LOUISIANA TAX FREE SHOPPING
PROCESSING FEE : A Handling fee of 40% is deducted from the total sales tax for refunds paid out.
WHAT HANDLING FEES ARE CHARGED FOR REFUNDS?
A handling fee will be deducted from the sales tax refund. This fee is based at 40% of the refund paid out of all vouchers presented for the sales tax refund carrying the same passport number.
Rules and Regulations and How To Obtain a Refund by Mail
To obtain a refund by mail, send: the original vouchers and sales receipts, copy of travel ticket, passport and visa, if applicable, and a statement stating why vouchers were not redeemed at any of the refund centers and where the merchandise is now located to:
Louisiana Tax Free Shopping Refund Center
P.O. Box 20125, New Orleans, LA 70141
Phone: 504 568-3605
Fax: 504 568-3605
e-mail: Deepa.Woods@la.gov
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR A REFUND OF SALES TAXES?
Any person traveling on a foreign passport with a current U.S. visa and round-trip international transportation ticket of less than 90 days duration is eligible for a refund of sales taxes. Sales taxes are refunded only on purchases made at participating merchants. Resident aliens and foreign students living in the U.S. are not eligible for sales tax refunds. U.S. citizens living abroad and persons who have dual citizenship in the U.S. and another country are not eligible for refunds.
WHERE TO APPLY FOR A TAX REFUND?
Tax Refund CentersHOW TO OBTAIN A REFUND BY MAIL:
Visitors leaving Louisiana before or after Refund Center office hours may apply for refund by mail. (Visitors who are driving in and out of the U.S. must also use this procedure.) The visitor must mail, within 30 days of returning to his country of residence, the documents listed below:
1. The original voucher(s) and associated receipts.
2. A photocopy of the international round-trip travel ticket.
3. A statement indicating why the visitor did not claim the refund before leaving Louisiana and also the current location of the property purchased.*
4. A photocopy of the visitor's passport, including the pages with name, passport number, U.S. visa, and U.S. entry date. (Canadians may send driver's license or birth certificate if that identification was presented to merchant at the time of purchase.)
5. Visitors who drive out of the U.S. must send either:
a) A copy of the entry date stamp back into their home country (this date can also be stamped on the rear of the vouchers)
OR
b) A notarized statement indicating the date they returned to their home country with the purchased merchandise.
*All items purchased must leave the U.S. to qualify for sales tax refunds.
Please mail above documents to:
LOUISIANA TAX FREE SHOPPING
REFUND CENTER
P.O. BOX 20125
NEW ORLEANS, LA 70141 USA
