A Louisiana resale certificate, officially Form R-1064, lets a registered dealer buy tangible goods for resale without paying sales tax at the point of purchase, because the tax is collected later from the end customer. The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) issues the certificate through its online portal, LaTAP, and it stays valid for one year. If your account is in good standing, renewal is automatic 60 days before expiration.
Who Qualifies as a Dealer
The certificate is for businesses that regularly buy tangible personal property to resell. Louisiana defines “dealer” broadly, covering retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, importers, and businesses that lease tangible property to others for a fee.1FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 47, 301 – Codes Sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations, and LLCs all qualify, so long as they hold a valid Louisiana sales tax account and are registered as a dealer with the LDR.
When a qualifying dealer completes a new business registration with the LDR, the certificate is issued automatically.2Louisiana Department of Revenue. Who Qualifies for a Louisiana Resale Certificate If you already have an active sales tax account but never received one, or yours has lapsed, you apply through LaTAP.
Nonprofit organizations generally don’t qualify unless they engage in taxable retail sales. The question isn’t the type of entity; it’s whether you buy goods you intend to resell.
How to Apply Through LaTAP
Every application and renewal runs through LaTAP. There is no paper form. Before you start, pull together:3Louisiana Department of Revenue. Resale Certificate
- Your 10-digit LDR Account Number or 11-digit Location ID for each business location
- Physical and mailing addresses for each location
- Your current NAICS code, which identifies your industry
- A valid email address for LDR correspondence
- Resale inventory purchase amounts for the last two years (consolidated filers combine purchases across group members)
One prerequisite has no workaround. You must be current on all state tax filings and payments. Louisiana law prohibits the LDR from issuing or renewing a resale certificate for anyone with outstanding tax returns, unpaid taxes, interest, penalties, or fees.4FindLaw. Louisiana Revised Statutes Tit. 47, 1678 Fix any compliance issue first, then apply.
What You Can Buy Tax-Free
The certificate covers tangible personal property you intend to resell. It does not cover personal purchases, items your business consumes internally, or goods unrelated to your resale inventory. A clothing retailer can buy apparel from a wholesaler tax-free, but not store fixtures, cleaning supplies, or employee uniforms. If the item isn’t leaving your business in a customer’s hands, the certificate doesn’t apply.
Services purchased for resale are also covered under Louisiana’s resale provisions.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:13 – Renewal of Tax Exemption Certificates A business that bundles a taxable service into a product it sells to customers can buy that service tax-free.
Drop shipments work the same way. If a supplier ships goods directly to your customer on your behalf, you give the supplier your resale certificate; the supplier bills you without tax, and you collect sales tax from the end customer.
Renewing Each Year
Louisiana resale certificates are valid for one year from the date of approval.3Louisiana Department of Revenue. Resale Certificate If your sales activity and tax payments are current, the LDR auto-renews the certificate 60 days before it expires.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. When Does a Business Need to Renew the Louisiana Resale Certificate(s) You don’t have to do anything.
If you aren’t auto-renewed, you have 45 days from the expiration date on the certificate to renew manually through LaTAP. The system won’t accept a renewal request before that 45-day window opens. You also have to be registered in LaTAP to complete the renewal, so handle that setup ahead of time.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. When Does a Business Need to Renew the Louisiana Resale Certificate(s)
The most common reason for a denied renewal is falling behind on sales tax filings or payments. The LDR can also suspend a certificate if it determines you no longer qualify as a dealer or you’ve become delinquent in your filing or payment responsibilities.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:13 – Renewal of Tax Exemption Certificates Once a certificate is suspended, every purchase is subject to full sales tax until you resolve the issue.
Out-of-State Sellers and Buyers
An out-of-state business selling into Louisiana has economic nexus once it exceeds $100,000 in gross revenue from sales delivered into Louisiana or completes 200 or more separate transactions in the state during the current or previous calendar year. At that point, it must register to collect and remit Louisiana sales and use tax.7Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. Frequently Asked Questions
Since July 1, 2020, remote sellers meeting these thresholds must collect the actual combined state and local sales tax based on the buyer’s location and remit to the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers rather than the LDR.7Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers. Frequently Asked Questions
An out-of-state business buying goods in Louisiana for resale elsewhere may also qualify for a resale certificate, but it has to register with the LDR as a dealer first. One trap for interstate sellers: Louisiana is not a member of the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, so the multistate exemption certificate accepted in the 24 Streamlined member states is not accepted here.8Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Louisiana Louisiana requires its own Form R-1064.
Records You Have to Keep
Louisiana law requires dealers to keep records of all taxable and tax-exempt sales, purchases, and leases, along with any books of account needed to determine the tax due, and to make those records available to the LDR at any reasonable time.9Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 47 For a business using a resale certificate, that means holding onto:
- Copies of resale certificates you give to suppliers and copies of any you accept from buyers who claim a resale exemption from you
- Purchase invoices showing tax-exempt status, supplier names, dates, item descriptions, and amounts
- Sales records showing that resale inventory was actually resold and sales tax was collected from your customers
All records must be preserved for at least three years.10Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1542.1 – Retention of Records by Taxpayers That is a statutory minimum. In an audit, the LDR can look at any period where the tax has not yet prescribed, so keeping records longer is sensible, especially for high-value inventory.
Penalties for Misusing the Certificate
Using a resale certificate to buy goods for personal use or internal business consumption is treated as unpaid sales tax, and the numbers add up fast.
The failure-to-remit penalty starts at 5% of the unpaid tax for the first 30 days and rises by another 5% for each additional 30-day period, capped at 25%.11Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1602 – Penalty for Failure to Make Timely Return Interest runs on top of that from the date the tax was originally due. Buy $20,000 in goods tax-free and never resell them, and you owe the full sales tax plus up to 25% in penalties plus interest.
Repeated or deliberate misuse can lead to suspension or revocation of the certificate. Every future purchase then includes sales tax until you resolve the problem and requalify.
Willful fraud is criminal. Filing a false return or deliberately evading sales tax is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and imprisonment for up to two years when the unpaid tax exceeds $1,000. For amounts of $1,000 or less, the maximum is a $1,000 fine and one year in jail.12Justia Law. Louisiana Revised Statutes 47:1642 – Criminal Penalty Anyone in your organization authorized to make tax-exempt purchases should understand where the line is.