LAC 61:I.4428 — Partial Sales and Use Tax Exemption on Boats

A. General. Revised Statute 47:305.23 authorizes an exemption for sales and use tax in excess of $20,000 otherwise due on the sale or use of boats registered in Louisiana if the tax is paid within 90 days of the sale or importation.
B. Definitions
Consumer Price Index United States—a program of the Bureau of Labor Statistics which measures the average change over time in prices paid by the urban consumer.
Department—the Louisiana Department of Revenue.
C. Eligibility Requirements. The following requirements shall be met to obtain the exemption:
1. The boat must be purchased or imported and registered in Louisiana on or after July 1, 2025.
2.a. The combined state and local sales or use tax due must exceed $20,000 prior to the exemption. The exemption applies to only those taxes in excess of $20,000, after application of the credits authorized in R.S. 47:303(A)(3) and 337.86.
b. The sales price of the following items shall not be included when calculating the sales and use tax due for purposes of the cap:
i. Accessories not attached to and made a part of the boat at the time of sale, including but not limited to ladders, anchors, rod holders, and fish finders.
ii. General accessories that do not attach to the boat, including but not limited to gas cans, fishing poles, life jackets, fire extinguishers, flares, dock line and rope, boat covers, wake boards and other recreational gear.
iii. Trailers.
3. Payment of tax due must be completed within 90 days of the sale or importation.
4. If payment is not made within 90 days, the exemption shall not apply, and the purchaser or importer shall be responsible for the entire amount of state and local sales or use tax due on the boat.
D. Reporting
1. Louisiana boat dealers must calculate the total state and local sales tax due on the boat.
a. If the total tax is equal to or less than $20,000, the dealer shall charge, collect, and remit the tax to the appropriate state and local tax collectors.
b. If the total tax exceeds $20,000, the dealer shall indicate on the invoice that the tax is subject to exemption and report the sale as exempt on its general sales tax return. In this case, the dealer shall not collect the tax from the purchaser but must inform him of the responsibility to self-report and remit the taxes directly to the state and local collectors.
i. When the boat is purchased from a Louisiana dealer, the local sales tax shall be paid to the collector for the parish where the dealer is located.
ii. When the boat is imported, the local sales tax shall be paid to the collector for the parish where the purchaser resides.
c. The sales tax due on accessories and other tangible personal property not included in the price of the boat shall be charged, collected, and remitted by the dealer regardless of the application of the cap.
2. The purchaser or importer of a boat eligible for partial exemption shall be responsible for paying the tax directly to the Department and appropriate local tax collector using the form and method specified by the collectors.
E. Threshold Adjustments. Beginning July 1, 2030, and every five years thereafter, the threshold of $20,000 shall be adjusted based upon the Consumer Price Index United States and redetermined by the methodology established in R.S. 47:305.23. Notice of the adjusted threshold shall be published by the department in a Revenue Information Bulletin.