As of 2026, only Idaho and Hawaii tax groceries at their full state sales tax rate. Six more states tax food at a reduced rate: Alabama, Mississippi, Missouri, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Utah. Every other state either has no general sales tax or specifically exempts groceries from it. The map has changed quickly, with Kansas, Oklahoma, Illinois, and Arkansas all eliminating their state grocery taxes since 2024. Local sales taxes on food still apply in many places even where the state tax is zero, so what you actually pay at the register can differ from the state-level rule.
The Two Full-Rate States
Idaho charges its full 6% state sales tax on groceries, the only traditional sales-tax state that applies its complete rate to food for home consumption.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Idaho Food Tax Credit A state food tax credit reimburses residents for part of what they pay.
Hawaii applies its 4% general excise tax to groceries, with counties able to add up to 0.5% on top for a potential total of 4.5%.2State of Hawaii, Department of Taxation. Tax Facts 37-1 Hawaii’s levy is technically a general excise tax on businesses rather than a consumer sales tax, but retailers typically pass the cost along at checkout. A refundable tax credit offsets the burden for lower-income households.
States With a Reduced Grocery Tax Rate
Six states tax groceries at a rate lower than their standard sales tax.
- Alabama — 2%. The state lowered its grocery tax from 3% to 2% on September 1, 2025. Local jurisdictions add their own rates on top.3Alabama Department of Revenue. NOTICE State Sales and Use Tax Rate Reduced on Food Beginning September 1, 2025
- Mississippi — 5%. Dropped from 7% to 5% in July 2025. Even after the cut, Mississippi has one of the highest grocery tax rates in the country.4Mississippi Department of Revenue. Reduced Sales Tax on Groceries Begins July 1
- Missouri — 1.225%. Missouri reduces its standard 4.225% rate by three percentage points for food items eligible for purchase with SNAP benefits. The reduced rate is in effect through at least December 31, 2026.5Missouri Department of Revenue. Missouri Sales Tax Reduction on Food
- South Dakota — 4.2%. A tax holiday reduced the state rate from 4.5% to 4.2% in July 2023, and it applies to everything including groceries. The rate is scheduled to revert to 4.5% on July 1, 2027.6South Dakota Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax
- Tennessee — 4%. Groceries are taxed at 4% against a general sales tax rate of 7%. Proposals to eliminate the grocery tax have surfaced repeatedly but none have passed as of early 2026.7Tennessee Department of Revenue. Due Dates and Tax Rates
- Utah — 3% combined. The state rate on groceries is 1.75%, but uniform local levies bring the combined rate to 3% statewide.8Utah State Tax Commission. Grocery Food Sales and Use Tax
States That Recently Dropped Their Grocery Tax
If you haven’t checked your state’s rules lately, it’s worth knowing which ones have changed. Several states have eliminated their state-level grocery tax within the past two years. Local taxes may still appear at checkout.
- Kansas fully eliminated its state sales tax on groceries on January 1, 2025, completing a phased reduction that began in 2023.9Office of the Governor, State of Kansas. Governor Kelly Announces Food Sales Tax Completely Eliminated
- Oklahoma eliminated its 4.5% state grocery tax on August 29, 2024. Local sales taxes still apply, and those can run as high as 7% in some areas. Restaurant meals remain subject to the full 4.5% state rate.10Oklahoma.gov. State Sales Tax on Food and Food Ingredients
- Illinois eliminated its 1% state-level grocery tax on January 1, 2026. Municipalities and counties may impose their own grocery tax of up to 1% by ordinance, but the total cannot exceed what it was on December 31, 2025.11Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-11, Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate
- Arkansas passed Act 1008 to eliminate its remaining 0.125% state grocery tax in 2026.
- Virginia eliminated its state grocery tax in 2023. Local governments retained authority to charge up to 1% on food purchases, and 2026 legislation has proposed eliminating that local levy as well.
States With No State Tax on Groceries
Five states have no general sales tax at all, so groceries go untaxed by default: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Alaska is the only one of these that allows local governments to impose sales taxes, so residents in some Alaskan municipalities may still pay tax on food.
Every other state that isn’t on the full-rate or reduced-rate lists above exempts groceries from its state sales tax through a specific statutory exemption. In each, unprepared food sold for home consumption is not subject to the state-level sales tax. Being on the exempt list, however, doesn’t always mean zero tax at the register.
Local Taxes Can Still Hit Groceries
State-level exemptions get the headlines, but local sales taxes are where people get caught off guard. Even where the state rate is zero, cities and counties may collect their own sales tax on food. Oklahoma is the clearest example: the state rate dropped to zero, but local taxes averaging several percent still show up at checkout.10Oklahoma.gov. State Sales Tax on Food and Food Ingredients
Illinois took the same shape in 2026. When the state eliminated its 1% grocery tax, it also gave municipalities and counties the power to adopt their own 1% grocery tax by ordinance.11Illinois Department of Revenue. FY 2026-11, Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate Whether your grocery bill actually went down depends on what your local government decided.
Alabama is more extreme. The state rate on food is 2%, but stacked city and county levies can push the total above 9% in some places.3Alabama Department of Revenue. NOTICE State Sales and Use Tax Rate Reduced on Food Beginning September 1, 2025 The same principle applies in Colorado, Virginia, and other states where the state exempts groceries but local governments have independent taxing authority. The only way to know your actual rate is to check your specific city or county.
What Counts as a “Grocery”
When a state exempts “groceries,” it means a specific legal category of food, not everything in the store. Most states follow definitions influenced by the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement, which treats food as substances sold for human consumption and consumed for taste or nutritional value.12Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board. Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Alcohol and tobacco are always excluded. The agreement also allows states to pull candy, soft drinks, bottled water, and dietary supplements out of the exemption, and roughly half of them do.
A chocolate bar without flour counts as taxable candy; a cookie bar made with flour counts as exempt food. Soft drinks are typically defined as non-alcoholic sweetened beverages that don’t contain milk, and states that carve them out tax them at the full rate.
Prepared food is almost always taxed at the full sales tax rate, even where groceries are exempt. The category generally covers food sold hot, food where the seller has combined two or more ingredients, and food sold with utensils. Deli items, ready-to-eat sandwiches, and restaurant meals all fall squarely into prepared food.
Dietary supplements sit in an awkward middle. Many states treat them as a separate category that can be taxed even when groceries are exempt. Others fold supplements into the grocery exemption as long as the product doesn’t make medicinal claims on its label. Whether your multivitamins get taxed depends entirely on where you live.
Credits That Offset Grocery Tax
States that tax groceries generally acknowledge the policy is regressive, and several offer credits or rebates to offset the cost for lower-income households.
Idaho offers a food tax credit of $155 per person. Residents can claim up to $250 per person by submitting receipts showing actual sales tax paid on food.1Idaho State Tax Commission. Idaho Food Tax Credit The credit is available even to residents who don’t earn enough to file an income tax return.
Hawaii offers a refundable food/excise tax credit on a sliding scale. The maximum is $220 per qualified exemption for households with adjusted gross incomes under $15,000, phasing out entirely at $40,000 for single filers and $60,000 for joint filers.13State of Hawaii, Department of Taxation. Form N-311 Instructions – Refundable Food/Excise Tax Credit
Oklahoma offers a sales tax relief credit of $40 per household member for qualifying residents with gross income of $20,000 or less, or $50,000 or less if the filer is 65 or older, has a qualifying dependent, or has a disability.14Oklahoma.gov. 2025 Form 538-S Claim for Credit Refund of Sales Tax The credit remains available even after Oklahoma eliminated its state grocery tax, because local taxes on food still apply.
One rule applies everywhere: purchases made with SNAP benefits are exempt from sales tax in every state, regardless of local rules. Federal law prohibits retailers from charging sales tax on any transaction paid for with SNAP, and the same applies to WIC vouchers.15USDA Food and Nutrition Service. SNAP Retailer Notice – Sales Tax, Fees, and Refunds On a split transaction, only the non-SNAP portion is taxable.