La. R.S. 47:337.18 — Returns and payment of tax; penalty for absorption

A. General provisions. (1)(a) Except as hereafter provided, the taxes levied by the
local ordinance shall be due and shall be payable monthly on the first day of the month. For
the purpose of ascertaining the amount of tax payable, all dealers shall transmit, on or before
the twentieth day of the month following the month in which this tax becomes effective, to
the collector, upon forms prescribed, prepared, and furnished by him, except as provided in
R.S. 47:337.22 and 337.23, returns showing the gross sales, purchases, gross proceeds from
lease or rental, gross payments for lease or rental, gross proceeds derived from sales of
services, or gross payments for services, as the case may be, arising from all taxable
transactions during the preceding calendar month. Thereafter, like returns shall be prepared
and transmitted to the collector by all dealers on or before the twentieth day of each month
for the preceding calendar month. These returns shall show any further information the
collector may require to enable him to correctly compute and collect the tax levied. Every
dealer, at the time of making the return required hereunder, shall compute and remit to the
collector the required tax due for the preceding calendar month, and failure to so remit such
tax shall cause said tax to become delinquent.
(b)(i) However, whenever the taxes due hereunder from a dealer average less than
thirty dollars per month, the taxes hereunder shall be due and payable quarterly on the first
day of the month, and the return required from the dealer for the quarter shall be filed on or
before the twentieth day of the first month of the next succeeding quarter. The collector shall
provide by regulation for the period and method of determining, under this proviso, the
average taxes due from a dealer. Any dealer who is required to file his sales tax return on
a quarterly basis, as provided above, may file his returns and pay the tax on a monthly basis
after first having received written approval from the collector to do so. Application to file
monthly must be furnished to the collector in writing and will set forth complete justification
for the shorter reporting period.
(ii) When any person or other entity with annual taxable gross receipts from sales of
property or services of one hundred fifty thousand dollars or less makes no taxable sales of
tangible personal property or services for three calendar months in a parish in which he does
not have a business location, such taxpayer shall not be required to file thereafter either
monthly or quarterly returns with any political subdivision in the parish until he has more
than one such sale in the parish during a three-month period. In lieu of such returns, the
taxpayer may send a letter to the collector for the parish on or before the twentieth of the
month following the sale, describing the sale, the buyer, and the price, and remitting the tax
due.
(c) Whenever the taxes due to a collector are from the state acting as a dealer through
any department, agency, board, commission, or other state entity, the taxes shall be due and
payable annually, and the return shall be filed and tax paid on or before the twentieth day of
the month following the end of the state's fiscal year. However, if the accumulated sales
taxes due hereunder to the state or any single tax collector equal or exceed five hundred
dollars by the last day of any calendar month prior to the close of the state's fiscal year, the
taxes shall be due and payable and the return shall be filed and the tax paid on or before the
twentieth day of the calendar month following the calendar month during which the five
hundred dollar threshold is exceeded.
(2)(a) Gross proceeds from rentals or leases shall be reported and the tax shall be
paid with respect thereto, in accordance with rules and regulations for reporting as
established by the collector following the month in which the payment for the lease or rental
is actually collected by lessor.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, lessors of property
to be used offshore as provided for in R.S. 47:301(4)(d)(ii) shall not be required to collect
or otherwise pay rental taxes on the gross proceeds from such leases and rentals.
(3) For the purpose of compensating the dealer in accounting for and remitting the
tax levied by the local ordinance, each dealer shall be allowed compensation at the rate
specified in the local ordinance in the form of a deduction in submitting his report and paying
the amount due by him, provided the amount due was not delinquent at the time of payment.
The amount of any credit claimed for taxes already paid to a wholesaler shall not be deducted
in computing the compensation allowed by the dealer.
(4) In addition to extensions provided for in R.S. 47:337.22(E)(1), the collector, for
good cause, may extend, for not to exceed thirty days, the time for making any returns
required under the provisions of this Chapter.
(5) For the purpose of collecting and remitting to the taxing authority the tax
imposed by the local ordinance, the dealer is hereby declared to be the agent of the taxing
authority.
(6) In making their returns to the collector, dealers who have paid advance sales tax
on purchases of tangible personal property for resale during periods when the collection of
such tax was required by law shall deduct from the total tax collected by them upon the retail
sale of the commodity the amount of tax paid by them to manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers
and suppliers during the period reported, provided tax paid invoices evidencing the payment
are retained by the dealer claiming the refund or credit. If the amount so paid during any
reporting period amounts to more than the tax collected by him for the period reported, the
excess so paid shall be allowed as refund or credit against the tax collected by the dealer
during the succeeding period or periods.
B. Collection by wholesalers. (1) Parishes, municipalities, school boards and other
tax authorities which levy a sales tax are hereby prohibited from requiring manufacturers,
wholesalers, jobbers, suppliers, or any other taxpayer to collect such sales taxes in advance
from dealers to whom they sell for the purposes of resale.
(2), (3) Repealed by Acts 2007, No. 393, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.
(4) Absorption of said tax as defined in this Section by any retailer, wholesaler,
manufacturer or other supplier shall constitute a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be
punished by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars or by imprisonment in the parish
jail for not more than two years.
C. Registration by nonresident prime contractor. (1) Prior to commencing work on
any construction contract which in the aggregate exceeds three thousand dollars, any
nonresident prime contractor, as defined in R.S. 47:9(A)(2), shall:
(a) Register the contract with the Department of Revenue in accordance with the
provisions of R.S. 47:9(A)(1) and obtain a certificate in a form to be determined by the
secretary, which certificate shall identify the construction project registered and recite the
total amount of the contract.
(b) File with the department a surety bond or a blanket surety bond for all contracts,
sufficient to cover all taxes due on the contract or contracts, in accordance with the
provisions of R.S. 47:9(B)(1).
(c) Register the contract with the collector of sales and use taxes of the parish in
which the contract is to be performed. The collector shall issue a certificate in a form
determined by the secretary, following the requirements in Subparagraph (a) of this
Paragraph, certifying that all requirements for surety bonds established by R.S. 47:306(D)
applicable to the location of the project have been met.
(2)(a) No state entity, including but not limited to the office of the state fire marshal,
or local governing authority charged with the responsibility of issuing any permit, license,
or certificate necessary for the lawful commencement of any construction contract subject
to the provisions of this Subsection, shall issue such permit, license, or certificate until
sufficient proof of possession of the certificates obtained as provided in this Subsection for
that project is shown by the applicant.
(b) Any person failing to execute any bond herein provided before beginning the
performance of any contract shall be denied the right to perform such contract until he
complies with such requirements. The secretary of the Department of Revenue shall have
the right to enjoin the performance of the contract until a satisfactory bond is executed and
filed, and the secretary may also impose a penalty for commencing of two hundred dollars
or two percent of the construction contract, whichever is greater.
(3) Within thirty days of the completion and acceptance of the contract project, the
prime contractor shall submit to the Department of Revenue, on a form provided or approved
by the department, a complete and accurate accounting of all state sales and use taxes which
became due as a result of the contract. In the event that there are additional local taxes due,
the contractor shall submit a copy of the accounting and the additional tax due to the taxing
authority.
(4) The secretary of the Department of Revenue shall promulgate such rules and
regulations and may have printed such forms as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of
this Subsection.
(5) Nothing herein shall be construed so as to affect the licensing requirements of
R.S. 47:341 et seq.
D. Payment of tax by a licensed vehicle dealer. Notwithstanding any other provision
of law to the contrary, including the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, every vehicle
dealer licensed pursuant to Title 32 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 who sells a
vehicle at retail shall remit all taxes collected pursuant to R.S. 47:303(B) no later than forty
days from the date of sale. The secretary, for good cause shown, may extend the time for
remitting the taxes for these licensed vehicle dealers for a period not to exceed ninety days.
Acts 2003, No. 73, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2006, No. 457, §1, eff. June 15, 2006;
Acts 2007, No. 393, §§2, 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2023, No. 21, §1, eff. May 30, 2023; Acts
2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 11, §4, eff. Dec. 4, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 327, §1, eff. July 1, 2025.