Louisiana Sales Tax on Digital Products (2026)

Louisiana used to leave most digital goods alone. That ended on January 1, 2025, when the state began taxing digital products, SaaS, and information services — and raised its state sales tax rate at the same time. If you sell ebooks, courses, software, or memberships to buyers in Louisiana, here is what changed and what to do about it.

Last reviewed: August 15, 2026

The quick answer

Yes — Louisiana taxes digital products. Under Act 10 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session, Louisiana state and local sales and use tax applies to digital products for taxable periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025. A companion law, Act 11, added prewritten computer software access services (in other words, SaaS) and information services to the list of taxable services, and raised the state sales tax rate from 4.45% to 5% on the same date.

This was a genuine shift: before 2025, Louisiana did not broadly tax electronically delivered goods, so sellers with Louisiana customers but no prior obligation may now have one. The Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) has revised its guidance more than once since the law took effect — most recently in late 2025 — so the rules below reflect the state of play as of August 2026.

What's taxable and what isn't

Louisiana defines digital products as products "transferred electronically" — obtained by any means other than tangible storage media, whether downloaded, streamed, or merely accessed, sold singly or by subscription, with permanent or time-limited use. Based on LDR's published guidance, here is how common categories are treated as of August 2026:

A nuance that matters for course creators: LDR's guidance lists "educational seminars, classes or courses" among the services that are not information services, but it also lists downloads and streams of tutorials as taxable digital audiovisual works. That suggests a pre-recorded video course sold as content is likely taxable, while live instruction is generally not an enumerated taxable service — but the line is not crisp, and it is exactly the kind of question to confirm with a professional.

Louisiana also carved out targeted exemptions for what it calls "digital tools," each with strict conditions:

• Commercial production exemption — digital tools purchased exclusively for commercial purposes and used directly in producing goods or services that are themselves taxable. LDR reads this narrowly: accounting software, CRMs, project management, and communication tools do not qualify.
• Financial institution exemption — purchases by FDIC-insured institutions for core banking functions.
• Healthcare exemption — digital tools used by licensed healthcare facilities and providers for patient records, diagnosis, or treatment.
• Resale and redistribution exclusions — digital products bought for resale in the same form, or received for further commercial broadcast or redistribution, are excluded with proper certificates.

Rates: the state rate is only half the story

The Louisiana state sales tax rate is 5% as of January 1, 2025, raised from 4.45% by Act 11. Under current law the 5% rate runs through December 31, 2029, and is scheduled to drop to 4.75% on January 1, 2030 — worth knowing, but not something to build plans around, since legislatures revisit scheduled rate changes all the time.

The bigger compliance issue is local tax. Parishes and municipalities levy their own sales taxes, and Act 10 makes digital products subject to both state and local sales tax. Per the Tax Foundation's 2026 rate survey, Louisiana's average local rate is about 5.11%, for an average combined rate of about 10.11% — the highest in the United States. Depending on the parish, the combined rate on a digital sale will commonly land somewhere between 9% and 11%.

Louisiana sources sales of digital products to where the buyer receives them — in practice, usually the buyer's address in your records. The parish-level rate depends on each customer's location, not yours, so accurate address-based calculation matters more in Louisiana than in most states.

Economic nexus in Louisiana

If you have no physical presence in Louisiana, you are required to collect once you cross the state's economic nexus threshold: $100,000 in gross revenue from sales of digital products, tangible personal property, and taxable services delivered into Louisiana during the previous or current calendar year.

Louisiana previously also had a 200-transaction test, but it was repealed effective August 1, 2023 (House Bill 171 of the 2023 Regular Session). As of August 2026, transaction count alone does not create nexus in Louisiana — only the dollar threshold does. That is good news for sellers of low-priced digital products racking up hundreds of small sales.

Once you cross the threshold, the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers gives you 30 days to register and 60 days to begin collecting state and parish sales tax. Physical presence in the state — an office, inventory, employees — creates nexus regardless of sales volume.

Marketplace facilitator rules

Louisiana requires marketplace facilitators — platforms that list products, process payments, and facilitate sales for third-party sellers — to collect and remit Louisiana state and local sales tax on the sales they facilitate once the facilitator exceeds $100,000 in retail sales delivered into Louisiana. Under Commission guidance, marketplace facilitators are treated as remote sellers and register with the Commission. As of August 2026, what that means for you as a seller:

• If you sell only through a registered marketplace facilitator, the facilitator collects and remits Louisiana tax on those sales. Get written confirmation of what your platform collects — coverage varies, and responsibility for anything it misses can land on you.
• If you also sell through your own website or checkout, those direct sales are your responsibility, and you need to track them against the $100,000 threshold yourself.

Registering and filing

Where you register depends on whether you have a physical presence in Louisiana:

• Remote sellers (no physical presence, over the threshold) register with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers and file through the state's portal at remotesellersfiling.louisiana.gov. The portal is a genuine simplification: a single electronic return covers the state rate and every parish-level local tax.
• In-state sellers register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue through LaTAP, the Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point (new businesses can also start with the state's geauxBIZ one-stop registration — see LDR's business registration page). In-state dealers handle parish-level local taxes separately through local collectors.

Filing frequency (monthly, quarterly, or annually) is assigned based on your volume when you register. As everywhere, returns are generally due even for periods where you owe nothing, and late filings can trigger penalties on their own.

The multi-state picture

Louisiana is one state. If your digital products sell nationwide, the same questions — is my product taxable, have I crossed the threshold, who collects — repeat across roughly 40 other states that tax digital goods in some form, each with its own definitions and rates. Our state-by-state guide to sales tax on digital products maps the full landscape, and the sales tax checklist turns it into a step-by-step compliance routine.

SurcoPay builds this into the checkout itself: tax is calculated from each buyer's address at the moment of sale, your sales are tracked against every state's nexus threshold, and your records export ready for filing — so a Louisiana buyer in a 10%-plus parish and an Oregon buyer with no sales tax are both handled correctly without you maintaining a rate table.

FAQ

Does Louisiana charge sales tax on digital products?

Yes. Effective January 1, 2025, Louisiana state and local sales tax applies to digital products — including ebooks, music, video, apps and games, digital codes, and paid digital periodicals and communities — plus software access services (SaaS) and information services, under Act 10 of the 2024 Third Extraordinary Session. The state rate is 5%, and parish-level local taxes apply on top. This is general information, not tax advice.

What is Louisiana's economic nexus threshold?

As of August 2026, a remote seller must collect Louisiana sales tax once gross revenue from sales delivered into the state exceeds $100,000 in the current or previous calendar year. Louisiana repealed its 200-transaction test effective August 1, 2023, so transaction count alone no longer creates nexus.

Do I need to collect Louisiana sales tax if I sell through a marketplace?

If the marketplace qualifies as a marketplace facilitator with more than $100,000 in Louisiana retail sales, it is required to collect and remit Louisiana state and local sales tax on the sales it facilitates. Sales made directly through your own website remain your responsibility. Confirm in writing what your marketplace collects.

Sources

Everything in this guide traces to the following sources, checked in August 2026. Official Louisiana sources first:

• Louisiana Department of Revenue — Sales and Use Tax on Digital Products and Related Services (policy page)
• LDR — Digital Products Guidance (PDF) — definitions, examples, exclusions, exemptions, and sourcing rules
• LDR FAQ — Are digital products subject to sales and use tax?
• LDR — Sales Tax Reform FAQs (PDF) — including the state rate table (4.45% to 5% on January 1, 2025)
• Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers — announcements and remote seller information bulletins
• Louisiana Remote Sellers Filing Portal — registration and single-return filing for remote sellers
• LDR — LaTAP (Louisiana Taxpayer Access Point) — registration and filing for in-state dealers
• LDR — Business Registration

Secondary sources used for cross-checking:

• Tax Foundation — State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026 — Louisiana's combined average rate of 10.11%, highest in the US
• Sales Tax Institute — Louisiana to Increase State Sales Tax Rate — the 5% rate and the scheduled 2030 reduction
• Sales Tax Institute — Louisiana Removes 200 Transaction Threshold
• Avalara — Louisiana drops economic nexus transaction threshold

Keep reading

• Do You Need to Collect Sales Tax Selling Digital Products? A State-by-State Guide
• The Digital Seller's Sales Tax Checklist (Free PDF)
• Texas Sales Tax on Digital Products (2026)
• Arizona Sales Tax on Digital Products (2026)
• Platform Fee Calculator: What Are You Really Paying?