Eighteen states still apply their standard sales tax to tampons, pads, cups, and other menstrual products as of March 2026. That’s the current count of tampon tax states, down from more than thirty in 2015 as legislatures have passed individual exemptions one at a time. In the states that still tax, the rate at the register runs anywhere from 4% to over 9% once local taxes stack on top of the state rate.
Which States Still Tax Menstrual Products
Twenty-seven states and Washington, D.C. have passed specific legislation exempting menstrual products from sales tax, the first exemption dating to 1981. Five more states have no statewide sales tax at all. That leaves eighteen states where menstrual products are still taxed at the standard rate.
Exemptions don’t happen by default. Without a specific carve-out in the tax code, menstrual products fall into the same taxable category as soap, shampoo, and other personal care items. Every state that has removed the tax has done so by passing a bill, which is why the count has moved only gradually.
State rates in the eighteen taxing states run from 4% to 7%. Local taxes layered on top can push the combined rate past 9% in some jurisdictions. A state-level exemption also doesn’t always override local levies, so shoppers in a handful of technically exempt states may still see a county or city tax on menstrual products at checkout.
What the Tax Actually Costs You
A person who menstruates for about 40 years will spend an estimated $6,000 or more on menstrual products before tax. Prices have risen sharply: market data shows the average retail price of a package climbed nearly 40% between 2020 and early 2026, from about $5.37 to $7.43.
The volume behind that spending is larger than most people realize. An average cycle uses roughly 20 tampons, and across roughly 450 lifetime cycles that’s around 9,000 tampons alone, before counting pads, liners, or cups. Per-unit costs run from roughly 20 to 50 cents.
In states that still tax these products, sales tax adds roughly $150 to $300 over a lifetime, depending on the local rate and buying habits. That’s a small share of total spending in dollar terms, but it’s money charged only to people who can’t opt out of buying the products.
Research published in the Journal of Empirical Legal Studies found that when states repeal the tax, low-income consumers keep a larger share of the savings than the nominal size of the tax would suggest. Higher-income consumers see savings split more evenly with producers through pricing.
Using an HSA or FSA to Offset the Cost
Federal tax law has classified menstrual products as qualified medical expenses since 2020. Section 3702 of the CARES Act amended the Internal Revenue Code to treat amounts paid for menstrual care products as payments for medical care.1Congress.gov. CARES Act – Section 3702 That change covers health savings accounts, flexible spending accounts, Archer MSAs, and health reimbursement arrangements.
The definition is broad. Tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges, and similar items all qualify.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 223 Health Savings Accounts If you have an HSA or FSA through your employer or health plan, you can pay for menstrual products with pretax dollars and cut your effective cost by your marginal tax rate. Before the CARES Act, using those funds for menstrual products would have triggered a 20% tax penalty because the IRS didn’t recognize them as medical expenses.
This federal benefit doesn’t erase state sales tax. It works at the income tax level, lowering the taxable income you use to pay for the products. In the eighteen states still charging sales tax, an HSA or FSA at least partially offsets the bite. Many account holders don’t know menstrual products qualify, and the benefit goes unused as a result.
Retailers That Cover the Tax
Some companies pay the sales tax themselves. At least one major pharmacy chain absorbs the tax on menstrual products in about a dozen states, effectively covering it at the register so the customer doesn’t. Some period-care brands do the same for their own products sold online or in their own stores.
A handful of states have laws prohibiting companies from paying sales tax on a customer’s behalf, which limits how far these workarounds reach. Where they do apply, they can offset the tax without any action on the shopper’s part.
Federal Legislation That Would End the Tax
The Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2025, introduced in the 119th Congress, would ban all state and local sales taxes on menstrual products nationwide. The bill defines covered products broadly, including pads, tampons, liners, cups, discs, and menstrual underwear. If enacted, the tax ban would take effect 120 days after the president signs it.3Congress.gov. Menstrual Equity For All Act of 2025
The bill also goes beyond tax policy, requiring free menstrual products in federal buildings open to the public and amending the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to allow federal education funding to be used for free menstrual products in schools. As of mid-2026, the bill has not advanced beyond committee, and no comparable federal legislation has previously passed.
Until either Congress acts or your state legislature passes its own exemption, the tax stays on the receipt. Checking whether your state is among the eighteen, and whether your HSA or FSA can cover the purchase, are the two moves available to you right now.