Out-the-door price in Louisiana
How Louisiana works
- Louisiana's tax follows where you live, not where the dealer is: 5% state tax plus your parish, city and district taxes. Across the state the local part runs from 0% to 7%, so the total is about 5% to 12%. The state rate is 5% through 2029 and 4.75% from January 1, 2030.
- Many ZIP codes cover more than one rate, because city taxes stop at the city limits and some parishes split the rest by ward, school district or hospital district. If yours does, you'll be asked which applies - usually whether you live inside city limits.
- You pay the tax to the Office of Motor Vehicles when the car is titled, and it is due within 40 days of the sale. Most dealers and public tag agents handle it for you at the sale. It is in the calculator's total because you pay it either way.
- Your trade-in reduces the taxable amount, on new and used cars, with no dollar limit. The title must be in your name (or your spouse's) and the dealer must list the trade on the invoice.
- A manufacturer's or dealer's rebate on a NEW car reduces the taxable amount, but only if you assign it to the dealer so it comes off the price. If you take the rebate as cash, it is taxed. Rebates on used cars do not reduce the tax.
- The doc fee is capped at $436 for 2026 (the base is $425; it adjusts every January for inflation, at most 3% a year). The dealer has to give you a written notice that it is not a mandatory state fee. Louisiana taxes charges a seller adds to make the sale even when they are billed separately, and no rule exempts the doc fee, so the calculator taxes it. The Department of Revenue has not ruled on the doc fee itself.
- Freight and dealer-installed accessories are taxed. The calculator does not tax extended warranties or GAP; Louisiana's list of taxable services does not include them. A dealer can't charge for services like upholstery treatments, oil changes or roadside plans unless you are allowed to refuse them.
- Registering the car: a dealer has 20 days to deliver your title or the papers you need for a plate. Title, the $8 handling fee and your plate fee are paid to the OMV, usually through the dealer. A $27 tag-agent convenience charge is optional: you can register at an OMV office without it.
Rules last verified Oct 11, 2026. Our methodology.
Try it for your ZIP
What a Louisiana advertised price has to include
The Louisiana Motor Vehicle Commission told dealers in May 2026 that an advertised price must include every dealer fee, the documentary, notary and convenience fees among them, and may leave out only tax, license and title, with the ad saying they are excluded. Independent used-car dealers are held to the full cash price by statute, except tax, title and license. The FTC expects the same. One written rule for franchised dealers still lets those fees be left out until the Commission finishes repealing it. That still isn't your out-the-door number; the calculator above adds the rest for your ZIP.
Federal law comes first
The FTC requires a dealer's advertised price to include every fee the dealer charges. Only charges the government requires you to pay, like tax, title and registration, can be left out. Where a state's rules let a dealer leave a fee out, the dealer still has to follow the federal rule, so the fee goes in. The FTC says a state's doc-fee rules can add disclosures, but they don't change the price that has to be advertised. Read the FTC's guidance.
Louisiana's written rule for franchised dealers still lets the doc fee be left out
LAC 46:V.719(A) still lists notary, convenience and documentary fees among the charges a franchised dealer may leave out of an advertised price. The Commission said in May 2026 that those fees must be included, and in September 2026 it proposed removing that line. The FTC expects every fee a dealer charges to be in the advertised price. Until the repeal is final, the rule's text and the FTC conflict. Ask whether a price includes the doc fee, and get the out-the-door price in writing.
What the FTC expects in the advertised price
- The documentary fee (Louisiana's doc fee, at most $436 in 2026)
- The notary fee (up to $15, only if the dealer actually uses a notary) and the tag-agent convenience fee (up to $27), if the dealer charges them
- Freight (destination) charges
- Dealer-added accessories that are installed on every car or can't be removed without damage
- Any other fee the dealer requires
Can still be added on top
- Sales tax: 5% state plus your parish, city and district rates
- Title ($68.50), the $8 handling fee, your two-year plate fee and, if you finance, the lien recording fee
- The waste tire fee on a new car ($2.25 for each of four tires)
- Optional products you choose to buy, such as a service contract or GAP coverage
- The doc fee: capped at $436 for 2026. The dealer must print on the bill of sale, buyer's order or contract the amount and this notice: "This fee is authorized by R.S. 6:969.18(A)(2). It is not a mandatory state fee."
- Optional services: a dealer can't charge consumer service fees, such as upholstery treatment, oil changes, roadside assistance or dealer inspections, unless you can refuse them. Accessories permanently affixed to the car are not covered by that rule.
- Price honoring: the featured price must be one that every member of the public can pay. An ad can't qualify it with "with trade," "with dealer financing" or "rebate assigned to dealer."
- Rebates and discounts: when a new-car ad shows a rebate or discount, it must also show the full cash price. A dealer with non-factory addendum items on the car can't advertise a dealer discount against that car's price.
- "Call for price": the Commission's May 2026 bulletin lists "Call for Pricing," "Get Today's Price" and "Request Price" as phrases a dealer should not use as a standalone price.
- Tax in the price: a dealer may advertise that it will pay your sales tax only if the ad says it will remit the tax and you get written proof of that on the invoice.
More in our guide: Do dealers have to put fees in the advertised price? What actually changed for 2026
See every state: Which states let dealers leave the doc fee out of the advertised price?
Louisiana in detail
Rates by county in Louisiana
Counties where the rate differs from the rest of Louisiana, or changes from one city to the next. The 58 listed here are the ones where your county actually changes the number.
Louisiana OTD questions, answered
Does a trade-in reduce sales tax in Louisiana?
Yes — Louisiana taxes the difference: your trade-in's value is subtracted before tax is computed.
Are manufacturer rebates taxed in Louisiana?
No — rebates passed to you are treated like a cash discount and reduce the taxable amount.
Is the doc fee capped in Louisiana?
Yes — the cap is $436.00 (La. R.S. 6:969.18(A)(2): capped at $436 for 2026 (CPI-U or 3%, whichever is less); LMVC bulletin B-2026-001.). A dealer may not exceed it.
What does a Louisiana dealer's advertised price have to include?
Every fee the dealer charges, including the documentary fee and any notary or convenience fee. Only sales tax, title, license and other government charges can be added on top, and the ad should say they are excluded.
Is there a cap on the doc fee in Louisiana?
Yes. The 2026 cap is $436. It starts from $425 in the statute and adjusts each January for inflation, up to 3% a year. The dealer has to disclose it as optional, not a state fee.
Do I pay sales tax at the dealership in Louisiana?
You pay it to the Office of Motor Vehicles when the car is titled, at the rate where you live. Dealers and tag agents usually collect it and send it in at the sale. It is due within 40 days of buying.
Is a manufacturer rebate taxed in Louisiana?
On a new car, no, if you assign the rebate to the dealer so it lowers the price. If you take it in cash, it is taxed. Rebates on used cars are taxed.