§ 22:439 — Tax on surplus lines and unauthorized insurance

Louisiana § 22:439

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 22: Insurance

Text

§439. Tax on surplus lines and unauthorized insurance
A.(1) There shall be a tax of four and eighty-five one hundredths of one percent per
annum on the gross premium without regard to the location of the covered property, risk, or
exposure for all insurance placed through a Louisiana licensed surplus lines broker with a
surplus lines insurer or other unauthorized insurer and for which Louisiana is the home state
of the policyholder as defined in R.S. 22:46. The commissioner shall collect the tax and
deposit it with the state treasurer who shall credit it as follows:
(a) An amount equal to ninety-six percent of tax collected shall be credited to the
state general fund.
(b) An amount equal to four percent of the tax collected shall be credited to the
Louisiana Fire Marshal Fund as provided in R.S. 22:835.
NOTE: Subparagraph (A)(1)(c) eff. July 1, 2026. See Acts 2025, No. 79.
(c) Each fiscal year, the first five million dollars of the tax collected shall be credited
to the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program Fund, established pursuant to R.S. 22:1483.1 .
(2) On or before March first, June first, September first, and December first of each
year, each surplus lines broker shall transmit to the commissioner a surplus lines tax report
and remit the tax payable pursuant to this Subsection. The commissioner shall prescribe the
manner and form of the surplus lines tax report, which shall include all of the following:
(a) All new and renewal policies for the calendar quarter in which the effective date
of the policy falls.
(b) All other premium transactions for the calendar quarter in which the invoice falls.
(c) Any additional information required by the commissioner.
(3) The commissioner shall not require a quarterly report for any quarter in which
a surplus lines broker has no surplus lines or other unauthorized insurance premium to report.
The commissioner shall require the filing of the report due on or before March first in order
to certify the reporting of all surplus lines and other unauthorized insurance business
conducted during the calendar year or the absence of any business during the calendar year.
B.(1) There shall be a tax of four and eighty-five one-hundredths of one percent per
annum on one hundred percent of the gross premium without regard to the location of the
covered property, risk, or exposure for all insurance placed directly by the policyholder with
a surplus lines insurer or other unauthorized insurer and for which Louisiana is the home
state of the policyholder as defined in R.S. 22:46.
(2) Each policyholder directly placing insurance shall transmit a direct placement tax
report to the commissioner and remit the tax payable pursuant to this Subsection within thirty
days of the transaction. The commissioner shall prescribe the manner and form of the direct
placement tax report.
(3) The commissioner shall collect the tax imposed by this Subsection and deposit
it with the state treasurer who shall credit it to the state general fund.
C. The tax imposed on surplus lines pursuant to this Section shall not apply to the
purchase of excess insurance obtained by an interlocal risk management agency pursuant to
R.S. 13:5575 or R.S. 33:1359.
D. The tax imposed pursuant to this Section shall not apply to the purchase of
insurance by or on behalf of any of the following:
(1) A college, university, school, institution, or program that is under the supervision
or management of a system board of supervisors provided for in R.S. 17:3215 through
3217.1.
(2) A political subdivision having a population of not less than three hundred fifty
thousand persons according to the latest federal decennial census.
(3) An agency of this state as defined in R.S. 39:2.
NOTE: Subsections E and Feff. July 1, 2026. See Acts 2025, No. 79.
E.(1) The commissioner may enter into cooperative endeavor agreements or other
agreements for the receipt of policy information on surplus lines, directly placed, and other
unauthorized insurance subject to the tax imposed by this Section.
(2) An agreement entered into pursuant to this Subsection may provide for any of the
following:
(a) The use of a clearinghouse to perform functions required pursuant to the
agreement.
(b) The collection of policy data in addition to premium.
(c) The computation of the tax due on the portion of premium attributable to each
risk classification.
(d) The assessment of a clearinghouse transaction fee.
(e) The reporting of insurance transactions or policyholders that are exempt from
the tax imposed by this Section.
(f) Any other provisions that facilitate the administration or collection of the tax
imposed by this Section.
F. The commissioner may promulgate and adopt rules and regulations in
accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for the administration and enforcement
of the provisions of this Section, including the assessment of a clearinghouse transaction fee.
NOTE: Former R.S. 22:439 redesignated as R.S. 22:168 by Acts 2008, No.
415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.
NOTE: See Acts 1984, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 3, §2.

Legislative History

Acts 1958, No. 125. Amended by Acts 1958, No. 265, §1; Acts 1960, No. 149, §1; Acts 1984, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 3, §1, eff. March 27, 1984; Acts 1999, No. 868, §1; Acts 2005, No. 294, §1; Redesignated from R.S. 22:1265 by Acts 2008, No. 415, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2009, No. 503, §1; Acts 2011, No. 361, §1, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2013, No. 203, §1, eff. June 10, 2013; Acts 2015, No. 386, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2015, and §4(B), eff. July 1, 2015; Acts 2016, No. 374, §1, eff. July 1, 2016; Acts 2021, No. 32, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2021, No. 342, §1, eff. July 1, 2021; Acts 2025, No. 79, §1, eff. July 1, 2026.