Alabama House passes bill to cut state sales tax on food

A bill to cut Alabama’s sales tax on food moved closer to becoming law tonight, winning approval in the Alabama House of Representatives.

HB479 by Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, would cut the 4% tax to 3% on Sept. 1 of this year. On Sept. 1, 2025, the tax would drop to 2%.

When fully implemented, the tax is expected to save Alabama taxpayers about $300 million a year. The bill passed by a vote of 103-0. It moves to the Senate, where support is expected to be strong. All 35 senators signed on as sponsors or co-sponsors to a similar bill.

Lawmakers have introduced bills to reduce the grocery tax for decades but none has ever passed, partly because the sales tax revenue goes to the Education Trust Fund to support public schools.

The reduction to 2% in 2025 would be delayed if projected growth in revenues to the ETF are less than 2% in fiscal year 2025.

Advocacy groups, including Alabama Arise, have said for decades that Alabama’s tax on food hurts low-income families who struggle to pay for other necessities like housing and medicine. Alabama is one of only three states that does not offer a reduced tax rate on food.

More recently, inflation has helped drive support for cutting Alabama’s food tax. The price of food rose 7.7% from April 2022 to April 2023, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

HB479 specifies that the tax cut will apply to foods eligible under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Act, or SNAP, previously called food stamps.

The bill does not reduce sales taxes on food collected by cities and counties. It does prohibit cities and counties from raising their sales tax on food above the level it is when the law takes effect.

After 31 years, why is there momentum for Alabama Republicans to cut the grocery tax?

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This story will be updated.