Louisiana Income Tax | Louisiana Sales Tax | Louisiana Property Tax | Louisiana Corporate Tax

Louisiana does not exempt any types of purchase from the state sales tax. In most states, necessities such as groceries, clothes, and drugs are exempted from the sales tax or charged at a lower sales tax rate.

Some items may not be eligible for these reduced sales tax rates, such as expensive clothing, unhealthy food or drinks like soda, and certain non-essential pharmaceuticals. Other items including gasoline, alcohol, and cigarettes are subject to various Louisiana excise taxes in addition to the sales tax.

In some states, items like alcohol and prepared food (including restaurant meals and some premade supermarket items) are charged at a higher sales tax rate. The LA sales tax applicable to the sale of cars, boats, and real estate sales may also vary by jurisdiction. Louisiana's sales tax rates for commonly exempted items are as follows:

$100 Restaurant Dinner	$100 of groceries	$100 in clothes	$100 of consumer products
$4.00 sales tax $104.00 total	$4.00 sales tax $104.00 total	$4.00 sales tax $104.00 total	$4.00 sales tax $104.00 total

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Louisiana Sales Tax Exemption Certificate

Unlike a Value Added Tax (VAT), the Louisiana sales tax only applies to end consumers of the product. Individuals and companies who are purchasing goods for resale, improvement, or as raw materials can use a Louisiana Sales Tax Exemption Form to buy these goods tax-free.

Companies or individuals who wish to make a qualifying purchase tax-free must have a Louisiana state sales tax exemption certificate, which can be obtained from the Louisiana Department of Revenue . On making an exempt purchase, Exemption Certificate holders may submit a completed Louisiana Sales Tax Exemption Form to the vendor instead of paying sales tax.

Sales tax exemption forms (as well as business sales tax id applications, sales tax returns, and the full Louisiana sales tax code) can be downloaded from the Louisiana Department of Revenue 's website.

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Louisiana Sales Tax Calculator

Whenever you make a purchase at a licensed Louisiana retailer, your sales tax will be automatically calculated and added to your bill. To lookup the sales tax due on any purchase, use our Louisiana sales tax calculator.

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Louisiana Use Tax [View Main Article]

If you buy goods and are not charged the Louisiana Sales Tax by the retailer, such as with online and out-of-state purchases, you are supposed to pay the 4% sales tax (less any foreign sales tax paid) for these items yourself as the Louisiana Use Tax.

Your are expected to voluntarily list your liable purchases on a Louisiana Use Tax Return, which should be attached with payment to your Louisiana Income Tax Return. Historically, compliance rates with with the Louisiana Use Tax have been low.

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Louisiana Local Sales Tax

Louisiana allows counties and cities to collect a maximum local sales tax of 6.00% on all non-exempt purchases within their jurisdiction. The local sales tax is collected in addition to the Louisiana sales tax of 4%, so the actual sales tax you pay on purchases in Louisiana may vary between 4% and 10% depending on which county or city the sale is made in.

You can find local sales tax rates on our list of Louisiana local sales taxes by county, city, and zip code, or you can lookup your local sales tax rates with our free Louisiana sales tax lookup tool. If you need to download Louisiana local sales tax rates, visit the Louisiana sales tax database download page.

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