Vermont · VT · Money & taxes
Vermont: Are groceries taxed?
Groceries exempt
Vermont exempts food sold to be eaten off the premises from its 6% sales tax. Soft drinks are taxed.
State law exempts food and food ingredients sold for eating somewhere other than where they are bought, plus foods bought with SNAP benefits. Vermont's definition of food leaves out soft drinks, alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, so those are taxed. Candy is not listed as an exclusion.
What the law says
Sales of food and food ingredients sold for human consumption off the premises where sold, and sales of eligible foods that are purchased with benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or any successor program, consistent with federal law.
Sources
- 32 V.S.A. § 9741(13) Official · legislature.vermont.gov
- 32 V.S.A. § 9701(31) (definition of food and food ingredients) Official · legislature.vermont.gov
- Vermont Department of Taxes: Sales and Use Tax Official · tax.vermont.gov
Confirm with the state
- Agency
- Vermont Department of Taxes
- Phone
- 802-828-2865
- Website
- tax.vermont.gov
How bordering states compare
- Massachusetts Groceries exemptMassachusetts exempts food bought for home consumption from its 6.25% sales tax.
- New Hampshire No state sales taxNew Hampshire has no general sales tax, so groceries are not taxed by the state.
- New York Groceries exemptNew York exempts most food and food products sold by grocery stores from sales tax.