption, distribution, or storage; (c) makes retail sales of tangible personal property, digital products, or services; (d) sells at wholesale to dealers; (e) leases or rents tangible personal property or digital products; or (h) engages in business in the taxing jurisdiction. The definition also includes remote sellers who exceed the economic nexus threshold ($100,000 in gross revenue from Louisiana retail sales during the previous or current calendar year) and marketplace facilitators who meet that same threshold.

Two registration pathways

Louisiana operates a dual registration system based on physical presence. Dealers with physical presence in Louisiana—such as an office, warehouse, distribution center, employee, or other property or personnel—must register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) for both state and local sales tax obligations. Remote sellers with only economic nexus (no physical presence) register instead with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. Both types of dealers collect and remit both state and local sales and use taxes; the difference is the administrative pathway and filing system, not the scope of tax collection. The threshold for both pathways is identical: $100,000 in gross revenue from Louisiana retail sales in the previous or current calendar year.

How to register—dealers with physical presence

Dealers with physical presence in Louisiana register through the state's online portal, Louisiana geauxBiz (geauxbiz.com) or the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTAP) (latap.revenue.louisiana.gov). The application requires the business's legal name, trade name (if different), federal employer identification number (FEIN) or Social Security number, physical and mailing addresses, business structure (corporation, LLC, partnership, sole proprietorship), anticipated start date of taxable sales, and estimated monthly sales volume. There is no fee to register for a Louisiana sales tax certificate. Upon approval, the LDR issues a sales tax account number and, if the dealer makes sales for resale, a resale exemption certificate (Form R-1064). Registration is required before the dealer may legally collect Louisiana sales tax.

How to register—remote sellers

Remote sellers without physical presence apply to the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers at remotesellers.louisiana.gov. Within 30 days of meeting the $100,000 threshold, the remote seller must apply; collection must commence within 60 days of meeting the threshold. Remote sellers registered with the Commission collect and remit both state and local sales and use tax based on actual applicable rates and bases for the destination address in Louisiana. This requirement has been in effect since July 1, 2020. The Commission serves as the single entity responsible for state and local sales and use tax administration, return processing, and remittances for remote sales. Remote sellers file a single monthly or quarterly return through the Commission's portal covering both state and local taxes, rather than filing separately with the state and each parish. This simplified single-return system is the key administrative difference between the remote seller pathway and the physical-presence dealer pathway; both types of dealers collect the full combined state and local tax from Louisiana customers.

When registration is required

A dealer must register before making the first taxable sale in Louisiana or, for remote sellers, within 30 days of exceeding the $100,000 threshold. Once registered, the dealer must collect tax on all applicable sales, file returns on the assigned schedule (monthly or quarterly, depending on tax volume), and remit collected tax by the 20th of the month following the reporting period. Operating as a dealer without registering exposes the business to back-tax assessments, penalties, and interest under R.S. 47:306.

Exemption certificates and resale registration

Dealers who purchase inventory for resale must hold a valid Louisiana resale exemption certificate (Form R-1064) to purchase tangible personal property or taxable services without paying sales tax to the vendor. The resale certificate is issued automatically upon registration if the dealer indicates it will make sales for resale. Resale certificates are valid for up to three years and renew automatically unless the LDR determines the dealer no longer qualifies or has become delinquent in filing or payment obligations. Dealers can verify a purchaser's resale certificate through the LDR's online validation tool on the LaTAP portal.

Source: La. R.S. 47:301(4); La. R.S. 47:302(V)(2); La. R.S. 47:306; La. R.S. 47:340(G)(1)-(2); La. R.S. 47:340.1; Louisiana Department of Revenue – General Sales & Use Tax; Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers – FAQ

Louisiana allows dealers who collect and remit state sales and use tax to retain a vendor's compensation as a deduction for the costs of accounting for and remitting the tax. The compensation is available only to dealers who timely file their sales and use tax returns and timely pay the full amount of tax due. Both conditions must be met: filing the return on time without paying on time, or paying on time without filing on time, disqualifies the dealer from claiming vendor's compensation for that period. Partial payment does not permit partial vendor's compensation.

Statutory rate and eligible taxes

La. R.S. 47:306(A)(3)(a) sets the vendor's compensation rate at 1.05% of the amount of tax due and accounted for. However, vendor's compensation applies only to the taxes levied under R.S. 47:302 (2%), R.S. 47:321 (1%), and R.S. 47:331 (0.97%)—a combined 3.97% of the current 4.97% state rate. Vendor's compensation is not allowed on the tax levied under R.S. 47:321.1 (currently 1% through December 31, 2029, consisting of a 0.45% permanent levy plus a 0.55% temporary levy). Because the total state sales tax rate is 4.97% as of January 1, 2025, but vendor's compensation applies to only 3.97% of that amount, the effective vendor's compensation rate is 0.84% of total tax collected (mathematically: 1.05% × 3.97% ÷ 4.97% ≈ 0.84%).

When the R.S. 47:321.1 temporary levy expires on December 31, 2029, the total state rate will drop to 4.42% (composed of the four permanent levies). At that point, vendor's compensation will still apply only to the taxes under R.S. 47:302, 47:321, and 47:331—but because R.S. 47:331 imposes a 0.97% rate, not a full 1%, the eligible base will remain 3.97%. The effective vendor's compensation rate will adjust accordingly.

Monthly cap

Effective January 1, 2025, the maximum vendor's compensation a dealer may claim is $750 per calendar month, regardless of how many business locations the dealer operates in Louisiana. This cap was reduced from the prior limit of $1,500 per month by Act 11 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session. For taxable periods ending before January 1, 2025, the cap was $1,500 per month. The cap applies per dealer entity, not per location or per return.

Conditions for claiming vendor's compensation

A dealer may claim vendor's compensation only if:

1. The dealer timely files the sales and use tax return on or before the 20th day of the month following the tax period, and
2. The dealer timely remits the full amount of tax shown due on the return on or before the 20th day of the month following the tax period.

If either the return or the payment is late—or if the dealer remits only partial payment—vendor's compensation is not allowed for that period. The dealer is still liable for any applicable late-filing or late-payment penalties under R.S. 47:1602.

Calculation example (January 2025 and later)

A dealer who collects $20,000 in state sales tax in a given month may claim vendor's compensation of $168 ($20,000 × 0.84%), provided the dealer files and pays on time and the amount does not exceed the $750 monthly cap. A dealer who collects $100,000 in state sales tax in a month would compute $840 in vendor's compensation ($100,000 × 0.84%), but the dealer may claim only $750 due to the monthly cap.

Remote sellers and the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers

Remote sellers registered with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers (rather than directly with the Louisiana Department of Revenue) are also entitled to claim vendor's compensation under the same terms, provided they timely file and timely pay. The Commission applies each taxing jurisdiction's specific rate of vendor's compensation (including the state rate) as a deduction against tax due and reduces the monthly distribution to the state and local collectors accordingly, as provided in R.S. 47:340(D)(3)(d).

Local sales tax vendor's compensation

The vendor's compensation rules described above apply to state sales and use taxes only. Act 11 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session repealed the statutory requirement that local taxing authorities provide vendor's compensation on local sales taxes. Individual parishes and municipalities may still choose to offer vendor's compensation on their local taxes, but they are not required to do so, and the terms vary by locality.

Source: La. R.S. 47:306(A)(3)(a); Louisiana Revenue Information Bulletin No. 25-006; La. R.S. 47:340(D)(3)(d)