Advanced Deep Guide

Louisiana parish-level sales tax filing — what every ecommerce seller needs to know

⚡ TL;DR

Louisiana's 64 parishes independently administer their own sales taxes, but remote sellers can use the LARC portal to register once and file a single consolidated return covering most parishes. The critical exception: Orleans Parish (New Orleans) is not a LARC member and requires a separate registration and filing. Combined rates reach 11%+ in some areas.

Louisiana’s parish system is its own complexity tier, conceptually similar to Colorado’s home rule cities but with a unified remote seller portal that covers most of the state. The key exception is New Orleans.

How Louisiana’s tax structure works

Louisiana imposes a 4.45% state sales tax plus up to 5%+ in parish and local taxes, for combined rates reaching 11%+ in some areas.

Unlike most states where local taxes are administered centrally through the state DOR, Louisiana’s 64 parishes historically administered their own taxes independently: each with its own rate, forms, and audit authority.

For remote sellers, Louisiana created the Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission (LARC) to simplify compliance.

LARC, what it covers

Registration: Remote sellers register once through LARC at LATax.gov. A single registration covers all LARC member parishes.

Rate determination: Sellers look up the combined rate for each customer’s delivery address (state + parish + local). LARC provides a rate lookup tool.

Filing: One consolidated LARC return covers all sales to participating parishes. Filed monthly by the 20th of the following month.

Payment: Single payment through the LARC portal covers all participating parishes; LARC distributes proceeds to each parish.

The Orleans Parish exception

Orleans Parish (New Orleans) does not participate in LARC. New Orleans administers its own sales tax independently:

Separate registration with the New Orleans Bureau of Revenue
Separate New Orleans Sales Tax Return
New Orleans combined rate: ~9.45% (state 4.45% + city 5%)
Due date: 20th of the following month

Sellers with customers in New Orleans must file with both LARC (for all other Louisiana parishes) and separately with New Orleans.

Combined rates by major parish (approximate)

Parish	Combined rate
East Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge)	~10.95%
Jefferson (Metairie)	~9.20%
Orleans (New Orleans)	~9.45%
Caddo (Shreveport)	~9.70%
Calcasieu (Lake Charles)	~9.95%
Lafourche	~9.45%

Rates change; verify through LARC’s rate lookup tool.

Economic nexus

Louisiana’s economic nexus threshold: $100,000 in gross sales OR 200 transactions in Louisiana in the current or prior calendar year. Triggered sellers must register through LARC within a specified timeframe.

Frequently asked questions

How do Louisiana's parish-level sales taxes work for remote sellers?

Louisiana has 64 parishes, each of which can impose its own sales tax rate on top of the 4.45% state rate. Most parishes self-administer their taxes, meaning they set their own rates and historically required separate filings. For remote sellers, Louisiana created the Louisiana Remote Sellers Commission (LARC), which provides a single registration and consolidated filing covering all LARC-member parishes. Most parishes participate in LARC, but Orleans Parish (New Orleans) is excluded and requires a separate filing.

Do I need to register and file separately with each Louisiana parish?

No, for remote sellers, LARC provides a single point of registration and filing that covers participating parishes. You register once at LATax.gov through the LARC portal, collect the applicable combined rate for each customer's location, and file one consolidated LARC return covering all sales to participating parishes. Only Orleans Parish requires a separate registration and filing with the City of New Orleans.

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