How to Complete and File Louisiana Form R-1029: Sales Tax Return

Louisiana Form R-1029 is the state sales tax return that dealers file with the Louisiana Department of Revenue to report gross sales, claim exemptions, and remit the 5 percent state sales tax. You file it monthly or quarterly, depending on the frequency the Department has assigned you, and it is due on or before the 20th of the month after the reporting period. File on time and you keep a small vendor’s compensation discount; file late and you lose it, plus you owe penalty and interest.¹

What to Have in Front of You

Before you open the form, pull together:

Your Louisiana Revenue Account Number. If you don’t have one, apply on Form R-16019 first.²
The month or quarter the return covers.
Sales records for the period: receipts, invoices, register totals, lease and service revenue, and digital product sales.
Documentation for any deductions you plan to claim, including resale certificates and government purchase orders.

The top of the form takes your legal business name and physical address. If you file one consolidated return for multiple locations, aggregate the revenue across all of them into one set of numbers. Blank forms are available from the Department of Revenue, or you can file directly through the LaTAP online portal.³

Lines 1 Through 4: Reporting Your Gross Revenue

The front of the form asks for everything your business took in during the period, split into four streams. Round every amount to the nearest dollar.¹

Line 1 is your gross sales of tangible personal property. Enter the total sales price for every item sold during the period with no reductions, including both taxable and exempt sales, and including anything sold through a marketplace.

Line 2 is use tax on property your business bought and then used, consumed, or stored in Louisiana without paying sales tax to the vendor. Enter the cost of that property.

Line 3 has three sub-lines. Line 3(a) is gross receipts from leases and rentals of tangible personal property, though motor vehicle leases and rentals must be filed electronically and don’t go on the paper form. Line 3(b) is gross receipts from taxable services, again excluding telecom, cable, and satellite services, which file electronically. Line 3(c) is gross receipts from taxable digital products, a category added effective January 1, 2025. Line 3 is the sum of 3(a), 3(b), and 3(c).

Line 4 adds Lines 1, 2, and 3. That is your total gross revenue before any deductions.⁴

Schedule A: Deductions

Schedule A on the back of the form lists categories of sales that are fully or partially exempt. Only revenue you already reported on Line 1, 2, or 3 can be deducted here; you cannot claim a deduction for sales you didn’t report up front.¹

Several categories deduct at 100 percent:

Sales for resale, Line 27, when the buyer has a valid resale certificate on file
Sales to U.S., Louisiana state, and local government agencies, Line 22
Prescription drugs, Line 23
Food for home consumption, Line 24, meaning groceries, bakery products, dairy, and similar items prepared and eaten at home⁵
Residential electricity, natural gas, and bulk water, Line 25
Sales in interstate commerce, Line 26
Farm equipment, Line 15, on the first $150,000 of the sales price

Other categories deduct at 60 percent, including non-residential electricity and natural gas, non-residential steam and bulk water, boiler fuel for non-residential use, and insulin sold without a prescription.⁴

Add your deductions and carry the Line 32 total from Schedule A to Line 5 on the front.

Lines 6 Through 14: The Math

With Line 5 filled in, the calculation runs straight down the front:

Line 6, amount taxable: Line 4 minus Line 5.
Line 7, tax due: Line 6 multiplied by 5 percent. The rate increased from 4.45 percent effective January 1, 2025.¹
Line 8, excess tax collected: report any overage from bracket-table collections above Line 7. Do not include local sales tax.
Line 9, total: Line 7 plus Line 8.
Line 10, vendor’s compensation: Line 9 multiplied by 0.84 percent, capped at $750 per calendar month per dealer across all Louisiana locations. You forfeit the entire amount if the return or payment is late.⁶
Line 11, net tax due: Line 9 minus Line 10.
Line 11(a): optional donation to the Louisiana Military Family Assistance Fund, from Line 33 on the back.
Lines 12 and 13, penalty and interest: leave blank if filing on time. See below if late.
Line 14, total payment due: Lines 11, 11(a), 12, and 13 combined. This is what you pay.

Submitting the Return

The Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point at latap.revenue.louisiana.gov is the Department’s electronic portal. Log in, go to sales tax, enter your figures, and submit. LaTAP issues a confirmation number, which is your proof of filing.³ Motor vehicle leases and rentals and telecom, cable, and satellite services must be filed electronically regardless of how you handle the rest of your return.⁴

To file on paper, print legibly in blue or black ink and mail the completed R-1029 with payment to:

Louisiana Department of Revenue
Post Office Box 201
Baton Rouge, LA 70821-0201⁷

Use certified mail. The postmark date is your filing date, which matters when you’re close to the deadline.

Deadline, Penalty, and Interest

Returns are due on or before the 20th day of the month following the taxable period. If the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline moves to the next business day.¹ The Department assigns your monthly or quarterly frequency based on tax reported in the prior year, and notifies you by mail if it changes.

Late filing triggers two charges:

Delinquent penalty of 5 percent of the net tax due for each 30-day period or fraction of one, up to a maximum of 25 percent.⁸
Interest on the unpaid tax from the due date until paid. The annual rate is three points above the judicial interest rate set by R.S. 9:3500(B)(1) and cannot exceed 1.25 percent per month.⁹

You also lose vendor’s compensation for the period. There is no partial credit for being only a few days late.¹⁰ Enter penalty on Line 12 and interest on Line 13.

Fixing a Return You Already Filed

If you find an error after filing, re-file a corrected R-1029 for the same period, mark the “Amended Return” box with an X, and attach a written explanation of what changed and why.¹¹ You can amend through LaTAP or mail the corrected paper return to the same PO Box 201 address. If the amendment produces additional tax owed, pay it with the amended return so interest stops accruing.

Records to Keep

Louisiana tax records carry a seven-year retention requirement.¹² Keep copies of every filed R-1029, LaTAP confirmation numbers or certified mail receipts, register tapes, invoices, resale and exemption certificates, and bank statements showing payment cleared. If the Department requests a review or issues a notice of deficiency, that file is what you’ll answer with. Reconstructing sales records years later is far harder than keeping them organized as you go.

1
Louisiana Department of Revenue. General Instructions Sales Tax Return
2
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Application for Louisiana Revenue Account Number
3
Louisiana Department of Revenue. File and Pay Online
4
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Sales Tax Return Form R-1029
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 RS 305 – Exemptions
6
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin 25-006 – Changes to State Sales Tax Deduction for Vendors Compensation
7
Louisiana Department of Revenue. Office Locations
8
Louisiana Department of Revenue. What Are the Penalties for Filing Late Tax Returns
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 RS 1601 – Penalties and Interest
10
Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 RS 306 – Returns and Payment
11
Louisiana Department of Revenue. How Do I File an Amended Tax Return
12
Louisiana Legislative Auditor. Public Records Retention