Living in or visiting New Orleans means dealing with a stack of taxes that sits on the higher end nationally: a 10% combined sales tax, residential property tax calculated at roughly 121 mills on 10% of your home’s market value, a flat 3% Louisiana income tax (the city itself levies no income tax), and hotel taxes that reach 15% to 17% for overnight stays. Because Orleans Parish and the City of New Orleans share one consolidated government, the parish taxes and city taxes you hear about are the same bills.
Sales Tax on What You Buy
Every retail purchase in the city carries a 10% sales tax, split evenly between the state (5%) and the city (5%).1City of New Orleans. Orleans Parish Sales Tax Rate The state portion rose from 4.45% to 5% on January 1, 2025, as part of Louisiana’s tax reform package.2Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission. Announcements The rate covers sales, leases, and rentals of tangible goods along with certain taxable services such as telecommunications.
Groceries and prescription drugs are treated more gently. Unprepared food for home consumption and prescription medications escape the 5% state sales tax, but Orleans Parish still taxes them at a reduced local rate of 4.5%.1City of New Orleans. Orleans Parish Sales Tax Rate Food prepared and sold by restaurants stays taxable at the full 10%.
Buying online or out of state does not get you around the local rate. When no sales tax is collected at the point of purchase, New Orleans imposes a use tax at the same rate. Businesses that bring inventory or equipment into the parish from elsewhere must track and remit use tax on those acquisitions. The City of New Orleans Bureau of Revenue handles registration, filing, and enforcement for local sales and use tax.3City of New Orleans. Finance – Home
Property Tax on What You Own
Property tax here is ad valorem — tied to value, not a flat charge. The Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office sets the fair market value of every taxable property, with reassessments every four years. The most recent reassessment covered tax year 2024 using January 1, 2023 values.4Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office. 2024 Assessment Rolls Certified to Board of Review, Tax Rate to be Set in Coming Months
Louisiana’s constitution assesses land and residential improvements at 10% of fair market value and most commercial property at 15%.5Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Constitution Article VII Section 18 – Ad Valorem Taxes A $300,000 house has an assessed value of $30,000. A $300,000 commercial building is assessed at $45,000.
How the Millage Math Works
A mill equals $1 of tax per $1,000 of assessed value. For 2025, the total citywide millage rate is approximately 121.20 mills, divided across more than a dozen taxing bodies.6City of New Orleans. Treasury – Topics – How Taxes Are Calculated Applied to that $30,000 assessment, a homeowner’s pre-exemption bill runs roughly $3,636 a year. The number moves as voters renew existing millages and approve new ones.
Homestead Exemption
Owner-occupants get real relief. The Louisiana Homestead Exemption shields the first $7,500 of assessed value from most parish taxes, which because of the 10% residential assessment ratio works out to the first $75,000 of market value being effectively untaxed for those levies.7Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Constitution Article VII Section 20 – Homestead Exemption You apply through the Assessor’s Office with proof the property is your primary residence. The exemption does not apply to every millage; certain levies, including police and fire, are calculated on the full assessed value.6City of New Orleans. Treasury – Topics – How Taxes Are Calculated
Assessment Freeze for Seniors and Residents With Disabilities
If you are 65 or older, or carry a verified disability rating between 50% and 100% from a federal or state agency, you can lock your property’s assessed value against future reassessment increases. Household income must be $102,700 or less, and the property must already have a homestead exemption.8Orleans Parish Assessor’s Office. Homestead and SAL This is called the Special Assessment Level.
Deadlines and Tax Sales
Property tax bills are due by the end of February. The 2026 deadline is February 28.9City of New Orleans. Treasury – Home Late payments accrue interest at 1% per month.10City of New Orleans. Updated: City of New Orleans 2026 Property Tax Bills Are Available, Taxpayers Have Until Feb. 28, 2026, to Submit Payments If the bill stays unpaid long enough, the city sells the tax lien. The buyer pays your delinquent taxes and acquires a claim against the property. You generally have three years from the date the tax sale certificate is recorded to redeem the property by paying back the purchase amount plus 1% monthly interest, a 5% penalty, and any current-year taxes owed.11City of New Orleans. Tax Sales and Adjudications Properties with a valid blight judgment face a shorter 18-month redemption window. Once the redemption period expires, the dispute becomes a civil matter between you and the purchaser, and you will likely need a lawyer.
Income Tax
New Orleans does not levy a city income tax, and no other Louisiana municipality does either. Your income tax runs entirely to the state.
Starting January 1, 2025, Louisiana replaced its graduated bracket system with a flat 3% individual income tax on all taxable income.12Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin No. 25-012 – Louisiana Individual Income Tax Reform State returns are due May 15.13Louisiana Department of Revenue. Individual Income
You are a Louisiana resident for tax purposes if you are domiciled in the state, maintain a permanent home here, or spend more than six months of the year within state borders.14Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:31 – Individuals, Corporations, and Trusts Subject to Tax Residents owe tax on all income regardless of where it is earned. Non-residents who earn money from New Orleans sources, such as rent from a property or wages from a job in the city, file a partial return covering just the Louisiana-sourced income.
Business Taxes
Occupational License
Every business operating in New Orleans must hold an annual occupational license, which works as both a permit and a tax. The license expires December 31 and must be renewed each year.15City of New Orleans. Renewal Business and Home-Based Occupational License The amount owed depends on business type and total gross activity. Retailers, for example, pay on a graduated schedule starting at $50 for operations with up to $50,000 in activity and climbing to $6,200 or more above $5.5 million.16City of New Orleans. BOR Occupational License Tax Tables Wholesalers, contractors, and lending businesses each have their own tables, and licensed contractors are capped at $750 regardless of volume.
Corporate Income Tax and the Inventory Tax Credit
Corporations owe Louisiana’s corporate income tax, which was flattened to a single 5.5% rate on January 1, 2025.17Louisiana Department of Revenue. What Is the Corporation Income Tax Rate? S corporations and partnerships are pass-through entities; the income flows to owners’ individual returns at the flat 3% rate.
Louisiana also charges ad valorem property tax on business inventory, which few states do. C corporations have long used a state inventory tax credit to offset the hit, but that credit is going away. For ad valorem taxes paid on or after July 1, 2026, C corporations can no longer earn new inventory tax credits. Credits earned between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026 are nonrefundable but carry a longer carryforward. S corporations and entities taxed as partnerships can still claim the credit.18Jones Walker LLP. Changes to Louisiana Inventory Tax Credit in Acts 11 and 412
Hotel and Short-Term Rental Taxes
Guests at New Orleans hotels pay some of the steepest lodging taxes in the country. Hotels with 10 or more rooms charge a combined 15%; smaller properties with 9 or fewer rooms charge 17%.1City of New Orleans. Orleans Parish Sales Tax Rate Those rates stack the 5% local sales tax, varying state sales tax based on property size, a 4% Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District tax, and a 3% Ernest N. Morial Convention Center tax. Hotels affiliated with the Convention and Visitors Bureau or the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation may collect an additional 1.75%.
A flat per-night hotel occupancy privilege tax also applies: $1.00 at hotels with 300 or more rooms, $0.50 at smaller ones.1City of New Orleans. Orleans Parish Sales Tax Rate These revenues fund the convention center, the Superdome complex, and tourism infrastructure.
Short-Term Rentals
Short-term rental operators face the same lodging taxes as hotels plus per-night fees that depend on category. New Orleans recognizes Non-Commercial Short-Term Rentals (NSTRs) and Commercial Short-Term Rentals (CSTRs).19City of New Orleans. Short Term Rental Administration – Home NSTR operators pay $5 per night; CSTR operators pay $12.20City of New Orleans. STR Taxes, Fees, and Fines Failure to collect or remit can trigger permit revocation and fines.
Inheritance and Estate Taxes
Louisiana imposes no state inheritance tax and no state estate tax. The inheritance tax was repealed by Act 822 of 2008, and no state estate transfer tax has been due for deaths occurring after December 31, 2004.21Louisiana Department of Revenue. Inheritance and Estate Transfer Taxes
Federal estate tax still applies to very large estates. For 2026, the basic exclusion amount is $15,000,000 per individual, so estates below that threshold owe nothing federally.22Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax Inherited property in Louisiana receives a stepped-up basis equal to fair market value at the date of death, which can reduce capital gains tax if the beneficiary later sells. Beneficiaries do not owe taxes on the inherited property itself, but they do owe tax on any income it later generates — rent, dividends, or interest.