Louisiana sales tax debt: what LDR can do and your options

The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) administers state sales and use tax. The state rate rose to 5% effective January 1, 2025. Local sales taxes are not collected by LDR — each parish has a local collector (or a parish-wide collection agency), with separate registration, returns and audits.

Louisiana is one of the few states where local sales tax is administered almost entirely outside the state agency. A business behind on sales tax usually has a state balance with LDR and a parish balance with the local collector. Each negotiates its own payment arrangements. The Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers handles remote sellers' state and local tax through a single return.

Many states let the revenue agency assess owners and officers personally for sales tax a business collected but didn't remit. We haven't confirmed Louisiana's specific rule on an official LDR page, so we won't describe it here. If you were an owner, officer or bookkeeper with authority to pay bills, ask LDR directly whether a responsible-person assessment applies — and read the federal Trust Fund Recovery Penalty guide if payroll taxes are also behind.

The Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals is an independent body that hears disputes over both state and local tax assessments; deadlines are on the notice.

Before calling, file any missing returns, keep the current period paid, and run the free business tax relief assessment to see which routes may be worth raising.