How much is the Louisiana cigarette tax?

Louisiana levies a state excise tax of $1.08 per pack of 20 cigarettes, which works out to 5.4 cents per cigarette. This is on top of the federal cigarette excise of about $1.01 per pack and any state and local sales tax on the retail price.

What is Louisiana's beer tax?

Louisiana taxes beer at $0.40 per gallon, one of the higher beer excise rates in the South. That equals about 3.75 cents on a 12-ounce can, or roughly $0.45 on a six-pack, built into the shelf price.

How does Louisiana tax wine and spirits?

Wine is taxed at $0.20 per gallon for still wine up to 14% alcohol, rising to $0.55 per gallon for stronger and sparkling wine. Distilled spirits are taxed at $0.80 per liter, which is about $3.03 per gallon.

Is alcohol excise the same as sales tax?

No. Excise tax is a fixed amount per gallon or liter charged to producers and distributors and built into the price you pay. State and local sales tax is then added on top of the retail price at checkout, separate from this excise.

Why does this matter if it is already in the price?

Excise taxes are invisible at the register because they are baked into wholesale and shelf prices. Knowing the rate shows how much of what you spend on tobacco and alcohol is actually tax, and how Louisiana compares to nearby states.

Louisiana Cigarette & Alcohol Tax Calculator

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Louisiana’s so-called sin taxes are charged per pack, gallon, or liter and are built silently into the price of cigarettes and alcohol. This calculator backs out how much state excise tax you are really paying on tobacco, beer, wine, and spirits.

How it works

Each product has its own fixed excise rate that scales with quantity:

cigarettes : $1.08 per pack of 20  (5.4¢ per cigarette)
beer       : $0.40 per gallon
wine ≤14%  : $0.20 per gallon
wine >14%/ : $0.55 per gallon
sparkling
spirits    : $0.80 per liter  (≈ $3.03 per gallon)

excise = quantity × rate for the chosen product

These are state excise rates only. Federal excise (about $1.01 per pack on cigarettes) and state plus local sales tax on the retail price are charged separately on top of the figures shown here.

Example and notes

A carton of cigarettes (10 packs) carries $10.80 in Louisiana cigarette excise, while a 5-gallon keg of beer adds $2.00 of beer excise. A 750 ml bottle of spirits (0.75 liters) holds $0.60 of state spirits excise. Compared with neighbouring states, Louisiana’s cigarette rate is moderate while its beer rate sits on the higher side — which is why these figures differ noticeably if you buy across state lines.