Louisiana Sales Tax Exemption on Food for Home Consumption


  1. This information is based on two sources:
    1. Louisiana Tax Topics, Vol 25 #2 April 05
    2. Ruling 03-022
  2. The Louisiana sales tax return allows for an exemption for "Sale of Food for home consumption."
  3. When this absurd law was first passed in 2005, the state had trouble defining what sizes of packaged food were for immediate consumption and what sizes were for "home consumption."
  4. Without changing the wording on the state sales tax form, the state solved the problem by redefining what it meant by "home consumption."
  5. "Food for home consumption" now means food that is "prepared or manufactured by someone other than the seller."
  6. Use the following lists to determine what is taxable and not taxable:

TAXABLE

food prepared on site
hot dogs and food warmed by machines
slices of pizza
fountain drinks
coffee
bottled water
carbonated bottled water
chewing gum
cigarettes

NOT TAXABLE

(but still subject to parish tax)
grocery items
candy, any size
soft drinks, any size
chips, any size

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