Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for Occupancy Tax Changes.

All sales, use, consumption, distribution, storage for use or consumption, leases, and rentals of tangible personal property are taxable, unless an exemption or exclusion is provided by law for a particular transaction. 

The rate in St. Charles Parish is 5% 

Tangible personal property is property that can be seen, weighed, measured, felt, touched or is perceptible to the senses.  A general rule is just about anything done to tangible personal property is taxable unless it is specifically excluded or exempted in the statutes. 

Use tax applies to tangible personal property purchased for use, consumption, distribution, or storage in St. Charles Parish. Use tax is due only when sufficient St. Charles Parish sales tax has not been paid at the time of purchase. The purpose of the use tax is to ensure that all articles of tangible personal property used in this Parish are uniformly taxed, regardless of where the items may have been purchased. Situations in which local sales tax is frequently not paid include: (a) purchases from out-of-parish vendors or out-of-state vendors and, (b) items purchased for resale taken from inventory for use by the business. Report purchases of this nature on line 14 of the St. Charles Parish sales tax return. A person who purchases, imports, or receives property and services subject to tax or who is the lessee or renter of tangible personal property, on which vendors did not collect the proper sales taxes, is liable for the payment of taxes directly to the St. Charles Parish sales tax office.

A few examples of use tax are:

Example No. 1 - A company located in St. Charles Parish orders a printer from an online office equipment company.  The printer is delivered by common carrier directly to the buyer and the seller does not collect any local sales tax.

Example No. 2 - A salon purchases shampoo from a wholesaler tax free with the intention of selling it to customers and charging sales tax.  The hairdresser then opens the shampoo and uses it on a customer.

Solution:  The salon now owes use tax on the shampoo it consumed. The salon owner is responsible for paying the use tax on any tangible personal property consumed during the services provided to customers. Examples of consumable supplies used to accomplish these tasks are shampoo, conditioners, hairspray, hair coloring agents, tints, hair extensions, perm solutions, nail polish, artificial nails, lotions etc.

Example No. 3 - A contractor constructs a new building in St. Charles Parish.  The contractor picks up the lumber in a neighboring parish which has a lower local tax rate, for example 4.75%.

Solution: The contractor is the ultimate consumer of those materials and is liable for the taxes. Since the rate in St. Charles Parish is 5% and the tax rate paid when purchased is 4.75% there is a .25% use tax due for the difference in rates. If the lumber purchased cost $5,000.00 and tax was paid in the amount of $237.50 (at the local tax rate of 4.75%) and then imported into St. Charles Parish for use which has a local tax rate of 5% the contractor would owe a use tax to St. Charles Parish in the amount of $12.50 (the difference between $237.50 paid at the tax rate of 4.75 % and $250.00 due at the tax rate of 5%). Credit is given for local taxes paid in another jurisdiction. )

If your business is located in St. Charles Parish we require the owner of the business come to the Sales Tax Office to register. Please have your drivers' license with you and a copy of your Certificate of Occupancy from Planning & Zoning.

If your business is not located in St. Charles Parish and you need to remit sales / use tax to St. Charles Parish you can apply online at https://parishe-file.revenue.louisiana.gov/default_1.aspx

You can also download an application from our website and submit it via fax or email.

In order to open a new business in St. Charles Parish you must obtain an Occupational License.  You must follow the steps outlined below in order.

1. St. Charles Parish Planning and Zoning

Address: 14996 River Road, Hahnville, LA 70057

Phone: (985) 783-5060

Obtain a Certificate of Occupancy for the business location or a Home Occupation Permit if conducting a business from your home.

2. St. Charles Parish Sales Tax Office

Address: 13855 River Road Luling, LA 70070

Phone: (985) 785-3125

The owner of the business is required to physically come in the office and open the sales tax account. You must have your Certificate of Occupancy from Planning and Zoning along with your business information (Federal ID, state sales tax number, owner’s social security)

3. St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office - Occupational License Dept.

Address-15045 River Road Hahnville, LA 70057

Phone: (985) 783-6237

You will need to bring a copy of your Zoning Compliance Certificate and your Sales Tax Registration Certificate. There is a fee.

*Please note, if the business is located in St. Charles Parish all steps must be completed in the order listed above. If your business has sales or use tax to remit, please do so under the account number “applied for” in order to avoid penalties and interest.

Monday - Friday, 7:30am - 4:00pm

*Summer Schedule (Beginning 1st week of June through last full week of July)
Monday - Wednesday, 7:00am-5:00pm
Thursday, 7:00am - 4:30pm
Friday, CLOSED

If you no longer plan to do business in St. Charles Parish and would like to close your account, you must first verify you are current with your taxes. Once verified, you may fill out the "Request To Close Account"  form located on our website and submit it via fax or email. 

Yes.  If your filing status requires you to file a return in that period you must file a "0" return if you did not have any sales or purchases. 

It is always best to submit your tax return by the due date.  Any amount paid at the time of filing will reduce the amount of penalty and interest charges. 

 A resale certificate is a document a registered business uses when it purchases goods it intends to resell.  This document serves as a written statement that the business owners and operators will not use the goods purchased for personal use instead of selling them. All Sales are considered taxable retail sales unless the seller takes from the buyer a resale certificate, signed by and bearing the name, address, registration number of the buyer to the effect that the property is purchased for resale. 

We no longer issue exemption/resale certificates on the local level. You must obtain your certificate from the Louisiana Department of Revenue. You can fill out an application on their website, click here. Once you receive your certificate there is a place to put your parish name and your parish sales tax account number.

Per Louisiana Revised Statute 47:301(10)(a)(ii), a local collector shall accept a resale certificate issued by the Department of Revenue, provided the taxpayer includes the parish of its principal place of business and local sales tax account number on the State certificate. Only when a supplier will not honor the State certificate will St. Charles Parish issue a certificate for those businesses that are physically located in the parish. 

Yes, the sales of certain services are subject to local sales/use tax.  The sale of services, as defined in the statutes under R.S. 47:301(14), include the following:

1. the furnishing of sleeping rooms, cottages, or cabins by hotels

2. the sale of admissions to places of amusement and to athletic and recreational events, other than that of schools, colleges, and universities, the furnishing of privileges of access to amusement, entertainment, athletic, or recreational facilities

3. the furnishing of storage or parking privileges by auto hotels and parking lots

4. the furnishing of printing and overprinting

5. the furnishing of laundry, cleaning, pressing, and dyeing services including the renovation of clothing, furs, furniture, carpets, and rugs, and the furnishing of storage space for clothing, furs, and rugs

6. the furnishing of cold-storage space and the preparation of property for such storage

7. the furnishing of repairs to tangible personal property such as automobiles, machinery, appliances, equipment, and other specified items.  Labor and material are subject to tax.  Repairs to immovable property becomes taxable if the item is removed for repair off site

Under certain circumstance, labor charges are taxable. Labor to fabricate or repair moveable property is taxable. Labor charges to construct or repair immoveable or real property are not subject to St. Charles sales tax. 

Revised Statute 47:303(D) provides that the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries may not register or issue a certificate of registration on any new boat or vessel purchased in the state until satisfactory proof has been presented certifying that all state, municipal, school board, and parish sales taxes have been paid. The law also requires certification of sales tax payment for any boat or vessel brought into the state and, if the sales and use tax was not properly paid, the tax must be paid to LDR and the payment noted on the signed certificate.

If the new boat was purchased from a Louisiana dealer or builder, the sales tax should be paid to the dealer or builder and the invoice certifying the sales tax payment issued to the customer to be presented to the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

If the boat was purchased from an individual who used the boat personally, the purchase would qualify as a casual sale and would be exempt from the sales tax. You must fill out a Boat Registration Tax Payment Certification, Form R-1331, completed and signed by the purchaser and the state and local tax collection officials to certify that there are no sales tax due.

If the boat was brought into the state and was not an exempt purchase, such as a casual sale from a boat owner, the sales tax must be paid directly to LDR and the local sales tax agencies and a Boat Registration Tax Payment Certification, Form R-1331, completed and signed by the purchaser and the state and local tax collection officials to certify that the sales tax has been paid. Sales tax can be paid and the certification obtained from any Link to offices: Click Here 

1. Fill out an Application for Refund of Taxes Paid.

2. Prepare an amended return for the applicable period.

3. Adjust the original return for any returns, exemptions, exclusions, etc.

4. Provide sufficient supporting documentation for the refund request such as: original invoices, credit invoices, exemption certificates, original tax return(s), proof of payment, and the Application of Refund of Taxes Paid.  The documentation must provide  clear and convincing evidence that an overpayment has been made.

5. If all documentation is not received, the refund request will not be considered received and ready to review.

*All refunds must be sent in by USPS or FedEx mail.  We are not responsible if it is not received without proof.  Refunds cannot be sent via email as they are subject to being blocked by the firewall for security measures.

No. Non-profit organizations (including churches and religious organizations) are subject to local sales tax on their purchases. 

Click on How to File a Tax Return link for more information.

 Special Events and Craft Shows are Required to provide the Sales Tax Office with notification of an event and a list of all participating vendors in the form of an excel spreadsheet at least 2 weeks prior to the event. The list must include the business name, owners name, address, phone number, and e-mail address of all participating vendors. After the event, the promoter must supply a final list including any last minute participants or cancellations. Please e-mail all event information to salestax@stcharles.k12.la.us 

Click on Special Events / Craft Fairs link for more information.

St. Charles Parish School Board

Attn: Sales Tax Department

13855 River Road

Luling, La 70070

A taxpayer may be selected for an audited based on one or more of the following reasons:

· Random selection

· Not charging tax or incorrectly charging tax

· Not accruing tax

· Improper use of exemption certificates

· Collecting and not remitting tax

· Industry non-compliance issues

· Tips from individuals

· Not registered for sales tax license

No. Sales tax is a percentage amount your customer pays you, the vendor, when they purchase an item from your business. The sales tax you have collected is then remitted to the proper state and local taxing jurisdictions.

Example:

Company ABC purchased materials for $90 and resold them to a customer for $100. When the customer goes to the register they will be charged $100 plus St. Charles Parishes Sales Tax Rate of 9.45%, which equals $9.45. Company ABC will collect a total of $109.45 from the customer for that transaction. When taxes are due, the company will make sure to remit $5 to St. Charles Parish and $4.45 to the state, while the company still gets to keep the $10 profit they intended to make on the materials.

Yes. We help businesses by answering all the questions you may have by phone call, e-mail or even an in person meeting. 

Our staff is equipped with the knowledge and tools to help and get you started. If you are a business that has been operating and just want to have your system checked, send an e-mail or give us a call and we can help set up a meeting to look over your numbers and answer questions you may have. In our office, we strive to see our businesses become successful and enjoy educating individuals on the best sales tax practices. 

Nexus is the connection between a seller and a state that requires the seller to collect and remit sales tax, and is based on your unique business activity in a given jurisdiction. 

You can create nexus in a variety of ways, most of which fall under either physical nexus or economic nexus.

· Physical nexus is established by the presence of your business in a state. In addition to a store or office, physical nexus may be triggered by off-site employees, warehouse locations, affiliations, etc.

· Economic nexus is determined based on where your customers are located. If you reach a certain sales volume or number of transactions with residents of a jurisdiction, you can trigger nexus.

*It is important to note that you’ll need to register and remit sales tax if you have either physical or economic nexus in a state/jurisdiction according to their specific laws.

By having nexus with Louisiana, your company is subject to the taxing power of the State of Louisiana, and the State of Louisiana has authorized parishes and municipalities to impose sales taxes on companies who meet the parish ordinances definition of “dealer”. This power is granted to St. Charles Parish by virtue of La. Const. Art VI, § 29, La. R.S. 47:301, et.seq., 47:337.1. Also, see St. Charles Parish Code of Ordinances Section 13-79.

“Dealer” under La. R.S. 47:301(4) includes every person who manufactures or produces tangible personal property for sale at retail, for use, or consumption, or distribution, or for storage to be used or consumed in a taxing jurisdiction.

La. R.S. 47:337.17(B) provides “Every dealer located outside the taxing jurisdiction making sales of tangible personal property for distribution, storage, use, or other consumption, in the taxing jurisdiction, shall at the time of making sales collect the tax imposed by the local ordinance for the purchaser.”

For tax purposes, a sale is defined as any transfer of title or possession, or both, exchange, barter, conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means whatsoever, of tangible personal property, for consideration. La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 47:301(12). The word title in the tax statute is best understood as being synonymous with ownership. A tax sale is perfected upon the earliest of the transfer of ownership or the transfer of possession. Tunica Biloxi Tribe v. Bridges, 437 F Supp 2d 599. (2006).

When the hurdle of federal nexus is overcome by virtue of a physical presence in the state which satisfies the Quill test, a seller/dealer must abide the tax law of the State. Under 47:337.17(B), a seller/dealer that is not in the jurisdiction, must (shall) collect and remit taxes imposed by the ordinances of that jurisdiction, if the point of sale/delivery occurs in the jurisdiction. The relevant factor is the concepts of transfer of title or possession to determine if the sale occurs in the Parish taxing authority.