The Lafourche Parish sales tax combines Louisiana’s 5% state rate with a local rate that depends on where the sale happens, producing a combined rate between 9.65% and 10.40%. The parish is split into two unincorporated zones divided by the Intracoastal Waterway, plus the municipalities of Thibodaux, Lockport, and Golden Meadow, and each has its own local rate on top of the state’s 5%.1Louisiana Department of Revenue. General Sales and Use Tax
Rate by Jurisdiction
Combined state-and-local rates for each part of the parish:2Lafourche Parish School District. Sales and Use Tax Department
- North Unincorporated Area (north of the Intracoastal Canal): 9.65% (4.65% local + 5% state)
- South Unincorporated Area (south of the Intracoastal Canal to the Gulf): 10.40% (5.40% local + 5% state)
- Thibodaux: 10.35% (5.35% local + 5% state)
- Lockport: 10.15% (5.15% local + 5% state)
- Golden Meadow: 10.40% (5.40% local + 5% state)
Rates can also vary inside specific economic development or taxing districts, so confirm your exact rate with the Lafourche Parish School Board tax office or an address-level lookup before setting up a point-of-sale system.
What’s Taxed and What Isn’t
Sales tax applies to retail sales of tangible personal property, including clothing, electronics, furniture, and household goods. Leasing or renting movable property is taxable, and so are most repairs to tangible property.3Lafourche Parish School District. Sales, Use and Occupancy Taxes Most professional services fall outside the tax base.
Louisiana exempts food purchased for home preparation from its 5% state portion. The exemption covers groceries, dairy, fresh produce, bakery items, and packaged foods that require further preparation, and prescription drugs are exempt from the state portion under the same statute.4Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 – 305 Local Lafourche Parish levies do not automatically follow the state exemptions. Whether a given parish tax exempts groceries or prescriptions depends on the local ordinance behind that tax, so confirm each item directly with the Lafourche Parish School Board Sales and Use Tax Department before deciding what to charge.
Selling From Outside the Parish
Online sellers without a physical presence in Louisiana still have a collection obligation once they cross the state’s remote-seller threshold: more than $100,000 in gross revenue from Louisiana deliveries, or 200 or more separate transactions for Louisiana delivery, in either the current or preceding calendar year.5Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. Frequently Asked Questions After crossing the threshold, you have 30 calendar days to register with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers and must begin collecting within 60 days.
On a shipment to a Lafourche Parish address, charge the combined rate for the buyer’s specific jurisdiction, not an averaged or default rate.2Lafourche Parish School District. Sales and Use Tax Department
Marketplace facilitators such as Amazon and eBay are treated as the dealer for every remote sale they process on behalf of a third-party seller, meaning the platform collects and remits the tax.6Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 – 340.1 If you sell both through a marketplace and through your own site, only your direct sales count toward your personal $100,000 threshold.
Registering as a Seller
Before your first taxable sale, register with the Lafourche Parish School Board Sales and Use Tax Department.2Lafourche Parish School District. Sales and Use Tax Department The registration form asks for:
- Your Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) from the IRS.
- Legal business name, physical operating address, and mailing address.
- Social Security numbers and identification for all owners or corporate officers.
- Your NAICS code for your primary business activity.
- A clear description of the products or services you sell.
- Entity type (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, or other).
- The anticipated date of your first sale.
Filing frequency, monthly or quarterly, is generally based on expected sales volume. Higher-volume sellers are placed on monthly filing; smaller operations may qualify for quarterly. The department confirms your assigned frequency after reviewing the registration.
Filing and Paying
Electronic filing is required in Lafourche Parish as of January 2026.7Louisiana Restaurant Association. New Louisiana Sales Tax Filing System Launches January 2026 Returns go through Parish E-File, a centralized portal that handles both state and local parish returns and accepts electronic fund transfers and credit card payments.8Parish E-File. Parish E-File The system issues a confirmation number as proof of submission.
Returns are due by the 20th day of the month following the close of the reporting period.9Louisiana Department of Revenue. When Is the Sales Tax Return Due? What Happens if I Am Late? A monthly return for a period ending March 31 is due April 20; quarterly filers follow the same 20th-of-the-following-month rule after the quarter closes. The payment amount must match the reported total exactly, or the office issues a notice of deficiency.
If You File Late or Get Audited
A missed deadline triggers a penalty of 5% of the tax owed for the first 30 days of delinquency, with another 5% added for each subsequent 30-day period the return remains unfiled, capped at 25% total.10Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 – 1602 Interest accrues on top of the penalty. The 2025 annual interest rate on unpaid Louisiana taxes was 11.25%, and because the rate is set annually, check the Louisiana Department of Revenue for the current figure. Continued failure to remit collected sales tax can lead to liens on business property or criminal prosecution for tax evasion.
The Lafourche Parish tax office generally has three years from December 31 of the year the tax became due to assess additional tax or conduct an audit.11Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 – 337.67 That clock only starts if you actually filed the return. If a required return was never filed, no statute of limitations applies and the parish can reach back to the first unfiled period. Fraud or intentional evasion also removes the time limit.