Tax Facts Index

                            Occupational License Tax

Occupational License Tax Renewals

Occupational License Tax Renewals for 2004 were mailed to businesses in early December. Licenses renewed after March 1, 2004, will be deemed delinquent and subject to penalty and interest. Penalty at the rate of 5% per month or fractional part thereof, not to exceed 25%, and interest at the rate of 1.25% per month, or fractional part thereof, will be computed from the first day of March and will increase on the first day of each succeeding month.

Calculating Your Occupational License Tax

According to Section 27 (B) of the Occupational License Tax Ordinance, “The tax shall be computed on the basis of the schedules contained in this Ordinance according to the physical location of each place of business without regard to the location where the actual sale takes place or where a product or service is delivered or performed.”

If your business is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and you deliver outside of this parish, as well as within this parish, you must calculate your Occupational License Tax based on the total of all sales made, regardless of the point of delivery. For example, a mail order business which delivers to customers locally, as well as to customers elsewhere in the state, must include local sales and sales delivered out-of-parish or state when calculating their Occupational License Tax.

This same provision also applies to service businesses that are physically located in East Baton Rouge Parish and perform services both locally and out-of-parish. For example, a repair business located in Baton Rouge that repairs tangible personal property at their own shop, as well as repairing property located at the customer’s location outside of this parish, must compute the Occupational License Tax due based on total gross receipts generated by performing repairs both locally and out-of-parish.

OLT Renewals On-Line

The City-Parish Revenue Division will accept Occupational License Tax renewal forms and payments on-line for a limited number of businesses for 2004 Occupational Licenses. If your business is eligible, a Personal Identification Number (PIN) was printed on the renewal form you received in December 2003. Additional information concerning OLT on-line renewals and payments will be available on our website on January 1, 2004, at www.brgov.com/dept/finance.

                         Check Out Electronic Filing!

The City-Parish Revenue Division is pleased to announce that the electronic filing system has been working great! Thanks to all the taxpayers who have used the system and for offering your comments and suggestions.

Monthly filers interested in filing their sales and use tax returns on-line can get more information and a “New User Registration Application” at www.brgov.com/dept/finance. Also, taxpayers filing “No Sales” returns may file on-line or by phone at (225) 344-4636, extension 5000.

                       Sales Tax on Repair Services

Some repair dealers may not be aware of the proper tax treatment of repair services performed in this parish. Following is a discussion of the taxable status of repairs to tangible personal property and real property.

Tangible Personal Property

All charges for repairs to tangible personal property, including parts, labor, travel, etc., are taxable. This applies whether the repair work occurs on or off the property owner’s premises.

Examples of tangible personal property include automobiles, clothing, computers, watches, furniture, jewelry, shoes, tires, motors, televisions, radios, washers, dryers, refrigerators, office equipment, and all other similar movable property. Also included are movable machinery, appliances, and equipment which have been declared immovable. Article 467 of the Louisiana Civil Code describes procedures for declaring property immovable.

Various components of real property may be taxed as tangible personal property. These are described in the section below on real property.

All repairs performed within this parish are taxable in this parish, even if the repaired property is delivered to a customer in another parish or another state. The repair dealer must collect sales tax from the customer and remit it to the Revenue Division.

Repair services performed outside this parish are not taxable in this parish. The repair dealer must collect the sales tax from the customer and remit it to the jurisdiction where the repair is performed.

Repair dealers repairing tangible personal property may use an exemption certificate when purchasing parts and materials that will become a part of the article repaired. These parts and materials are exempt from sales tax, provided a resale exemption certificate is given to the vendor. Supplies which are consumed in the process of performing repair services, without becoming a part of the articles repaired, are taxable. The repair dealer must pay the tax to vendors when purchasing these supplies.

Real Property

Repair services performed on real property at the owner’s premises are not taxable. This includes repairs to buildings or its component parts such as plumbing, heating, air conditioning, and electrical equipment. Items that cannot be removed without substantial damages to the item or to the property to which it is attached are considered real property. Article 466 of the Louisiana Civil Code describes such property. For real property, the repair dealer must pay the sales or use tax on the materials and parts purchased and used for the repair.

When property defined in Article 466 has been removed from the owner’s premises, it is considered to be tangible personal property. Items that can be removed without substantial damages to the item or to the property to which it is attached are considered tangible personal property. All repair charges for such property are taxable only when the property being repaired is removed from the property of the owner.

Remember to mail your return early!  Returns bearing a U.S. postmark on or after the above delinquent dates will be assessed penalty, interest, and loss of vendor's compensation.

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