Sales tax
Louisiana Sales Tax Rate in 2026: The 5% State Rate, Parish Taxes and New Orleans
Louisiana sales tax rate 2026: the 5% state rate since 2025, parish taxes, New Orleans at 10%, who collects what, the combined return and vendor's compensation.
Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources
Contents (12)
- 1. The 5% state rate and how it's built
- 2. Parish and local sales taxes
- 3. New Orleans in detail
- 4. Who you file with: the state, the parish or both
- 5. What's taxable and what's exempt
- 6. Worked examples in dollars
- 7. Vendor's compensation after Act 11
- 8. Registering and filing
- 9. Remote sellers and the Remote Sellers Commission
- 10. Use tax on your own purchases
- 11. Common mistakes and how to fix them
- 12. What to do next
Louisiana has one of the highest combined sales tax rates in the country and one of the most complicated systems for collecting it. If you run a shop in New Orleans, a restaurant in Baton Rouge or an online store shipping into the state, you deal with a state tax and a separate layer of parish taxes, collected by different agencies. This guide sets out the 2026 rates, starting with the 5% state rate that took effect in 2025, then explains parish taxes, New Orleans, who you file with, the new combined return and how vendor's compensation now works. Figures were checked against Louisiana Department of Revenue bulletins and parish collectors in October 2026.
Quick answer
Louisiana's state sales tax rate is 5%, raised from 4.45% on January 1, 2025. Parishes, cities and districts add local taxes, so most combined rates fall between about 9.5% and 10%. New Orleans is 10% (5% state + 5% Orleans Parish).
The 5% rate is scheduled to drop to 4.75% on January 1, 2030
State tax goes to the Department of Revenue; local tax goes to each parish's collector
Groceries are exempt from state tax but most parishes tax them (4.5% in New Orleans)
All sales tax returns and payments must be filed electronically from January 1, 2026
Vendor's compensation is now 0.84% effective, capped at $750 a month
The 5% state rate and how it's built
On January 1, 2025, Louisiana's state sales tax rose from 4.45% to 5%. The change came from Act 11 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session, the House Bill 10 tax overhaul that also cut income and franchise taxes. The Department of Revenue confirmed the new rate in Revenue Information Bulletin 25-007, issued on December 23, 2024.
The 5% is a stack of separate levies. Four percentage points come from three long-standing statutes, R.S. 47:302, 47:321 and 47:331. The last point comes from R.S. 47:321.1, which Act 11 raised from 0.45% to 1%. The same law folded a small 0.03% economic development levy into R.S. 47:331, which went from 0.97% to 1%. You don't charge these separately; customers see one 5% state line.
The increase isn't permanent as written. According to the legislature's digest of the bill, the 1% levy under R.S. 47:321.1 runs at that level only until December 31, 2029. Absent new legislation, the state rate is scheduled to fall to 4.75% on January 1, 2030. Lawmakers can change that before then, so treat 2030 as a date to watch rather than a certainty.
One narrow exception applies to construction. Under R.S. 47:305.11, certain materials and services bought for construction contracts signed before the increase aren't subject to the extra 0.55%, provided the contract meets every statutory condition. The department's earlier bulletin RIB 16-016 explains how that works.
The 5% applies to sales of tangible personal property, certain services and digital products. That last category matters for online sellers, because Act 11 broadened the base to digital goods from 2025, so downloads and streaming sold into Louisiana now carry state tax.
Louisiana sales tax at a glance (2026)
5%
State rate
Since January 1, 2025
4.75%
Scheduled state rate
From January 1, 2030
10%
New Orleans combined
General merchandise
$750
Vendor's compensation cap
Per month, per dealer
Parish and local sales taxes
Louisiana has no single local rate. Each of its 64 parishes can levy sales taxes, and so can cities, school boards, sheriffs, and special districts such as economic development and tourism districts. The local share commonly runs from about 4.5% to 5.5%, which is why combined rates sit near 10% in the larger cities. A few districts push it higher.
Local taxes are also collected locally. In most parishes a single collector, often the sheriff's office or the school board, collects every local tax in that parish. These collectors set up your local account, process your local returns and audit you for local tax, separately from the Department of Revenue. The Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board sets uniform forms and procedures for local collectors and issues advisory guidance.
Local tax bases don't always match the state's. The clearest example is food: the state exempts groceries, but most parishes don't. Before you load rates into a till, check both the rate and the local exemptions with the parish collector for each location where you sell or deliver.
Rates in the main cities
| Place | State | Local | Combined general rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans (Orleans Parish) | 5% | 5% | 10% |
| French Quarter EDD, New Orleans | 5% | 5.245% | 10.245% |
| Riverwalk-Spanish Plaza EDD, New Orleans | 5% | 7% | 12% |
| Metairie and unincorporated Jefferson Parish | 5% | 4.75% | 9.75% |
| Southern University and LSU EDDs, Baton Rouge | 5% | 6.5% | 11.5% |
The New Orleans rows come from the City's Bureau of Revenue; the Baton Rouge district rates come from the East Baton Rouge city-parish Finance Department, which added the Southern University and LSU economic development districts from October 1, 2025, an LSU athletic subdistrict from April 2026 and the Bayou Fountain district from July 1, 2026. For any other Baton Rouge address, use the city-parish street lookup tool, because the rate depends on which district the address falls in.
New Orleans in detail
The City of New Orleans Bureau of Revenue collects Orleans Parish sales tax. On sales of goods, the combined rate is 10%: 5% for the state and 5% for the parish. That puts New Orleans among the highest-taxed big cities in the US.
Several special rates apply. Food and drugs, which are exempt from the state tax, carry a 4.5% local tax. Parking is taxed at 13% in total, because Orleans Parish adds a 3% parking tax to the regular local and state rates. Hotel and motel rooms carry 15% in total for properties with 10 or more rooms and 17% for smaller ones, including stadium and convention center levies, plus a nightly occupancy privilege tax of $0.50 to $1.00 per room depending on the size of the property. Short-term rentals have their own gross rentals and occupancy taxes and nightly fees.
Three economic development districts add to the general rate inside their boundaries: the French Quarter district adds 0.245%, Magnolia Marketplace adds 1% and Riverwalk-Spanish Plaza adds 2%. The city publishes a map of each, and you report sales in those districts separately.
Who you file with: the state, the parish or both
This is where Louisiana differs from almost every other state. A business with a store in Louisiana deals with two systems.
The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) administers the 5% state tax. You register through geauxBIZ, the state's one-stop portal for new businesses, or directly through the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (LaTAP) if your entity already exists. The state return is Form R-1029, due by the 20th of the month after the period ends.
The local collector for each parish where you have a location or make deliveries administers the local tax. You register with that collector, file its return and pay it separately. A business with stores in Orleans, Jefferson and East Baton Rouge parishes has three local accounts on top of its state account.
Since early 2026 there's a simpler option. The Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board runs a combined state and local sales tax return on Parish E-File, starting with the January 2026 period that was due on February 20, 2026. Each physical location reports all its state and local sales on one return. To use it, your state and local filing frequencies must match, and you register on Parish E-File to link your local accounts to your state account. Hotel and motel taxes remain on separate returns. You can still file the state return alone on LaTAP.
Where your Louisiana sales tax goes
Step 1
Register with LDR via geauxBIZ or LaTAP
Step 2
Register with each parish's local collector
Step 3
Choose: separate returns, or one combined return on Parish E-File
From the January 2026 period
Step 4
File and pay electronically by the 20th
What's taxable and what's exempt
The state tax applies to retail sales, leases and rentals of tangible personal property, to digital products, and to a set of services that includes hotel and short-term lodging, admissions and amusements, parking, printing, laundry and dry cleaning, cold storage, and the repair of tangible personal property. Professional services such as legal, accounting and consulting aren't taxed.
Food for home consumption and prescription drugs are exempt from the state tax, but parishes can tax them, and most do. Restaurant meals and food prepared for immediate consumption are taxed at the full state and local rate. Sales for resale are exempt with a resale certificate, and manufacturers, farmers and some nonprofits have their own exemptions, usually requiring a certificate from LDR.
Worked examples in dollars
A New Orleans electronics shop. A customer buys a $1,000 television. Tax at 10% is $100: $50 state and $50 Orleans Parish. Before 2025, at 4.45% state, the state share was $44.50, so the 2025 increase added $5.50 to this one sale.
A grocery run in New Orleans. A household spends $200 on groceries for home. The state charges nothing, but Orleans Parish charges 4.5%, so the bill carries $9 in tax. A $12 hot plate lunch from the deli counter is prepared food and pays the full 10%, or $1.20.
A Metairie furniture store. A $2,500 sofa sold in unincorporated Jefferson Parish is taxed at 9.75%: $125 state and $118.75 parish, for $243.75 in total. The store files the state share with LDR and the parish share with the Jefferson Parish collector, or both on one combined return.
Vendor's compensation. A Baton Rouge retailer collects $8,000 of state tax in a month and pays on time. Its compensation is 1.05% of the 4% portion of the rate, which is 0.84% of $8,000, or $67.20. A larger chain collecting $120,000 of state tax a month would calculate $1,008, but the cap limits it to $750.
Try it — New Orleans sales tax on $1,000
Vendor's compensation after Act 11
Louisiana lets dealers keep part of the state tax they collect as compensation for accounting for it. Act 11 changed the math from January 1, 2025. The rate stays at 1.05%, but it applies only to the levies under R.S. 47:302, 47:321 and 47:331, which make up 4% of the 5%. No compensation is allowed on the 1% under R.S. 47:321.1. In practice that works out to 0.84% of the total state tax you collect.
The cap fell too, from $1,500 to $750 a month. It applies per dealer, not per location, so a chain with ten Louisiana stores still gets one $750 maximum. You only qualify if both the return and the payment are on time; a late filing or payment loses the compensation for that period. Local collectors set their own vendor's compensation rules for local tax, so check each parish.
Registering and filing
New businesses usually start at geauxBIZ, which lets you register with the Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue and other agencies in one application. If your company is already registered with the Secretary of State, apply for your LDR sales tax account through LaTAP. Then contact the local collector for each parish where you'll have a location or deliver goods.
Returns are due on the 20th day of the month after the reporting period. LDR assigns your filing frequency, which may be monthly, quarterly or annual depending on your expected tax. You must file every period, even with no sales.
From January 1, 2026, every sales tax return except the consumer use tax return, the special events return and watercraft certifications must be filed electronically, whatever your payment size, under Revenue Information Bulletin 25-030. All sales tax payments must also be made electronically. Filing on paper without an approved hardship exemption triggers a penalty of $100 or 5% of the tax, whichever is greater. You can file through LaTAP, Parish E-File, Sales Tax Online or approved software.
Before your first Louisiana sale
0/6Remote sellers and the Remote Sellers Commission
An out-of-state seller with no physical presence in Louisiana must collect once its gross sales into the state exceed $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. House Bill 171 of 2023 removed the separate 200-transaction test from August 1, 2023, so order count alone no longer creates an obligation.
Remote sellers have a simpler route than in-state businesses. They can register with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers and file one return covering state and local tax, instead of registering with each parish. The 5% state rate applies to those sales too. Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon and Etsy collect on the sales they facilitate once they cross the threshold, so a seller whose only Louisiana sales go through a collecting marketplace doesn't need its own registration.
Use tax on your own purchases
Sales tax has a twin. When your business buys taxable goods from an out-of-state supplier that doesn't charge Louisiana tax, such as shelving, a computer or a vehicle part, you owe use tax at the same 5% state rate, plus the local use tax where the item is used. Registered dealers report it on their regular sales tax return; businesses without a sales tax account file the consumer use tax return, which is one of the few returns still allowed on paper.
Use tax is a common audit finding because it's easy to forget. Review your supplier invoices each month for missing tax, and accrue the use tax on the same return as your sales. If you bought items tax-free with a resale certificate and then used them in the business instead of reselling them, you owe use tax on those too.
Common mistakes and how to fix them
Charging 4.45% state tax. Sales on or after January 1, 2025 are taxed at 5%. Under-collected tax is still owed by you; update the rate and file amended returns for past periods.
Forgetting the local account. Registering with LDR doesn't register you with the parish. Many new businesses file state returns for months before a parish collector contacts them about unfiled local returns with penalties attached.
Treating groceries as tax-free everywhere. They're exempt from the state tax only. In New Orleans, groceries pay 4.5%.
Missing district taxes. A store in the French Quarter or near LSU charges more than the standard parish rate. Use the collector's address lookup for each location.
Overestimating vendor's compensation. The rate is now 0.84% of state tax, capped at $750 a month per dealer, and there's none if you're late.
Paying by paper check. Since January 1, 2026, payments must be electronic. Set up LaTAP or Parish E-File payments before your next due date.
Official links
- RIB 25-007 — 5% state rateLouisiana Department of Revenue
- RIB 25-006 — vendor's compensation0.84% effective, $750 cap
- RIB 25-030 — electronic filing mandateFrom January 1, 2026
- Parish E-File — combined state and local returnLouisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board
- Orleans Parish sales tax rateCity of New Orleans Bureau of Revenue
- East Baton Rouge tax ratesCity-parish rates and street lookup
What to do next
Register with both LDR and every parish collector you'll owe, load the 5% state rate plus each local and district rate, and set up electronic filing before your first due date. Check whether the combined return on Parish E-File would save you time. Use the sales tax calculator to check receipts and our how to calculate sales tax guide to work out tax-included prices. Selling in neighboring states too? Compare our Texas, Alabama and Georgia guides.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.
Frequently asked questions
The state rate is 5%, in effect since January 1, 2025, when Act 11 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session raised it from 4.45%. Parishes, cities, school boards and special districts add their own local taxes, so the combined rate is usually around 9.5% to 10% and higher in some districts. New Orleans charges 10% on most goods.
Not as written. Act 11 raised the 0.45% levy under R.S. 47:321.1 to 1% only until December 31, 2029. Unless lawmakers act again, the state rate is scheduled to fall to 4.75% on January 1, 2030. Local parish and city rates are set separately by local voters and aren't affected by that date.
The City of New Orleans lists a combined rate of 10% on goods: 5% state plus 5% Orleans Parish. Groceries and drugs are exempt from state tax but carry a 4.5% local tax. Parking is taxed at 13% and hotel rooms at 15% to 17%. Three economic development districts, including the French Quarter, add 0.245% to 2%.
Both, separately. The Louisiana Department of Revenue collects the 5% state tax through LaTAP. Each parish has its own local collector, often the sheriff or school board, that collects parish, city and district taxes. Since early 2026 you can report both on one combined return through Parish E-File. Remote sellers file state and local tax with the Remote Sellers Commission.
Food for home consumption is exempt from the state's 5% tax but most parishes still tax it. In New Orleans, groceries carry a 4.5% local tax instead of the full 10%. Restaurant meals and prepared food are taxed at the full combined rate.
Dealers who file and pay on time keep 1.05% of the state tax on the 4% portion of the rate, which works out to an effective 0.84% of the 5% state tax. The maximum dropped from $1,500 to $750 a month per dealer from January 1, 2025. Local collectors set their own vendor's compensation rules.
Sources & verification
Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 9 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify
- 1.Revenue Information Bulletin 25-007 — State Sales Tax Rate Effective January 1, 2025 — Louisiana Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 2.Revenue Information Bulletin 25-006 — Changes to Vendor's Compensation — Louisiana Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 3.Revenue Information Bulletin 25-030 — Mandatory Electronic Filing and Payment Requirements Expanded — Louisiana Department of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 4.Orleans Parish Sales Tax Rate — City of New Orleans Bureau of Revenue · accessed 9 October 2026
- 5.Notice of Tax Changes for October 1, 2025 — City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge Finance Department · accessed 9 October 2026
- 6.Notice of Tax Changes for July 1, 2026 — City of Baton Rouge / Parish of East Baton Rouge Finance Department · accessed 9 October 2026
- 7.Sales Tax FAQ — Jefferson Parish sales tax rate — Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office · accessed 9 October 2026
- 8.Louisiana State Sales Tax Changes — Act 11 summary — DuCharme, McMillen & Associates · accessed 9 October 2026
- 9.Louisiana Removes 200 Transaction Threshold from Economic Nexus Rules — Sales Tax Institute · accessed 9 October 2026
- 10.SALT Alert: Louisiana State and Parish Sales Tax Returns May Now Be Filed in a Combined Return — Frazier & Deeter · accessed 9 October 2026
MSMETOOLS is an independent platform and is not affiliated with any government agency, ministry or department.
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