Louisiana remote seller tax, the river ports and a volume offer plan
Louisiana asks an out-of-state seller to do something few states do: register with a single body, the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers, instead of with the state and each parish. The Commission's FAQ says remote sellers do not register with the state and each parish, and that jurisdiction codes tell the seller the exact state and local rate on a delivery. The state rate has been 5.00 percent since Jan. 1, 2025, parish taxes come on top of it, and the Department of Revenue's current annual statement form says remote retailers with more than 100,000 dollars in sales in the preceding calendar year have met the threshold that requires registration with the Commission. Around those rules sits a working river: the Port of South Louisiana moved 248,253,326 short tons in 2025. This page turns that mix into a volume offer plan with the dates and numbers a Louisiana-bound store needs.
Shipping into the state
Louisiana has 43,204 square miles of land and its freight runs along the Mississippi: the Port of South Louisiana moved 248,253,326 short tons in 2025 and Port NOLA moved 263,961 TEUs in the first half of the year. For a store, the shipping question is not the river but the tax on the parcel: one Commission registration covers a remote seller, rates follow the delivery destination, and the 5 percent state rate has parish taxes on top.
Source: Port of South Louisiana: Commodity Statistics and Summary, CY2024 vs CY2025
Source: Port of New Orleans: press release, Aug. 19, 2025
Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue: What is the sales tax rate in Louisiana?
A volume offer plan for Louisiana orders
- Before you sell into Louisiana
Check the registration line. The Department's current annual statement form puts the test at sales above 100,000 dollars in the preceding calendar year, and says crossing it means registering with the Commission rather than with the state and each parish. Whether other tests apply to you is a question for the Commission, and this is not tax advice.
Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue: Form R-1116 (1/26), Remote Retailers Annual Statement
- When you price a volume ladder
Build the ladder on pre-tax prices and let the destination decide the tax. The Commission's FAQ says its jurisdictional codes give the exact state and local rate, so a buy-two-save and a buy-three-save tier should be written as price tiers, with the tax added by destination at checkout.
- Each January to March
Put the annual statement in your calendar. The Department's form for the 2025 calendar year is due by March 1 of the next year, and it is the form for remote retailers not already registered with the Commission.
Source: Louisiana Department of Revenue: Form R-1116 (1/26), Remote Retailers Annual Statement
- Fri. Sept. 3 to Sun. Sept. 5, 2027 (computed)
If you sell hunting apparel or gear, plan a volume tier for the holiday weekend. The rule is the first consecutive Friday through Sunday of September, which computes to those dates in 2027 (the Department has not issued a 2027 bulletin), and it covers camouflage clothing, hats, gloves, boots and tree stands for consumer purchases. Confirm the dates when the Department issues its bulletin for 2027.
- During the holiday weekend
Write the order rule into the banner. The Department's bulletin says an order for immediate delivery qualifies even if shipment is delayed, provided the customer did not ask for the delay, so a volume offer that ships next week can still qualify if the order is placed in the window.
- August and September
Keep a delivery notice ready to switch on. Ida came ashore at Port Fourchon on Aug. 29, 2021 as a category 4 hurricane, so a store with promised delivery dates should have the wording for a storm delay written before August arrives.
Source: NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Ida (Apr. 4, 2022)
Build it with the Volume discount template.
Questions merchants ask
- Do I register with Louisiana parishes as a remote seller?
- According to the Commission's FAQ, no. The Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers is the single entity that requires remote sellers to collect from customers and remit to the Commission, and a seller without a physical presence in Louisiana does not have to register with the state and each parish. Confirm your own case with the Commission; this is not tax advice.
- What is Louisiana's state sales tax rate?
- The Department of Revenue lists 5.00 percent as of Jan. 1, 2025. Parish and local taxes are in addition to the state tax, and the Commission says its jurisdictional codes give a remote seller the exact combined rate for a delivery address.
- Is there a sales tax holiday I can use in a promotion?
- The Department's Bulletin 26-015 describes the Second Amendment weekend, an exemption on consumer purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies from the first consecutive Friday through Sunday of each September, which was Sept. 4 to 6 in 2026. It does not apply to business purchases. This page states only the holiday the Department's bulletin confirms.
- How big are Louisiana's river ports?
- The Port of South Louisiana reports 248,253,326 short tons of total throughput in calendar year 2025 and says its district stretches 54 miles along the Mississippi River. Port NOLA reported 263,961 TEUs in the first six months of 2025. These are the ports' own figures in their own units.
Related reading
The year at a glance
Dates to plan around
- Hunting supplies tax holiday (first Friday to Sunday of September, computed from the statute)Louisiana Department of Revenue: Revenue Information Bulletin 26-015, Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday (Aug. 1, 2026)
Facts and sources
The Louisiana Department of Revenue lists the state sales tax rate as 5.00 percent as of Jan. 1, 2025.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: What is the sales tax rate in Louisiana? (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department says sales and use taxes levied by political subdivisions of the state are in addition to the state tax, and it sends readers to the Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators for local rates.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: What is the sales tax rate in Louisiana? (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Commission's FAQ says it serves as the single entity in Louisiana to require remote sellers to collect from customers and remit to the Commission, and that a remote seller without a physical presence in the state does not have to register with the state and each parish.
Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers: Frequently Asked Questions (read from an Internet Archive copy of Sept. 13, 2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Commission's FAQ says it compiled the state and local tax bases and rates and that, using its jurisdictional codes, a remote seller will know the exact state and local rate on an item delivered into Louisiana, including whether an exemption or exclusion lowers it.
Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers: Frequently Asked Questions (read from an Internet Archive copy of Sept. 13, 2025) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Department's Remote Retailers Annual Statement form (R-1116, 1/26) says remote retailers with annual Louisiana sales above 100,000 dollars in the preceding calendar year must file electronically and have met the threshold that requires registration with the Commission, and that the statement for the 2025 calendar year is due by March 1 of the following year.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: Form R-1116 (1/26), Remote Retailers Annual Statement (accessed October 10, 2026)
Revenue Information Bulletin 26-015 says Louisiana Revised Statute 47:305.62 exempts consumer purchases of firearms, ammunition and hunting supplies from state and local sales and use tax on the first consecutive Friday through Sunday of each September, and that the exemption does not apply to business or commercial purchases.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: Revenue Information Bulletin 26-015, Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday (Aug. 1, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The bulletin lists hunting supplies that qualify, including camouflage clothing, jackets, hats, gloves, hunting shoes and boots, bags for game or gear, decoys, and tree stands and blinds, and says an order placed for immediate delivery qualifies even if shipment is delayed, provided the customer did not request the delay.
Louisiana Department of Revenue: Revenue Information Bulletin 26-015, Annual Louisiana Second Amendment Weekend Holiday (Aug. 1, 2026) (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of South Louisiana's fourth-quarter 2025 report shows total throughput of 248,253,326 short tons in calendar year 2025, down from 251,414,191 in 2024, with 3,534 vessel calls and 53,499 barge calls.
Port of South Louisiana: Commodity Statistics and Summary, CY2024 vs CY2025 (accessed October 10, 2026)
The Port of South Louisiana says its district stretches 54 miles along the Mississippi River and calls itself one of the largest tonnage port districts in the western hemisphere.
Port of South Louisiana (accessed October 10, 2026)
Port NOLA said on Aug. 19, 2025 that it had moved 263,961 TEUs in the first six months of 2025, up from 258,758 TEUs a year earlier, a 2 percent increase.
Port of New Orleans: press release, Aug. 19, 2025 (accessed October 10, 2026)
The National Hurricane Center's report on Hurricane Ida says it was a category 4 hurricane that caused catastrophic damage when it made landfall in southeastern Louisiana at Port Fourchon on Aug. 29, 2021.
NOAA National Hurricane Center: Tropical Cyclone Report, Hurricane Ida (Apr. 4, 2022) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Louisiana has 43,204 square miles of land area.
U.S. Census Bureau: State Area Measurements (2010) (accessed October 10, 2026)
Cities in Louisiana
- New OrleansNew Orleans runs a festival season from Mardi Gras on Feb. 9, 2027 to Satchmo SummerFest. Dates, the Orleans Parish rate and a store offer-widget plan.
Not tax advice. Confirm current rules with the state revenue department before you rely on a date or an exemption.