Tennessee · TN · Money & taxes
Tennessee: Are groceries taxed?
Taxed at a lower rate
Tennessee taxes groceries at a reduced 4% state rate, compared with its 7% general state sales tax rate.
State law sets a 4% state rate on food and food ingredients sold for people to eat, instead of the 7% general rate. The 4% is the state's share only; city and county sales taxes are separate.
What the law says
Notwithstanding any provision of this part to the contrary, except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), the retail sale of food and food ingredients for human consumption shall be taxed at the rate of four percent (4%) of the sales price.
Sources
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-228 (FindLaw) Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
- Tenn. Code Ann. § 67-6-202 (FindLaw) Mirror of official text · codes.findlaw.com
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Tennessee Department of Revenue
- Website
- tn.gov
How bordering states compare
- Alabama Taxed at a lower rateAlabama taxes groceries at a 2% state rate, lower than its 4% general state sales tax rate.
- Arkansas Groceries exemptArkansas ended its state sales tax on groceries on January 1, 2026, but city and county sales taxes still apply.
- Georgia Groceries exemptGeorgia exempts groceries from its 4% state sales tax, but local sales taxes generally still apply to them.
- Kentucky Groceries exemptKentucky exempts food and food ingredients for home consumption from its 6% sales tax.
- Mississippi Taxed at a lower rateMississippi taxes groceries at 5%, lower than its 7% general sales tax rate.
- Missouri Taxed at a lower rateMissouri taxes food at a 1.225% state rate, compared with its 4.225% general state rate.
- North Carolina Groceries exemptNorth Carolina exempts groceries from its 4.75% state sales tax, but a 2% local sales tax applies to them.
- Virginia Groceries exemptVirginia ended its state sales tax on groceries in 2023, but a 1% local tax still applies statewide.