Louisiana parishes extend sales tax due dates because of COVID-19

The Louisiana Department of Revenue is giving businesses adversely affected by the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic a bit more time to file and pay some state sales taxes. Businesses now have until May 20, 2020, to file their February 2020 sales tax returns and payments. However, the department’s extension applies only to state sales tax — not municipal or parish sales tax.

Because Louisiana is a home-rule state, municipalities and parishes levy and collect their own retail sales and use taxes. The Louisiana Department of Revenue has no authority to extend due dates for local sales tax; that must be done by each municipality or parish.

And it has been in more than a dozen parishes.

St. James Parish extended the due date for its March sales tax report from April 20 to April 30, 2020. It isn’t much time, but it could help.

The following parishes have all extended the due dates for their March 2020 sales tax reports from April 20 to May 20, 2020.

• Acadia Parish
• Bossier Parish
• Caddo Parish
• Calcasieu Parish
• East Baton Rouge Parish
• Iberville Parish
• Natchitoches Parish
• Orleans Parish
• Rapides Parish                          
• Richland Parish
• Sabine Parish
• St. Mary Parish
• St. Tammany Parish
• Terrebonne Parish
• Winn Parish

Other parishes may grant tax relief on a case-by-case basis, but as of this writing, they aren’t granting an across-the-board extension for all.

For more details, see the Louisiana Association of Tax Administrators. More information about state-level sales tax relief can be found at the Louisiana Department of Revenue website.

Many states are providing sales tax filing and payment extensions because of the pandemic, as well as relief from penalties and/or interest. Tax relief is also available in many other countries. For the most up-to-date information, see our COVID-19 tax news and resources hub.