To get a Louisiana state tax ID number online, register your business through one of the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s two portals: GeauxBIZ if you’re forming a new business, or LaTAP (Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point) if your business already exists and you just need to add tax accounts. Registration is free, and online submissions can produce a revenue account number within days. Withholding tax accounts sometimes generate a number immediately.
Which Portal to Use
The right starting point depends on where your business stands.
Use GeauxBIZ if you haven’t yet formed your Louisiana entity. Run jointly by the Secretary of State, the Department of Revenue, and the Louisiana Workforce Commission, GeauxBIZ lets you file formation documents, reserve a name, and register for LDR tax accounts in one place. The portal is at geauxbiz.sos.la.gov.1Louisiana Secretary of State. Start a Business
Use LaTAP if your business is already registered with the Secretary of State and you just need to add LDR tax accounts, or if you already have one LDR account and need to add another type.2Louisiana Department of Revenue. Business Registration Once you have your revenue account number, LaTAP is also where you’ll file returns and make payments going forward.3Louisiana Department of Revenue. LaTAP
What to Have Ready Before You Start
Gathering everything up front prevents rejected submissions and follow-up calls. Have the following on hand:
- Your legal business name, any trade or DBA name, and physical and mailing addresses.
- Your Federal Employer Identification Number and the IRS confirmation letter. Sole proprietors with no employees may be able to use a Social Security Number, but most applicants need an EIN.
- Your business structure: sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, or corporation. Corporations also need their Louisiana Charter Number and the date they filed with the Secretary of State.
- Names, Social Security Numbers, and home addresses for all owners, officers, directors, or other responsible parties. A responsible party is the individual who controls or manages the entity’s funds.4Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees
- The tax types you need: sales tax, withholding tax, corporate income tax, franchise tax, or others.
- Your NAICS code. If you don’t know yours, look it up on the U.S. Census Bureau’s NAICS site.
- Your business start date in Louisiana.
Get the responsible-party information right. Louisiana can hold responsible parties personally liable for certain unpaid business taxes, so accuracy protects you as well as the state.
Who Has to Register
You need a Louisiana revenue account number if any of these apply:
- You sell taxable goods or services in Louisiana with a physical presence such as an office, warehouse, or employee.
- You employ workers performing services in Louisiana; every such employer must withhold Louisiana income tax and needs a withholding tax account.5Louisiana Department of Revenue. Withholding
- You operate as a corporation or an entity taxed as one and derive income from Louisiana sources, which triggers corporation income tax filing. Doing business in the state also triggers franchise tax filing.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. Corporation Income and Franchise Taxes
- You sell at Louisiana fairs, festivals, or special events. If you arrive without an account, LDR sales tax agents at the event can set one up on site.7Louisiana Department of Revenue. How Can I Register With the Louisiana Department of Revenue if I Sell Items at Special Events
The rules apply the same way whether you’re a sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, or corporation. What matters is the taxable activity, not the entity type.
Working Through the Online Application
On either portal, create a user account, navigate to the business registration section, and enter the information you gathered. The process is straightforward once your documents are in front of you. You’ll select the tax types that apply, identify your responsible parties, and submit.
Withholding tax registrations submitted online sometimes generate an account number immediately or within a few business days. Other tax type registrations may take a bit longer, though online submissions are consistently faster than paper. Save the confirmation you receive; you’ll need it if you have to follow up.
If LDR needs additional information, someone from the agency will contact you. Silence well past the normal processing window is a reason to call LDR’s business tax assistance line.
Remote Sellers Use a Different Site
If you’re an out-of-state business with no physical presence in Louisiana, you don’t use GeauxBIZ or LaTAP. You register instead with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers at remotesellers.louisiana.gov.8Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers
Registration is mandatory if you had more than $100,000 in gross revenue from sales delivered into Louisiana, or 200 or more separate transactions delivered into the state, during the current or previous calendar year. The commission lets remote sellers file a single return covering both state and local sales taxes, avoiding separate registration with each parish. Remote seller registration has been mandatory since July 1, 2020.9Louisiana.gov. Frequently Asked Questions Louisiana Sales and Use Tax on Remote Sales
Your State Number Doesn’t Cover Parish Taxes
This trips up new Louisiana businesses more than anything else. Louisiana has a decentralized sales tax system: individual parishes and municipalities levy their own sales taxes on top of the state rate, and your LDR revenue account number covers state taxes only. If you have a physical presence in a parish or deliver goods there, you generally need to register separately with that local taxing authority.
Louisiana is streamlining the process. The Parish E-File system lets businesses file multiple parish and city returns from one centralized site, and a combined state and local sales tax return is being rolled out. Under the new system, each physical business location will receive a Master Location Number that houses both the state and all local account numbers for that location, and eventually a single application will cover local accounts in every parish you deliver into.10Louisiana Department of Revenue. Parish E-File
Until that transition finishes, contact the local taxing authority in each parish where you operate or deliver. Skipping this step can produce back taxes and penalties when a parish catches up.
What Your Number Commits You To
The revenue account number is the start of an ongoing filing relationship, not a one-time credential. What that looks like depends on the tax types you registered for.
Sales tax filers submit returns on a monthly, quarterly, or annual schedule set by their volume. If you make tax-exempt purchases for resale, keep your Louisiana Resale Certificate current. It auto-renews 60 days before expiration as long as you’ve filed and paid on time; if it doesn’t auto-renew, you have 45 days from the expiration date to renew it manually through LaTAP.11Louisiana Department of Revenue. When Does a Business Need to Renew the Louisiana Resale Certificates
Employers file the quarterly withholding return (Form L-1) even during quarters when no tax was withheld. Payment frequency depends on monthly withholding: under $500 is quarterly, $500 to $4,999 is monthly, and $5,000 or more is semimonthly. Payments over $5,000 must be electronic.5Louisiana Department of Revenue. Withholding
Corporations that derive income from Louisiana sources file an income tax return whether or not they have net income, and franchise tax applies to any corporation organized in Louisiana, qualified to do business in the state, or owning corporate property here.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. Corporation Income and Franchise Taxes
Once you have the number, log into LaTAP whenever you need to file a return, make a payment, or add another tax type. Your registration and your ongoing account live in the same place.