Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 61 - REVENUE AND TAXATION
Part I - Taxes Collected and Administered by the Secretary of Revenue
Chapter 43 - Sales and Use Tax
Section I-4351 - Returns and Payment of Tax, Penalty for Absorption of Tax
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code I-4351
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. General. All persons and dealers who are subject to state or local sales or use tax are required to file a tax return monthly, unless otherwise provided, and to remit the amount of tax due. Forms will be provided by the collector, and failure to receive a form will not relieve the dealer of the necessity to file and remit the tax due. For the purpose of collecting and remitting state and local sales or use tax, the dealer performs as the agent of the taxing authority.
1. After a dealer is properly registered for
sales and use tax purposes, a sales tax identification number is assigned and
the dealer is required to file monthly sales tax returns. Failure to file
returns timely will cause the collector to issue an estimated proposed
assessment. For those months when the dealer has no taxable sales or amounts to
report, a return must still be filed marked "no sales or taxable amounts" and
signed by the dealer. Monthly returns must be filed on or before the twentieth
day of the month following the month in which the tax is due.
a. Taxpayers may request approval to file
consolidated sales tax returns to report sales made from multiple locations on
one consolidated monthly return.
b.
The collector may require taxpayers to file separate tax returns if the
taxpayer is located within a tax increment financing zone or in any other
instance when tax data is required by taxpayer location.
2. The collector, for good cause, may extend,
for a period not to exceed 30 days, the time for making any returns required
under Chapter 2 of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, as
amended, or the Uniform Local Sales Tax Code. Failure of the dealer to abide by
the agreement and file returns and remittances as required will result in an
immediate cancellation of the extension agreement by the collector.
3. The tax computed to be due by the dealer
is payable at the time the return is due, and failure to do so will cause the
secretary to issue a 30-day demand assessment as provided in
R.S.
47:1568(B). Failure to file
the returns on or before the due date, will subject the dealer to delinquency
charges, loss of vendor's compensation and other charges as provided by law.
See R.S.
47:1519 for information on electronic funds
transfers (EFT).
4. Gross proceeds
from rentals or leases shall be reported on the appropriate line of the return,
and the tax shall be paid with respect thereto, unless an exemption is
specifically authorized and explained on the return. Rental and lease proceeds
shall be reported on the twentieth day of the month following the monthly or
quarterly reporting period in which the proceeds were actually collected by the
dealer, regardless of the period in which the lease or rental
occurred.
5. The dealer is
compensated for accounting for and remitting the state sales or use tax at the
rate established by
R.S.
47:306. Local ordinances govern the rate of
compensation, if any, for accounting for and remitting local sales or use tax .
The amount of compensation is computed by multiplying the rate by the amount of
tax due and deducting that amount from the total tax accounted for and payable
to the collector, before taking credit for taxes already paid to a
wholesaler.
6. Except as provided
in R.S.
47:304(F)(1),
R.S.
47:337.17(F)(1), and LAC
61:I.4311.C, dealers or sellers must separately list the sales tax from the
price paid by the purchaser. Otherwise, the absorption of the tax by any
retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, or other supplier shall be punished in
accordance with
R.S.
47:304(F)(3) and
R.S.
47:337.17(F)(3).
B. Exceptions. Not all dealers are required to file returns on a monthly basis.
1. After registration, all dealers will be
required to file monthly tax returns.
2. Quarterly Filing. Solely for state sales
or use tax purposes, after the dealer has filed tax returns for a few months
and it is determined that their tax liability averages less than $500 per
month, the dealer will be notified and required to file returns quarterly.
a. It is not necessary to apply for quarterly
filing because once a determination is made by the secretary that quarterly
filing is appropriate, the dealer will be notified.
b. Quarterly returns must be filed on or
before the twentieth day of the first month of the next succeeding
quarter.
c. Any dealer required to
file on a quarterly basis, may apply for approval to file and pay taxes on a
monthly basis.
i. Requests to file monthly
must include justification for the exception.
ii. Monthly filing requests must be approved
before the dealer may begin filing monthly.
d. Solely for filing local sales or use tax
retuR.S. rns, 47:337.18(A)(1)(b)(i) requires dealers to file their tax returns
quarterly if their tax due averages less than $30 per month.
3. Irregular Filing. Dealers with
occasional sales or use tax purchases may apply for approval to file and pay
taxes on an irregular filing basis.
a. Sales
and use tax returns must be filed on or before the twentieth day of the month
following the month in which the taxable transaction occurred.
b. Each line of the tax return must be
completed and all nontaxable amounts should be identified.
4. Alternate Filing Periods
a. Dealers must apply for approval to file
sales tax returns using an alternate method.
b. Approval will only be granted if the total
filings do not exceed 12 filings in a 12-month period.
c. The number of short periods during a year
must be greater than or equal to the number of long periods during that same
year.
d. At the beginning of each
year the dealer must, after obtaining approval for the alternate period filing
method, file with the collector a calendar for the year showing the alternative
filing periods for that year. Amendments to approved calendars must be
submitted for approval prior to the affected periods. The taxpayer's account
will be reviewed to determine if the taxpayer has correctly filed returns,
according to the calendar submitted at the beginning of the year. If the
taxpayer does not follow the approved alternate filing method, the returns for
the year under review will be converted to a calendar month basis and the
taxpayer's request to use an alternate period filing method for the subsequent
year will be denied. Alternate period returns must be filed on or before the
twentieth day following the close of the alternate filing period. Failure to
file on or before this date will subject the dealer to delinquency charges,
loss of vendor's compensation, and other charges as prescribed by
law.
C. Advance Sales Tax. R.S. 47:306(B) was amended in 1965, to require all manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, suppliers, and brokers of tangible personal property to collect an advance payment of state sales or use tax on sales of all tangible personal property, and such payment is required only as a means of facilitating collection of the sales tax. Previous to this amendment, such sales of tangible personal property were considered exempt for taxation since under the statute, wholesale sales were not taxable. Accordingly, these new dealers were required to register with the secretary in order to collect and remit advance state sales or use tax from the sale of all tangible personal property made to retail dealers who resell the property to final users and consumers. The advance payment of the state sales or use tax is required upon all sales of tangible personal property to other dealers unless, specifically exempted by statute, or Form LGST9 is obtained and kept on file by the dealer making the sale. Exemption certificate LGST9 will only be recognized if the dealer making the purchase of tangible personal property states that the purchases are for resale or further processing by wholesale dealers and manufacturers. Those businesses purchasing property for resale that qualify as "wholesale dealers" can be exempted from the payment of the advance state sales or use tax .
1. A
Wholesale Dealer is defined as one where 50 percent or more of his sales do not
constitute retail sales as defined in the sales tax law. Sales made in
interstate commerce (sales where property is delivered by the seller outside
the state) do not constitute retail sales.
R.S.
47:306 also provides exemptions for dealers
in motor vehicles subject to license and title; lumber dealers; farm implement
dealers; and mobile, motorized, self-propelled, earth moving and construction
equipment dealers. Sales made to industrial users and/or to contractors are
also added towards the 50 percent criteria for qualification as a wholesale
dealer.
2. Manufacturers,
wholesalers, jobbers, suppliers, and brokers of tangible personal property are
required under this Section to report all sales made within the period of a
calendar month or approved alternative filing period, and to remit the advance
retail dealers' sales tax on their returns filed with the department. The
department is not concerned with credit terms extended by manufacturers,
wholesalers, jobbers, suppliers and brokers to their customers. The question of
when the wholesaler should collect the advance sales tax is dependent upon the
policy of the seller.
3. All
dealers who have paid advance sales tax to a manufacturer, wholesaler, jobber,
or supplier shall deduct from the total tax collected by them upon the retail
sale of the commodity, the amount of advance sales tax paid, provided tax paid
invoices evidencing the payments are retained by the dealer claiming the refund
or credit. If the advance tax so paid during any reporting period amounts to
more than the tax collected by him for that period, the excess so paid shall be
reported on the return as a credit. Each such credit return shall be accounted
for independently by the Department of Revenue and Taxation, and a refund shall
be issued to the dealer for each such credit return. In no case may the credit
be applied against the taxes due for any other period, unless the credit is
applied under the direction of the secretary.
4. Manufacturers, wholesalers, jobbers, and
suppliers collecting advance sales taxes are entitled to vendor's compensation
at the rate established by
R.S.
47:306. The amount of compensation is
computed as a percentage of the taxes so collected and remitted to the
secretary, provided the return and payment are timely filed.
5. Parishes, municipalities, school boards,
and other local governing bodies, except hereinafter set forth, which levy a
sales tax are hereby prohibited from requiring manufacturers, wholesalers,
jobbers, or suppliers to collect such taxes in advance from dealers to whom
they sell.
6. The parish,
municipal, school board or other local governing bodies of the parish in which
the state capitol is located, Caddo Parish or any other parish having a
population in excess of 200,000 are authorized to require manufacturers,
wholesalers, jobbers, and suppliers to collect the taxes levied by them in
advance from dealers to whom they sell provided the dealers and wholesalers,
manufacturers, jobbers, and suppliers are domiciled in said parish. Such
advance collections shall be subject to the same laws, rules, and regulations
as are applicable to advance collections of state sales taxes; provided,
however, that the taxes so collected shall be remitted to the parish,
municipal, school board, or other local governing authority imposing the
tax.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 47:306, R.S. 47:337.2, R.S. 47:337.18, and R.S. 47:1511.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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