A handful of states are moving to end sales tax on the food their residents purchase.
Idaho isn’t among the handful.
Across the nation, 38 states either don’t charge sales tax or have ended their tax on food. In the Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, Idaho sits alone on an island. Most of its neighboring states don’t tax food, while Utah taxes it at less than half the normal sales tax rate.
Idaho joins Hawaii, Mississippi, and South Dakota as the only states that fully tax residents' food purchases.
On January 1, Kansas will join the states that charge no sales tax at the grocery store register. In 2022, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill to phase out her state’s grocery tax in three stages. Since Jan. 2024, Kansas residents have been paying 2% on food, down from the 4% they paid in 2023 and the 6.5% they paid before then.
At the bill signing in 2022, Kelly lauded her Legislature’s bipartisan efforts to end the tax.
“When Kansans needed it most, we were able to bring Democrats and Republicans together to eliminate our state’s tax on groceries,” Kelly said. “Because we saved for our collective future, we can now responsibly axe the food tax — all while boosting funding to Kansas schools, roads, and law enforcement.”
Illinois will soon join Kansas.
Just days ago, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation passed in May to end his state’s 1% sales tax on food items. The tax falls off effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Pritzker, also a Democrat, said in a statement that the measure would help families in his state keep up with cost-of-living increases.
"Even with inflation cooling off, every dollar counts, so I'm proud we're doing what we can to make trips to the grocery store a little easier," Pritzker said. "It's one more important part of lifting the burden on Illinois families."
A Republican governor is getting in on the action, too. Earlier this year, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed legislation to end his state’s grocery tax, effective later this month. The measure, billed as the largest income tax in the state’s history, still allows local governments to levy grocery taxes but prevents those entities from increasing those taxes for a period of time.
Stitt recognized the urgent need for his state to do something about rapid inflation.
“To us in leadership, the grocery tax was one of the most regressive taxes that we had,” Stitt said. “It affected people on the lower income bracket much more than people that made a lot of money.”
Later this year, Utah could join the states with no grocery tax. The Beehive State has long taxed food at 1.75%, but that could go away if voters agree to an amendment that would end the tax as a part of a constitutional amendment that would give state lawmakers more flexibility on school spending. It’s worth noting that Utah allows a local grocery tax, which would remain if voters decide to end the state food tax at the polls in November.
The proposal isn’t a slam dunk, though. A poll conducted earlier this year found that about half of respondents opposed the amendment, largely due to the revision on school spending. The state’s teachers union has come out in opposition to the proposal, which only needs a simple majority to pass.
Alabama passed legislation lowering its grocery tax from 4% to 3% and placed revenue conditions on further decreases. The state didn’t meet the goals, so the tax is holding at 3% for the foreseeable future.
Idaho lawmakers remain split on the idea. Conservative lawmakers have tried for years to pass the measure and succeeded in getting a repeal bill to the governor’s desk in 2017. Then-Gov. Butch Otter vetoed it, saying the measure came with too big a price tag to stomach.
“However, the costs of this particular proposal are too high and the potential for imminent financial need too great for the small amount of tax relief it would provide,” Otter said in a prepared statement.
His successor, Gov. Brad Little, ran on a promise to repeal the tax but has so far opted against pursuing it since he took office in early 2019.
A handful of conservative lawmakers have pledged to bring a repeal bill to the Statehouse in 2025. The timing is right, as families continue to bear the burden of inflation. Research suggests that food prices have jumped roughly 20% since President Joe Biden took office in early 2021. At the same, wage growth hasn’t kept up, leaving many families feeling pinched as they try to keep up.
Idaho families are hurting, and other states recognize the food tax is regressive, immoral, and adding to the heavy burden parents are carrying. It’s time to end the grocery tax once and for all.
I’ve written a brief piece debunking some common misconceptions about grocery tax repeal. I invite you to read that here.
