Louisiana Could Be Eliminating a Sales Tax on Many Grocery Store Items

BATON ROUGE, La. (KPEL-FM) - The 2025 regular legislative session is underway in Baton Rouge and delegates are hard at work trying to craft bills that will help alleviate some of the financial burdens that plague the state. One of the first proposed bills that we've heard about deals with actually eliminating a local sales tax.

Proposed Bill Could Save Louisiana Families at the Grocery Store Checkout

Rep. Danny McCormick (R-Oil City) has authored House Bill 229, which proposes a mandatory local sales and use tax exemption on the same types of grocery items that are already exempt from state sales tax.

Details of Proposed House Bill 229

The proposed law "extends the state sales tax exemption on food and beverage items for home consumption to local sales and use taxes, thereby making purchases of these items exempt from both state and local sales and use taxes."

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In a nutshell, if this is passed into law, local governments would no longer be able to tax the following:

• Food for home consumption, including bakery products
• Dairy products
• Soft drinks
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Packaged foods that require preparation by the purchaser.

Sounds like this could make for considerable savings at the cash register for many Louisiana families.

The Current State Sales Tax Exemption on Groceries in Louisiana

Right now, these items are exempt from state sales tax, but cities and parishes can still impose local taxes. This new bill would standardize the exemption across the state and would prohibit any local tax authority from applying sales tax to any of the items listed above.

This new measure would align local tax rules with existing state exemptions and would offer some relief to families facing rising grocery costs. On the flip side, it could pose some financial difficulties for local governments that rely on sales tax revenue.

We'll follow the progress of this important bill and let you know if it eventually makes its way into law.

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