Louisiana Sales & Use Tax

Physical Nexus

Your business has physical nexus if it has any of the following items within the state of Louisiana:

Physical offices or storefronts
Employees reside in the state
Affiliates who refer business either directly or indirectly to the retailer of tangible products
Tradeshow presence

Here is a more extensive list of what the state of Louisiana considers instances of creating sales tax nexus.

Taxability

Typically, services are not taxable, however, services such as repairing or producing a product will create sales tax liability. Physical products are taxable in-state with a few exceptions. Taxability can change state to state and often depends on how your product/services are defined.

Determine whether software and SaaS are subject to taxation here.

Like much of sales tax, this can often be difficult to manage alone. Reach out if you need help understanding the taxability of your products/services.

Collecting Sales Tax

As a destination-based sales tax state, Louisiana requires sellers in-state to charge the rate at which the item is being delivered in. This may include state, county, city, and district tax rates. Sellers based outside of Louisiana selling into the state are required to charge sales tax based on the buyer's location.

Louisiana's sales tax rate is 4.45%. Depending on local municipalities, the total tax rate can be as high as 11.45%.

When Are Sales Taxes Due?

Sales tax returns are dependent upon the state's due dates and the vendor's filing frequency. If the seller exceeds the economic threshold, they are liable to file on a monthly basis. If the seller does not exceed the threshold, then returns could be due quarterly or annually.

Sales tax returns are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period. Louisiana requires an extra business day to process payments and as a result, the "payment" is due a day earlier than the filing date.