Louisiana now has just one tax free weekend each year: the Second Amendment Weekend, held the first Friday through Sunday of September. In 2026 that falls on September 4, 5, and 6, and the exemption covers firearms, ammunition, and hunting supplies. The two other holidays Louisianans used to count on, the August back-to-school weekend and the May hurricane preparedness weekend, were permanently repealed at the end of 2024.
The Back-to-School and Hurricane Holidays Are Gone
If you were planning around the old August sales tax holiday or the late-May hurricane preparedness weekend, those windows have closed. Act 11 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session repealed both statutes outright, effective December 4, 2024.1Louisiana State Legislature. ACT No. 11 – HB No. 10 There is no pending legislation to bring them back. School supplies, generators, batteries, and other general consumer goods are taxed at the normal rate year-round in Louisiana.
When Is the Second Amendment Weekend
The surviving holiday is codified at La. R.S. 47:305.62 and runs the first consecutive Friday through Sunday of September every year.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:305.62 – Exemption; Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday For 2026, that is September 4 through September 6.
Both state and local sales taxes are waived during those three days. Unlike the old August and May holidays, where local jurisdictions could choose whether to join in, the Second Amendment Weekend applies statewide to every taxing jurisdiction by law.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:305.62 – Exemption; Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday You save the full combined rate no matter which parish you shop in.
What Qualifies
Three broad categories are exempt: firearms (shotguns, rifles, pistols, revolvers, and other handguns that can be legally sold in Louisiana), ammunition fired from a gun or firearm, and hunting supplies.3Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin No. 25-017 – Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday
Hunting supplies is the widest bucket and includes:
- Archery equipment: bows, crossbows, arrows, quivers, shafts, cases, and accessories
- Camouflage clothing, jackets, hats, gloves, face masks, and thermal underwear marketed primarily for hunting
- Boots and shoes designed for hunting
- Hearing protection and other safety equipment
- Binoculars, range finders, and scopes
- Treestands, blinds, chairs, decoys, knives, pirogues, holsters, belts, slings, and firearm or archery cases
The statute uses “including but not limited to,” so items designed and marketed for hunting that aren’t on the list can still qualify.2Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code 47:305.62 – Exemption; Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday
What Does Not Qualify
The exemption has real limits. Hunting dogs, animal feed, off-road vehicles like ATVs, and vessels such as airboats are excluded.4Louisiana Department of Revenue. Hunters Get a Tax Break During the 2nd Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday The holiday also applies only to consumer purchases, so dealers buying stock for resale don’t use it.
Online, Layaway, and Rain Check Rules
You don’t have to shop in person. Online orders placed during the weekend qualify as long as the order is for immediate delivery. Shipping delays caused by the retailer’s own processing time don’t affect the exemption, but if you ask the retailer to hold shipment until a later date, the purchase loses its tax-free status.3Louisiana Department of Revenue. Revenue Information Bulletin No. 25-017 – Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday
Layaway is flexible. Placing an eligible item on layaway during the weekend qualifies, and so does making the final payment during the weekend on something you put on layaway earlier. Either the initial layaway or the final withdrawal has to happen in the three-day window.5Louisiana Department of Revenue. Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday – Emergency Rule
Rain checks work on possession, not issuance. A rain check written before the holiday and redeemed during the weekend qualifies. A rain check issued during the weekend but redeemed afterward does not.5Louisiana Department of Revenue. Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Sales Tax Holiday – Emergency Rule
How Much You Actually Save
Louisiana’s state sales tax rate is currently 5%.6Louisiana Department of Revenue. What Is the State Sales Tax Rate? Local rates vary by parish and municipality and typically add several more percentage points. Because the Second Amendment Weekend waives both state and local tax, a $1,200 rifle bought in a parish with a combined rate above 10% saves you well over $100 in a single transaction. Buying a firearm, optics, boots, and ammunition in one trip during the September weekend compounds the savings.
You can look up the exact combined rate for your address through the Sales Tax Rate Lookup tool at salestaxportal.com, which pulls parish-specific and municipality-specific rates from local tax collectors.