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Louisiana sales tax, explained.

Thresholds, rates, taxability, filing schedules, and the Remote Sellers Commission — everything a remote seller needs to know about Louisiana, on one page.

Economic nexus threshold
$100,000
Statewide base rate
5%
Transaction threshold
None
New OrleansBaton RougeShreveportLafayetteLake Charles
Louisiana · major filing jurisdictions
Nexus · Louisiana

When you owe sales tax in Louisiana.

Louisiana requires remote sellers to register and collect sales tax once either nexus trigger is met. The state uses both economic and physical nexus tests — satisfying either one creates the obligation.

Economic nexus
Threshold
$100,000 in retail sales delivered into Louisiana
Measurement type
Sales only — Louisiana repealed its 200-transaction test effective August 1, 2023
Measurement period
Current or preceding calendar year
Included
Retail sales delivered into Louisiana — exempt sales and sales for resale count; marketplace-facilitated sales are excluded from the seller's threshold calculation
Marketplaces
Marketplace sales do not count toward your threshold — Louisiana explicitly excludes marketplace-facilitated transactions from the remote seller's economic nexus calculation
Physical nexus
Office or place of businessWarehouse or inventoryEmployees or remote staffAgents or contractorsThird-party fulfillment

Any physical presence in Louisiana — including inventory in a third-party fulfillment center, a remote employee, or an agent acting on your behalf — creates nexus from the first sale, with no sales threshold. If your goods are stored at a Louisiana warehouse you did not choose, nexus still applies.

Rates · Louisiana

What you'll collect, parish by parish.

Louisiana's state rate is 5%. Because parishes and municipalities administer their own local sales taxes independently, the combined rate varies by delivery address — here's how the major cities compare across product categories.

JurisdictionCombined rateTangible propertyDigital goodsSaaSServices
LouisianaState rate5%5%5%5%0%
New Orleans10%10%10%10%0%
Baton Rouge10.5%10.5%10.5%10.5%0%
Shreveport9.6%9.6%9.6%9.6%0%
Lafayette9%9%9%9%0%
Lake Charles10.75%10.75%10.75%10.75%0%

Louisiana parishes and municipalities independently administer their own local sales taxes. The combined rates above reflect the state 5% base plus local levies for each city; the exact rate depends on the delivery address within that parish. SaaS and digital goods are taxable at the full combined rate — Louisiana taxes these unlike most states. Professional and general services remain exempt at both state and local levels. Rates verified as of June 11, 2026.

Need the exact rate for one address or invoice? Our calculator returns the combined state, parish, and municipal rate for any Louisiana address.

Open the sales tax calculator
Taxability · Louisiana

Is your product taxable here?

Louisiana is one of the few states that taxes SaaS and digital goods at the same rate as physical goods — a meaningful difference for software and digital businesses.

Product categoryStatusWhat to know
Tangible personal propertyTaxablePhysical goods delivered into Louisiana are taxable at the combined state-plus-local rate of the delivery address.
SaaS & cloud softwareTaxableBoth B2B and B2C SaaS sales into Louisiana are taxable. Louisiana taxes remotely-accessed software regardless of whether anything is downloaded.
Digital goodsTaxableDigital products — including downloaded software, e-books, and digital content — are taxable in Louisiana at the full combined rate.
Professional servicesNot taxableProfessional and general services (consulting, legal, design) are exempt from Louisiana sales tax at both the state and local level.
General servicesNot taxableGeneral services remain exempt under Louisiana law; the tax applies to tangible property, SaaS, and digital goods — not service labor.
Filings · Louisiana

Filing schedules and due dates.

Remote sellers registered through the Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission file monthly or quarterly returns through the Commission's portal. The frequency assigned at registration reflects your expected sales volume and may be adjusted as you grow.

FrequencyReturnDue dateWho it applies to
MonthlyMost commonRemote Sellers Sales and Use Tax Return (filed via remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov)20th of the month following the reporting periodRemote sellers above the Commission's monthly filing threshold; the default for higher-volume registrants
QuarterlyRemote Sellers Sales and Use Tax Return (filed via remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov)20th of the month following the end of the quarterLower-volume remote sellers as assigned by the Remote Sellers Commission

Crossed the threshold, or about to?

A Commenda expert will review your Louisiana exposure, register you with the Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission, and take over the filing calendar — usually within a week.

The state authority

Louisiana's tax offices.

Remote sellers register and file through the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers at remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov — not directly with the Louisiana Department of Revenue. The Commission was created specifically to provide a single point of registration and filing for out-of-state sellers, simplifying what would otherwise require separate filings with each parish.

remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov

Registration requires a Tax Portal username and password. Your State Tax ID (9-digit account number) is assigned upon registration and used for subsequent filings. In-state sellers use the Louisiana Tax Access Point (LaTAP) at latap.revenue.louisiana.gov instead.

Louisiana parishes independently administer and collect their own local sales taxes. The Remote Sellers Commission aggregates state and local taxes into a single return for out-of-state sellers, but parish-level rate variations still apply to each transaction based on the delivery address.

What you can do there
  • Register with the Remote Sellers Commission

    Out-of-state sellers register at remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov — this covers both state and participating parish taxes in one application.

  • File returns and pay

    Monthly or quarterly returns are filed through the Remote Sellers Commission portal, covering all applicable state and local tax in one submission.

  • Look up the rate for any address

    The Louisiana Department of Revenue maintains a rate lookup tool to find the combined state, parish, and municipal rate for any delivery address.

  • Verify a resale certificate

    Confirm that a Louisiana resale certificate is valid before accepting it — check with the Louisiana Department of Revenue's LaTAP portal.

Exposure & exemptions · Louisiana

If you're behind, or your buyers are exempt.

Back-period exposure & voluntary disclosure

Louisiana offers a voluntary disclosure program for out-of-state sellers who come forward before the state contacts them. Filing under the program limits lookback exposure and may waive penalties.

Lookback
Typically limited under a VDA — the state retains discretion; contact the Louisiana Department of Revenue to negotiate terms
Penalties
May be waived under the program for taxpayers who come forward voluntarily before detection
Interest
Generally still due even under voluntary disclosure
How to apply
Contact the Louisiana Department of Revenue's Office of Legal Affairs to initiate a VDA — do not file delinquent returns before the agreement is in place

Exemption certificates accepted

Obtain a valid exemption certificate at the time of sale and retain it in your records — the seller bears the burden of proof if the exemption is later challenged.

Resale
Louisiana Form R-1064 (Certificate of Resale) — issued to buyers who will resell the goods
Multi-state
MTC Uniform Sales and Use Tax Certificate is accepted in Louisiana for qualifying resale transactions
Agricultural
Machinery, equipment, and materials used in production agriculture may qualify for an exemption under Louisiana law
Nonprofit
Qualifying nonprofit organizations may apply for a sales tax exemption through the Louisiana Department of Revenue using Form R-20125

FAQ · Louisiana

Louisiana questions, answered.

The questions remote sellers ask us most about Louisiana sales tax.
Read our FAQ library

Yes. Louisiana is one of the few states that taxes SaaS — both B2B and B2C cloud software subscriptions are subject to sales tax at the full combined state-plus-local rate. This applies regardless of whether anything is downloaded to the customer's device.

No. Louisiana repealed its 200-transaction test effective August 1, 2023. The current rule is a sales-only threshold: $100,000 in retail sales delivered into Louisiana in the current or preceding calendar year.

No. Louisiana explicitly excludes marketplace-facilitated transactions from the remote seller's economic nexus calculation. If Amazon, Etsy, or another registered marketplace facilitator collects tax on your behalf, those sales do not count toward your $100,000 threshold.

Louisiana created the Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers specifically to give out-of-state sellers a single registration and filing point that covers both state and local taxes. Without it, remote sellers would need to file separately with each parish. The Commission simplifies compliance while ensuring parishes receive their local tax revenue.

Each of Louisiana's 64 parishes independently administers its own local sales tax, setting its own rate. The combined rate at any address is the 5% state rate plus the applicable parish and municipal levies. The Remote Sellers Commission aggregates these into a single return, but the rates vary — Lake Charles currently carries one of the highest combined rates at 10.75%, while Lafayette comes in at 9%.

Yes. Louisiana taxes digital products — including downloaded software, e-books, and digital content — at the full combined state-plus-local rate. This puts Louisiana in a minority of states that tax digital goods.

Returns filed through the Remote Sellers Commission portal are due on the 20th of the month following the reporting period — whether you are on a monthly or quarterly schedule. Missing a due date triggers penalties and interest even if no tax is owed.

Yes. Commenda monitors your Louisiana exposure, registers you with the Remote Sellers Commission, calculates the correct rate for every delivery address — including parish-level variations — and files each return on schedule. Book a call to see it on your own data.

United States

Sales tax, state by state.

* No state-level sales tax. Alaska's local jurisdictions still enforce economic nexus through the ARSSTC.