Businesses that sell or serve food or beverages in Orleans Parish or at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport may be required to file the New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority (NOEHA) Food & Beverage Tax return. The Louisiana Department of Revenue administers this tax on behalf of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority.

Whether you are opening a new business or have operated for several years, this page will help you understand:

• Whether you must file a return
• Whether you must collect the tax
• Which sales are taxable
• How to register, file, and pay
• What to do if you need to become compliant

Who Must File?

Any food service establishment with food or beverage sales in:

• Orleans Parish; or
• The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport

must file a monthly NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax return.

This filing requirement applies even when:

• Your business does not meet the sales threshold for collecting the tax.
• No NOEHA tax was collected during the month.
• No tax is due for the reporting period.

Who Must Collect the Tax?

A food service establishment must collect the NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax when its taxable food and beverage sales meet the applicable threshold during the preceding calendar year.

Businesses with less than $200,000 in taxable food and beverage sales during the preceding calendar year are not required to collect the tax. However, they must still file monthly returns if they have food or beverage sales in Orleans Parish or at the airport.

Tax Rates

The applicable rate is based on taxable food and beverage sales during the preceding calendar year.

Exception: Grocery or convenience stores featuring prepared deli food items with sales over $200,000—0.5%.

The tax is charged to the customer at the time the customer pays for the food or beverage.

LDR will notify each business by the end of the calendar year their tax rate for the next calendar year. The tax rate does not change or start over with new ownership. These notices are available in your account on LaTAP.

What Is a Food Service Establishment?

A food service establishment generally includes any fixed or mobile business where food or beverages are prepared, sold, served, or provided to the public for consumption on or off the premises.

Examples include:

• Restaurants
• Fast food establishments
• Coffee shops and cafés
• Cafeterias
• Bars, taverns, lounges, and nightclubs
• Caterers and catering kitchens
• Commissaries
• Food trucks and mobile canteens
• Delicatessens
• Grocery stores selling prepared food
• Convenience stores selling prepared food
• Bakeries selling ready-to-eat products
• Roadside food stands
• Entertainment venue concessions
• Theater and bowling alley snack bars
• Airport food and beverage vendors
• Private, public, or nonprofit organizations that routinely serve food

An establishment may also qualify when it sells manufactured food or beverages that it did not prepare but provides facilities where customers can consume the items.

Airport Food and Beverage Sales

Food service establishments with food or beverage sales at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport must file monthly NOEHA returns.

Businesses that meet the prior-year taxable sales threshold must also collect and remit the applicable NOEHA tax.

What Sales Are Taxable?

Except for food and beverages intended for preparation and consumption in the home and other specifically exempt transactions, the tax generally applies to prepared or manufactured food and beverages sold or served by a qualifying food service establishment in Orleans Parish or at the airport.

Taxable sales may include:

• Restaurant meals
• Prepared meals and snacks
• Fast food
• Prepared deli foods
• Ready-to-eat bakery products
• Fountain drinks
• Coffee and specialty beverages
• Soft drinks
• Alcoholic beverages
• Catered meals
• Buffet sales
• Food and beverages sold at entertainment venues
• Food and beverages sold for consumption on the premises
• Food and beverages sold for consumption off the premises
• Manufactured snacks and drinks sold where facilities are provided for on-premises consumption

Where the Food Is Prepared Does Not Determine Taxability

The tax applies based on where the food or beverage is sold or served—not where it was prepared.

Example

A caterer prepares food at its kitchen in Jefferson Parish and delivers or serves the food at an event in Orleans Parish. The Orleans Parish sale is subject to the NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax when the caterer meets the applicable collection threshold. By contrast, a business that prepares food in Orleans Parish but sells or serves it only outside Orleans Parish and outside the airport does not collect the NOEHA tax on those sales.

What Is Generally Not Taxable?

The following sales are generally not subject to the NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax:

• Food and beverages intended for preparation and consumption in the home
• Food or beverage sales made entirely outside Orleans Parish and the airport
• Purchases paid for with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits
• Purchases paid for with eWIC benefits
• Certain meals furnished to staff, students, inmates, patients, or boarders by educational, religious, or medical institutions if the facility is closed to the general public
• Other transactions specifically exempt under Louisiana law

Exemptions depend on the facts of the transaction. Contact LDR when you are uncertain whether a particular sale qualifies for an exemption.

Register Your Business

Register with the Louisiana Department of Revenue if your business:

• Has food or beverage sales in Orleans Parish or at the airport; or
• Is required to collect the NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax.

Register a Business

File and Pay Electronically

NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax returns and payments must be submitted electronically.

The return is filed using Form R-1325, New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Additional

Hotel Room Occupancy Tax and Food and Beverage Tax Return

Businesses can use LaTAP to:

• File monthly returns
• Report taxable food and beverage sales
• Make secure payments
• View filing history
• View payment history
• Update account information
• Manage business tax accounts

File and Pay in LaTAP

Monthly Filing Requirement

All food service establishments with food or beverage sales in Orleans Parish or at the airport must file a return each month.

You must file even when:

• You are below the collection threshold.
• You collected no NOEHA tax.
• You had no taxable sales.
• No payment is due.

Annual food and beverage sales reported on the monthly returns are used to determine the business’s NOEHA collection rate for the following year. You must report food/beverage sales on Line 4 even if the NOEHA rate is 0%.

Filing Due Date

Monthly returns and payments are due on or before the 20th day of the month following the reporting period.

When the due date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, the return is due the next business day and becomes delinquent the first day thereafter.

Need to Get Back Into Compliance?

You may discover that your business should have been filing NOEHA returns or collecting and remitting the tax.

Address the issue as soon as possible. Prompt action may limit additional penalties and interest and help prevent future collection or enforcement action.

Step 1: Determine Your Filing Requirement

Determine when your business began making food or beverage sales in Orleans Parish or at the airport. The tax rate does not change or start over with new ownership.

Step 2: Review Prior-Year Sales

Calculate your taxable food and beverage sales for each calendar year to determine when you became responsible for collecting the tax and which rate applied.

Step 3: Register the Account

Register for the NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax if the account has not already been established.

Step 4: File Past-Due Returns

File all required monthly returns, including returns for periods when no tax was collected or due. You will need to contact LDR for assistance in establishing your tax rate in LaTAP.

Step 5: Pay the Amount Due

Pay the tax, penalties, and interest shown as due.

Step 6: Contact LDR

Contact LDR if you need assistance determining:

• When your filing obligation began
• Which rate applies
• Which returns must be filed
• How to correct previously filed returns
• What options may be available if you cannot pay the full balance

The sooner you address the issue, the easier it may be to bring the account into compliance.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Do

• File a return every month.
• Keep records supporting gross sales, taxable sales, exemptions, and reported amounts.
• Include qualifying Orleans Parish and airport sales, regardless of where the food was prepared.
• Respond promptly to notices from LDR.

Do Not

• Assume you do not have to file because your sales are below $200,000.
• Stop filing because no tax was collected.
• Assume food prepared outside Orleans Parish is exempt.
• Apply the tax to sales made entirely outside Orleans Parish and the airport.
• Ignore past-due returns or notices.

Forms and Resources

Legal Authority

The NOEHA Food & Beverage Tax is authorized under:

• La. R.S. 33:4710.23 and 4710.24— Food and beverage tax
• LAC 61:III.1519 — Electronic filing requirement

The Louisiana Department of Revenue administers and collects the tax on behalf of the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority.