If you sell online into Louisiana from another state, you must register, collect, and remit Louisiana internet sales tax once your gross revenue from sales delivered into the state tops $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. That dollar figure is now the only trigger. Louisiana dropped its old 200-transaction test in 2023, so the number of orders you ship no longer matters on its own.
When You Cross the $100,000 Threshold
Effective August 1, 2023, Louisiana House Bill 171 eliminated the 200-transaction threshold entirely. The sole trigger now is whether your gross revenue from sales delivered into Louisiana exceeds $100,000 during the current or previous calendar year.
One detail trips sellers up: remote sellers measure the threshold using gross sales, which includes both taxable and exempt transactions. If you sell a mix of taxable goods and exempt items, every dollar still counts toward the $100,000 mark. Marketplace facilitators, by contrast, use retail sales — excluding wholesale and resale transactions — when calculating whether they meet the threshold.
Once you cross the line, you must register with the state and begin collecting tax. There is no grace period for winding up to compliance.
When a Marketplace Collects for You
Louisiana treats marketplace facilitators as the dealer for every remote sale they process, meaning the platform, not the individual third-party seller, bears the legal responsibility for collecting and remitting sales tax on those sales.1Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:340.1 – Marketplace Facilitators A marketplace facilitator is any business that hosts sales for third-party sellers and either lists products or collects payment from the buyer and transmits it to the seller. Amazon and eBay are typical examples.
Not every platform qualifies. Payment processors that only handle the transaction between the facilitator and the buyer are excluded. Advertising platforms that list products but stay out of the payment chain are also excluded. The statute carves out derivatives clearinghouses and certain financial trading platforms as well.
If you sell exclusively through a qualifying marketplace, that facilitator handles your Louisiana sales tax for those sales, and you generally don’t need a separate Louisiana registration just for marketplace transactions. If you also sell through your own website and meet the $100,000 threshold on those independent sales, you are responsible for collecting and remitting tax on the direct sales yourself. Many sellers end up in both situations at once.
What Rate to Charge
Louisiana’s state sales tax rate is 5%.2Louisiana Department of Revenue. General Sales and Use Tax Every parish and municipality also levies its own local sales tax, which can push the combined rate significantly higher depending on where the buyer is located. In-state retailers must track and file with hundreds of local jurisdictions. Remote sellers get a simpler arrangement.
The Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers applies a uniform local tax rate to remote sales rather than requiring out-of-state sellers to track individual parish and city rates.3Justia. Louisiana Code 47:340 – Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers; Members; Powers You collect the 5% state tax plus this uniform local rate on every sale delivered into Louisiana, regardless of which parish receives the shipment. The commission distributes the local portion to the correct jurisdictions based on delivery addresses.
You apply one combined rate to all Louisiana orders instead of programming dozens into your tax software. Buyers in low-tax parishes may pay slightly more than they would at a local store; buyers in high-tax parishes may pay slightly less.
How to Register and File
Remote sellers register through the filing portal at RemoteSellersFiling.la.gov, managed by the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers.4Louisiana Department of Revenue. LA Remote Sellers Registration asks for your federal employer identification number, legal business name, primary business address, the date your sales into Louisiana began, estimated monthly sales volume, and contact information for the person responsible for tax filings. You will also disclose any physical presence or prior tax history in the state.
Returns are filed electronically through the same portal. Paper returns are not accepted.5Legal Information Institute. Louisiana Administrative Code tit. 61, III-1537 – Remote Seller Tax Return-Electronic Filing Requirements Each monthly return reports your total gross sales and taxable sales for the preceding month, and the portal calculates tax using the applicable state and uniform local rates. Returns and payments are due by the 20th of the month following the reporting period.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. Remote Sellers FAQs ACH debit and other electronic payment methods are accepted.
You file one return with the commission, and the commission handles distribution to local jurisdictions. It’s meaningfully less paperwork than what an in-state retailer faces.
Penalties If You Miss a Return or Keep the Tax
Missing a filing deadline triggers a penalty that starts at 5% of the tax owed and increases by another 5% every 30 days the return remains delinquent, up to a maximum of 25%.7Louisiana Department of Revenue. Penalties Interest accrues on top of penalties from the original due date until the balance is paid. A seller who ignores a $10,000 tax bill for five months will owe the full 25% penalty, $2,500, plus accumulated interest, before even getting to the underlying tax.
The consequences go beyond fees. Louisiana law under RS 47:1561.1 authorizes the Department of Revenue to pursue officers, directors, managers, and members of corporations, LLCs, and limited partnerships personally for sales tax that was collected from customers but never remitted to the state.8Louisiana Department of Revenue. Officer Liability Sales tax you collect from buyers is money held in trust for the state. Spending it on payroll, inventory, or anything else creates personal exposure for whoever made that decision. The corporate structure will not shield you.
Growing businesses fall into this trap often. They collect the tax, commingle it with operating funds, hit a cash crunch, and spend it. By the time the state catches up, penalties have compounded and the responsible individuals face personal liability. A dedicated bank account for collected sales tax, left alone until the return is due, is the simplest prevention.
Records You Must Keep
Louisiana requires businesses to retain tax records for seven years. That includes transaction-level sales data, exemption certificates from buyers claiming tax-exempt purchases, filed returns, and payment confirmations. The commission can audit remote sellers, and the burden of proof falls on you to show the right amount of tax was collected and remitted.
Keep detailed records of every sale delivered into Louisiana, including the delivery address (which determines the local tax jurisdiction), the sale amount, the tax collected, and any exemption claimed. Digital records are fine as long as they are organized enough to produce on request. If your sales platform generates exportable transaction reports, archiving those monthly alongside your filed returns is the most efficient approach.