If you own a business in Louisiana, you have an important deadline approaching: April 1, 2026. Every year, Louisiana business owners are required to report their moveable business assets to their parish assessor. Missing this deadline can result in an estimated assessment that may significantly overvalue your property and increase your tax bill.

What Is Business Personal Property?

Louisiana law requires all businesses to report moveable assets used to operate their business. This includes inventories, merchandise, furniture and fixtures, machinery and equipment, leasehold improvements and miscellaneous property, consigned goods, leased, loaned, or rented equipment, furniture, etc. used for business purposes. If you use it to generate revenue and it is not permanently attached to real estate, it is likely reportable.

The LAT-5 Form and the April 1 Deadline

Parish assessors mail the LAT-5 form and any other required forms each February, giving business owners roughly two months to gather their information and file. The deadline is April 1.

Did not receive your forms in the mail? You are still required to file. It is your responsibility to notify the assessor’s office of any address changes, and a missed form does not excuse you from filing. Forms are available for download on your parish assessor’s website, so do not wait.

Where to File

Because business personal property reporting is handled at the parish level, businesses must submit their LAT-5 directly to the assessor’s office in the parish where their assets are located. Each parish provides its own filing address and submission instructions, which are available on your parish assessor’s website.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

If you do not file by April 1, the assessor’s office will assign an estimated assessed value based on whatever information they have available or the previous year’s report. Estimated assessments rarely work in your favor. They may not account for assets you have disposed of or the actual condition of your property. Filing on time is the only way to ensure your business is assessed fairly.

A Few Tips to Stay Compliant

• Update your address. Make sure the assessor’s office has your current mailing address. Do not assume other address updates carry over.
• Gather your records now. You will need asset descriptions, original costs, and acquisition dates. If you track assets for federal income tax purposes, you likely have most of this already.
• Review your asset list before you file. Do not simply resubmit last year’s listing without reviewing it first. If assets have been sold, disposed of, or retired, remove them before filing. Any assets left on your form will be included in your assessment, even if they are no longer in use.
• Keep copies of everything you submit. This protects you if questions arise later.
• Know that your information is confidential. All forms filed with the assessor’s office are strictly confidential under Louisiana law.

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