Real estate transfer tax in Louisiana and New Orleans

Does Louisiana have a state transfer tax?

The texts we read show none. Article VII, Section 2.3 of the Louisiana Constitution says that no new tax or fee on the sale or transfer of immovable property, “including documentary transaction taxes or fees,” may be levied by the state or by a parish or other local government after November 30, 2011. The same section says that recording fees, impact fees, annual parcel fees and property (ad valorem) taxes are not counted as transfer taxes.

Louisiana uses civil-law terms. The sale of a house is made by an act of sale. A transfer of immovable property must be made by authentic act (signed before a notary and two witnesses) or by an act under private signature (Civil Code arts. 1833, 1839 and 2440). The act has effect against third persons only once it is filed for registry in the parish where the property sits (art. 1839). The cost of filing is a recording fee, covered in our closing costs guide.

What is the New Orleans documentary transaction tax?

The City of New Orleans taxes the signing of any instrument that creates or transfers a right in immovable property in Orleans Parish. The tax becomes due only when the document is recorded (Code § 150-366). The amount depends on the transaction (Code § 150-391).

One discrepancy: the Orleans Parish Clerk’s page says all sales, donations and mortgages pay a flat $325, while the Code text on Municode (Supplement 117, updated October 2026) says $300 for a single-family home or double. Ask the notary or the Clerk’s Land Records Division which amount they will collect on your closing date.

Who pays?

Under the City Code, the taxpayer is the seller in a cash sale and in a “sale and concurrent mortgage” (§ 150-366). A borrower pays when the mortgage is a separate loan that does not transfer title. Documents signed on the same day for the same property count as one transaction (§ 150-392).

The Civil Code points the other way for other costs: “the expenses of the act and other expenses incidental to the sale must be borne by the buyer” (art. 2463). The ordinance, however, names the seller for this tax. Check your purchase agreement to see how it assigns each cost.

The taxpayer may leave the payment to the notary or attorney handling the transaction, but remains liable to the City (§ 150-391(5)). The tax is paid when the document is recorded, according to the Clerk’s office.

What is exempt?

Section 150-369 lists dozens of exempt documents. The ones that matter most for home owners include:

• sheriff’s deeds and documents recorded in foreclosure proceedings;
• a dation en paiement (a transfer of property in payment of a debt);
• judgments of possession and small-succession affidavits;
• quitclaims and acts of correction;
• partition or settlement of community property between spouses or former spouses;
• declarations of homestead.

Certain sales by qualifying nonprofit housing corporations to low- and moderate-income buyers are also exempt.

What happens if the tax is not paid?

A delinquent taxpayer owes the tax plus interest and a penalty of 20% of the tax, with interest at 10% a year, or $500, whichever is greater. The penalty and interest are waived if the tax is paid within 45 days of the City’s first delinquency notice (§ 150-367). Unpaid tax does not create a lien on the property (§ 150-368).

Example: a $300,000 house in New Orleans

This is an illustration, not a quote. A buyer pays $300,000 for a single-family house with a mortgage. The documentary tax does not depend on the price: under the City Code it is $300, paid by the seller, whether the price is $150,000 or $900,000. If the Clerk’s $325 figure applies, the amount is $325. Separately, no public officer may pass a sale of New Orleans real estate unless state, parish, city and levee district taxes due on it are paid (R.S. 9:2921), so the seller’s tax bill must be current at closing. See property tax in Louisiana for how the yearly tax works, and the New Orleans guide for the city.