Are groceries taxed? In most of the United States, no: about 40 states plus Washington, D.C. exempt unprepared food from their general sales tax, and five states have no sales tax at all. Roughly eight states still tax food bought for home consumption, at rates from a fraction of a percent up to 6%, and local governments in many states add their own tax on top. What ends up taxed also depends on what’s in your cart, because prepared food, candy, soda, alcohol, and non-food items are treated differently from raw ingredients almost everywhere.1Tax Foundation. State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026
Which States Still Tax Groceries
Full exemption is the majority rule. Among the states that still tax food, most apply a reduced rate well below their standard sales tax, generally somewhere between 1% and 4%. A few apply their full sales tax rate to groceries, which pushes the grocery tax as high as 6%.
The direction of change has been consistent. Since 2022, several states have either eliminated their grocery tax outright or cut it significantly, with eliminations landing in 2024 and 2025. At least one additional state dropped its grocery tax effective January 1, 2026, while allowing local governments to impose their own 1% grocery tax in its place.1Tax Foundation. State and Local Sales Tax Rates, 2026 If your state charged sales tax on food a few years ago, it’s worth checking whether that’s still true where you shop.
What Counts as an Exempt Grocery
States that exempt groceries exempt food and food ingredients sold for home consumption. The widely adopted definition comes from the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which describes exempt food as substances sold for human consumption and consumed for taste or nutritional value.2Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement
In practice, that covers raw meat, fresh produce, dairy, bread, cereal, canned goods, frozen meals, cooking oils, and condiments. The common thread: you take it home and prepare or eat it there, and the seller hasn’t turned it into a ready-to-eat meal.
What Gets Taxed Even in Exemption States
Plenty of things you buy at a grocery store fall outside the exemption. This is where most receipt surprises come from.
Prepared Food
Food is “prepared,” and therefore taxable, if it meets any one of three conditions: it’s sold hot, the seller combined ingredients to make it, or eating utensils like plates, forks, or napkins come with it. The rotisserie chicken in the deli case is taxable; the raw whole chicken in the meat section is exempt. A deli sandwich made to order is taxable; the same ingredients bought separately are not. A bakery muffin sold on a plate with a fork gets taxed; the same muffin in a bag usually doesn’t.
Grocery stores ring up exempt and taxable items on the same receipt, often marked “T” for taxable and “E” or “F” for exempt. If you want to keep the tax down, buying ingredients rather than ready-to-eat food is the straightforward way.
Candy and Soft Drinks
Most exemption states still tax candy and soft drinks at the full sales tax rate. Candy is defined as a preparation of sugar or other sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruit, nuts, or flavorings in the form of bars, drops, or pieces, with one important exception: any product containing flour is not candy for tax purposes.3Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Rule 327.6.1 Candy Definition
The flour rule produces odd results. A Kit Kat contains flour, so it’s classified as food and qualifies for the grocery exemption. A plain chocolate bar with no flour is candy and gets taxed. The same distinction applies to some licorice and cookie-based products.4Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement. State and Local Advisory Council Food Definitions Workgroup – Definition of Candy
Soft drinks are also carved out in most states. A beverage whose primary ingredient is water, fruit juice, or vegetable juice is typically treated as food, but sodas, energy drinks, and sweetened teas don’t qualify. Dietary supplements labeled with a “Supplement Facts” panel rather than a “Nutrition Facts” panel are excluded from the food definition too, and taxed at the full rate.
Alcohol and Tobacco
No state treats alcohol or tobacco as exempt groceries. Both are excluded from every version of the food-for-home-consumption definition, and many states pile excise taxes on top of the standard sales tax. Buying beer or wine at a grocery store doesn’t change that.
Non-Food Items
Cleaning supplies, paper towels, toilet paper, trash bags, laundry detergent, and pet food are taxable everywhere that has a sales tax. The grocery exemption is for human food, not everything under a grocery store’s roof, so your effective tax on a mixed shopping trip is never truly zero.
Local Taxes Can Add to Your Bill
Even in a state that exempts groceries, your county or city may impose its own tax on food. Home-rule authority or specific legislative grants let local governments levy sales tax on groceries, and many do. You can live in a state with a 0% grocery tax and still pay 1% to 3% at checkout.5Tax Foundation. Monday Map: Sales Tax Exemptions for Groceries
The rate follows the store’s address, not yours. One city may tax groceries at 2% while the next town over charges nothing. And when a state eliminates its grocery tax, local governments sometimes adopt or raise their own to replace the lost revenue, so your total bill may not change at all.
SNAP and WIC Purchases Are Always Tax-Free
Federal law bars states from collecting sales tax on food bought with SNAP benefits, regardless of whether the state normally taxes groceries. If you split a purchase between SNAP and another payment method, the SNAP portion has to be applied to the taxable food items first, which lowers the tax on the overall order.
SNAP itself covers fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, bread, cereals, snack foods, and non-alcoholic beverages, plus seeds and plants that produce food. It can’t be used for alcohol, tobacco, vitamins or supplements bearing a “Supplement Facts” label, hot prepared food at the point of sale, or any non-food items.6USDA Food and Nutrition Service. What Can SNAP Buy?
WIC works the same way for tax purposes. Purchases made with WIC vouchers or benefits are exempt from state and local sales tax, though WIC’s approved food list is narrower than SNAP’s.
Grocery Tax Credits Instead of Exemptions
Several states that tax groceries offer an income tax credit meant to offset the cost. The tax still comes off your receipt at the register, and you claim the refund later on your state return. Credit amounts vary but typically run from about $100 to $400 per household member, sometimes with a larger amount for filers over 65.
Eligibility rules differ. Some credits are available to all residents; others phase out above certain income thresholds. The credit approach has real gaps: low-income households that don’t file a return may never claim it, and even those who do wait until the following spring to see any money back. The tax lands hardest during the year when budgets are tightest.
Online Orders and Delivery Fees
Ordering groceries through a delivery app or a retailer’s website doesn’t change the tax on the food. Items exempt in the store are exempt online, and the calculation is based on the delivery address rather than the store or company location.
The fees are where it gets murky. Delivery charges, service fees, and platform membership fees may themselves be taxable depending on your state, and at least one state adds a specific retail delivery fee on all delivered goods. Your food can be fully tax-exempt while the delivery fee carries tax, so a receipt showing sales tax doesn’t necessarily mean any of your groceries were taxed.