Sales Tax on Vehicle in LA

Not sure. An OMV policy paper says "The amount of sales tax due when titling a vehicle in Louisiana may be reduced when a vehicle is purchased from a dealer with a qualifying trade-in." LINK

The statute they refer to says "(13)(a) "Sales price" means the total amount for which tangible personal property is sold, less the market value of any article traded in ...." No mention of a dealer there, but that statute has a million parts, and you'd have to print it out and study the hell out of it to make sure it's not roped in by some definition or other subsection. LINK

I'd call OMV or one of those private title places and ask what they think. Or paper it up with a notarized bill of sale that describes the vehicles being traded and says that they are of equal value, and hope for the best. Make it the lowest reasonable value to reduce taxes if you end up having to pay.

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Just do an act of donation for each vehicle to the new owner.

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They have in the past excused sales tax on a donation to an individual only when donor and donee are immediate family members.

Not sure how tough they are on that these days, but their donation form asks for the relationship between the parties. ACT OF DONATION OF A MOVABLE

In Arkansas, if you buy a new car, then privately sell your old car within 60 days (?) you can apply for a tax credit equal to what you would saved by a trade in at the dealer.

I imagine the LADA gives too much to our legislators for them to ever bestow that benefit on our citizens. It gives the dealers an edge on lowballing trades.