It is the responsibility of the vendor to:

  1. Register, report, and submit any tax due to state and local tax offices and,
  2. To complete & retain the certificate of exemption form# r-1384 (6/08) on exempted sales within cultural districts.

Checklist for new vendors in Calcasieu Parish:

  1. Register for a parish Tax Account Number
  2. Register for a state of Louisiana Tax Account Number
  3. Contact LA Dept. of Revenue to change your filing status to “casual”, which allows for reporting per event instead of each month.
  4. Report and submit state and local sales taxes by the 20th of the month following the event.

For clarification or guidance, call the Arts Council of SWLA office at (337) 439-2787 after reading the information below.

Downloadable Forms

(forms are often updated, so general web links are provided)

– Calcasieu Parish Sales and Use Tax Report (download)
www.calcasieusalestax.org

– Application for Louisiana Revenue Account Number (download)
– Louisiana Dept. of Revenue Sales Tax Return (download / instructions)
www.rev.state.la.us

Parish Sales Tax Information

Sales Tax Reporting Requirements

Sellers of all goods including original, one-of-a-kind works of art must register with the state and local tax administrator before conducting sales.

Current Parish Sales Tax Rate at

www.laota.com

Questions about Sales Tax Reporting

Calcasieu Parish School Board
Kimberly Tyree, Director of Sales Tax
[email protected]
337-217-4280

Louisiana State Sales Tax Information

Sales Tax Reporting Requirements

Sellers of all goods including original, one-of-a-kind works of art must register with the state and local tax administrator before conducting sales.

Louisiana Department of Revenue Service to Tax Payers (optional): Tax payers are encouraged to sign up for the Louisiana Department of Revenue electronic Policy Statement Subscription Service to receive regular communication from the Department of Revenue on rulings, guidelines, and advice. Sign up here.

Questions about Sales Tax Reporting

Louisiana Department of Revenue-Special Events
1450 Poydras St. Suite 800
New Orleans, LA 70112
www.revenue.louisiana.gov/specialevents
[email protected]

SW District / Lake Charles Region – [email protected]

Cultural District Updates

Update

Recent legislative action to address the fiscal crisis during the most recent special session eliminated the state tax exemption for original art sold in a Cultural District. The state sales tax was set at 4.45% until 2025. The result for our art sellers is that they must now charge the full Louisiana state sales tax, 4.45% on all works of original art.

Note: They may still exempt the local tax, but they must report those tax-exempt sales to the parish sales tax office.

Local sales tax exemption along with the state historic tax credit are still important incentives that encourage creation of art, art events and rehabilitation of properties. Parish Sales Tax Report Forms are available for download through the LATA website. Click on the parish, scroll down and click on Forms, select the most recent Sales and Use Tax Report and Instructions.

Forms:

For additional resources pertaining to cultural districts, please visit the Office of Cultural Development, Division of the Arts

To view a helpful PowerPoint summary of the cultural district program, click here.
For a description and maps of SWLA cultural districts, click here.

Sales Tax Exemption

An item must meet ALL of the following to qualify for exemption:

  1. A work of art is tax exempt if it is sold from an established location within a cultural district and it is:
    • original
    • one-of-kind, except as further defined in Paragraph 2 below
    • visual art
    • conceived and made by hand of the artist or under his direction
    • not intended for mass production

The exemption of state sales tax for qualifying original art sales in Cultural Districts is SUSPENDED through 6/30/18.

Effective 7/1/16 through 6/30/18 the state exemption changes to 2%. An additional 1% state sales tax, that is not exempt, is imposed from 4/1/16 through 6/30/18. Local sales tax exemptions remain in place.

For more information, visit the Louisiana Cultural District site here, or view a helpful chart here.

DOWNLOAD: Sales Tax Exemption Certificate
(used to log tax exempt sales within Cultural Districts)
also available at https://revenue.louisiana.gov/Forms

To view a helpful PowerPoint summary of the cultural district program, click here.
For a description and maps of SWLA cultural districts, click here.

Sales Tax Exemption

An item must meet ALL of the following to qualify for exemption:

  1. A work of art is tax exempt if it is sold from an established location within a cultural district and it is:
    • original
    • one-of-kind, except as further defined in Paragraph 2 below
    • visual art
    • conceived and made by hand of the artist or under his direction
    • not intended for mass production
  2. Examples of eligible media and products include:
    • visual arts and crafts, including but not limited to drawing, painting, sculpture, clay, ceramics, fiber, glass, leather, metal, paper, wood, or mixed media, installation art, light sculpture, digital sculpture, and wearable art; and
    • limited, numbered editions (up to 100) of lithographs, photography, silk screen, intaglios, etchings, and graphic design.
  3. Examples of ineligible media and products include:
    • performing art
    • food products
    • live plants, such as bonsai trees, floral arrangements, wreaths, and garlands
    • music recordings
    • reproductions of works of art, including giclees
Questions about Definition of Qualifying Art

Louisiana Office of Cultural Development
Gaye Hamilton, Cultural District Program Manager
[email protected]
225-342-8161

To decide if an advisory opinion is needed for a particular item or class of items ask yourself this question- Does this item stand alone as a work of art, is it original and unique, was it hand-made, and not meant for multiple reproduction? If you can honestly answer yes to all these questions but are still uncertain whether the item is original art you should request an opinion at the contact above. If you cannot answer yes to all points of the definition, the item is not eligible, and an advisory opinion is not needed.

Documentation of Tax Exempt Sales

The art seller must retain copies of Tax Exemption Certificates and documentation for inspection by the Louisiana Department of Revenue (LDR) and local taxing authorities in case of audit. Sellers may provide the purchaser with a copy of the Tax Exemption Certificate certifying their purchase as an original, one-of-a-kind work of art. Some parishes (EBR, St.Tammany, St. Martin, E. Feliciana) require copies of the exemption certificates be submitted with the parish tax return. Check for local requirements.

Sellers must also submit sales tax returns (R-1029) to the Louisiana Department of Revenue and to the local Parish Tax Office. The total value of original art sales tax exemptions claimed during the reporting period should be entered on page 2, line 33 of the state form, and on a line 8-10 on the parish sales tax report form. Write in the space provided that the sale is “original art sold in a Cultural District”.

Both state and local sales tax returns must be completed by the art seller and submitted as usual, even if tax due is $0.

If an audit reveals that sales tax was not collected properly on a work of art, the seller or purchaser shall remit the amount of the uncollected tax to the proper taxing authorities, along with any penalties or fees. This provision does not affect the assessment and collection procedures undertaken by the Louisiana Department of Revenue.

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