Is food taxed in Mississippi?

Yes, at a reduced rate. House Bill 1 of 2025 cut the tax on groceries from 7% to 5% on July 1, 2025. Groceries are food and drink for human consumption that can be bought with SNAP benefits. Hot prepared food, fountain drinks, alcohol and non-food items stay at 7%. Purchases actually paid for with SNAP benefits remain exempt.

What is the sales tax rate in Jackson, Mississippi?

Most retail sales in Jackson are taxed at 8%: the 7% state rate plus Jackson's 1% special infrastructure tax, which applies to sales taxed at 7% or more. Restaurant food and drink pays 10% because two 1% tourism levies are added. Hotels pay more again.

How much is a Mississippi sales tax permit?

The permit is free. You apply on the Department of Revenue's Taxpayer Access Point (TAP), and the permit packet arrives by mail in about two weeks. The Department can require a bond, particularly where owners or officers have a history of late filing or unpaid tax. You need a separate permit for each business location.

When are Mississippi sales tax returns due?

Returns are due by the 20th day after the end of the reporting period. You file annually if you remit less than $600 a year, quarterly up to $3,599, and monthly above that. Filing and paying on time earns a 2% discount, capped at $50 per return ($600 a year). There are no extensions.

Do contractors charge sales tax in Mississippi?

It depends on the job. Non-residential contracts over $10,000 carry a 3.5% contractor's tax instead of sales tax on materials. Residential work and smaller jobs work differently: plumbing, electrical, HVAC, landscaping and similar trades charge 7% on their gross income, while painters, carpenters and drywall installers pay tax on the materials they buy.

When do out-of-state sellers have to collect Mississippi sales tax?

When their sales into Mississippi exceed $250,000 in the prior 12 months. That's one of the highest economic nexus thresholds in the country, and there's no transaction count. Marketplace facilitators collect on sales made through their platforms.

Sales tax

Mississippi Sales Tax in 2026: 7% State Rate, 5% Groceries, Jackson and Filing Rules

Mississippi sales tax 2026: the 7% state rate, the 5% grocery rate since July 2025, Jackson's 8% and 10% restaurant rate, contractor's tax, permits and filing.

Edited by Sumeet YadavFounder & editor, MSMETOOLS · fact-checked against official sources

Updated October 2026 Verified against official sources 11 October 2026 15 min read

Mississippi sales tax — MSMETOOLS guide cover

Contents (11)

1. How Mississippi's sales tax is structured
2. The 5% grocery rate
3. Jackson, Tupelo and other city levies
4. Services and contractors
5. Worked examples in dollars
6. Getting a Mississippi sales tax permit
7. Filing frequency, due dates and the discount
8. Remote sellers, marketplaces and use tax
9. Sales tax holidays
10. Common mistakes and how to fix them
11. What to do next

Mississippi has one of the highest state sales tax rates in the country and, until mid-2025, taxed groceries at the full rate. That changed on July 1, 2025, when the grocery rate fell to 5%. The general rate stayed at 7%, and the state's unusual structure stayed too: no county sales taxes, a handful of city levies set by the Legislature, a separate contractor's tax, and services taxed by trade. This guide covers what retailers, restaurants, contractors and online sellers need for 2026: the rates, what Jackson charges, how groceries are defined, how to get a permit and how to file. We checked every figure against the Mississippi Department of Revenue (DOR) in October 2026.

Quick answer

Mississippi's state sales tax rate is 7%. Since July 1, 2025, groceries are taxed at 5%. There are no county sales taxes, but some cities add levies: most retail sales in Jackson total 8%, and restaurant meals there total 10%.

Groceries means food and drink you can buy with SNAP benefits; hot food and alcohol stay at 7%
Cars pay 5%; manufacturing and farm machinery 1.5%
Commercial building contracts over $10,000 pay a 3.5% contractor's tax
Permits are free; returns are due the 20th
Remote sellers collect after $250,000 of Mississippi sales

How Mississippi's sales tax is structured

Mississippi taxes retail sales of tangible goods at 7%, the "regular retail rate," unless a law sets a reduced rate or an exemption. The same rate applies to a long list of services and to admissions. Use tax at the same rates applies when goods come into Mississippi without Mississippi tax being charged, with credit for tax paid to another state.

The state leans on reduced rates more than most. DOR's rate table lists 5% on cars and light trucks of 10,000 pounds or less, 3% on heavier trucks, aircraft and manufactured homes, 1.5% on manufacturing machinery, farm tractors and farm implements, and 4.5% on oil, gas and mineral equipment. Residential electricity, fuel and water are taxed at 0%, while the same utilities sold to commercial users pay 7%.

What Mississippi doesn't have is a county sales tax or a general local-option law. Each city levy has to be authorized by its own act of the Legislature, usually followed by a local election, and most carry a repeal date. The great majority are tourism taxes on restaurants and hotels. A smaller number, such as Jackson's infrastructure tax and Tupelo's water tax, apply to general retail sales. So the total rate in most of the state is simply 7%, but a restaurant meal or a hotel room can cost noticeably more depending on the city.

Mississippi sales tax at a glance (2026)

General state rate

Groceries

Since July 1, 2025

Jackson retail total

10% on restaurant food

$250,000

Remote seller threshold

The 5% grocery rate

House Bill 1 of the 2025 session, the Build Up Mississippi Act, amended Miss. Code Ann. 27-65-17 to cut the rate on groceries from 7% to 5% from July 1, 2025. The same law phases down the state income tax, but for retailers the grocery change was the one that required work at the register.

The definition is simple to state and sometimes tricky to apply. Groceries are food or drink for human consumption that is eligible to be purchased with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. DOR's officials have said the rate follows the item, not the store: a dollar store, gas station or pharmacy selling SNAP-eligible food charges 5% just as a supermarket does. Items actually paid for with SNAP benefits remain fully exempt.

Because SNAP eligibility is the test, the familiar federal SNAP rules decide most questions. Bread, milk, meat, produce, snacks and cold packaged foods qualify. So do candy and canned or bottled soft drinks, which are SNAP-eligible under current federal rules; DOR's food and beverage rule amendments state that canned and bottled beverages and bagged ice are taxed at 5%. The same rules keep hot or heated food such as rotisserie chicken and plate lunches, other hot or cold prepared food for immediate consumption, fountain drinks and hot coffee at 7%, along with alcohol, tobacco, pet food, paper goods and household supplies.

Watch one pending change. In October 2025 Governor Reeves asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a waiver that would remove sugary drinks (those listing carbonated water and a sugar or corn syrup as the first two ingredients) and processed foods with a sugar listed first from SNAP eligibility in Mississippi. The restrictions start only once USDA approves. If that waiver is approved, those items would no longer be SNAP-eligible and, under the grocery definition, would move back to the 7% rate. We'll update this page if it's approved.

Grocery rate or full rate? (2026)

Item	Rate	Why
Milk, bread, eggs, fresh meat	5%	SNAP-eligible food
Bag of chips, packaged lunch meat	5%	SNAP-eligible food
Bagged ice	5%	DOR rule on ice
Bottled soda or candy bar	5%	SNAP-eligible under current rules
Hot rotisserie chicken	7%	Hot food is not SNAP-eligible
Fountain drink or hot coffee	7%	For immediate consumption
Beer, wine, cigarettes	7%	Not SNAP-eligible
Paper towels, dish soap	7%	Not food

Milk, bread, eggs, fresh meat

Rate: 5%
Why: SNAP-eligible food

Bag of chips, packaged lunch meat

Rate: 5%
Why: SNAP-eligible food

Bagged ice

Rate: 5%
Why: DOR rule on ice

Bottled soda or candy bar

Rate: 5%
Why: SNAP-eligible under current rules

Hot rotisserie chicken

Rate: 7%
Why: Hot food is not SNAP-eligible

Fountain drink or hot coffee

Rate: 7%
Why: For immediate consumption

Beer, wine, cigarettes

Rate: 7%
Why: Not SNAP-eligible

Paper towels, dish soap

Rate: 7%
Why: Not food

On the return, DOR's notice tells in-state retailers to report groceries under rate code 40 and other retail sales under rate code 74. Out-of-state sellers use codes 41 and 75 on the use tax return. If your point-of-sale system still puts everything at 7%, you are over-collecting from customers on groceries, and that tax still has to be remitted or refunded to them; it isn't yours to keep.

Jackson, Tupelo and other city levies

Jackson's total on most retail sales is 8%. That's the 7% state rate plus the city's 1% Special Infrastructure Tax, which took effect March 1, 2014 and now runs to July 1, 2035. DOR's list says the tax applies to sales taxed at 7% or more under state law and has numerous exemptions. The Legislature later directed the money to the city's water system and related infrastructure.

Restaurants in Jackson pay more. On top of the state and infrastructure taxes, Jackson levies a 1% Capital City Convention Center tax on restaurant food and beverage and a 1% Convention and Visitors Bureau tax on restaurant sales, for a total of 10% on a restaurant bill. Hotels add a 3% convention center tax on rooms and a $0.75 per night occupancy charge at properties with more than 10 rooms.

Because Jackson's infrastructure tax covers sales taxed at 7% or more, groceries at the 5% rate appear to fall outside it. DOR treated Tupelo's similar water tax that way from July 2025 until the Legislature brought groceries back in. We found no Jackson-specific DOR notice on groceries, so confirm with DOR's Sales and Use Tax Bureau before you configure a Jackson register.

The Mississippi State Capitol in Jackson with its central dome — Jackson adds a 1% infrastructure tax to most retail sales, and two more 1% levies on restaurant food.· Image: Gary Lee Todd, Ph.D. (Public Domain Mark 1.0)

Tupelo is the other city with a general levy. Its Water Procurement Facility Tax adds 0.25% to retail sales and services taxed at the 7% rate. When groceries dropped to 5% in July 2025, they left that tax's base. House Bill 4112 of the 2026 session changed that, and from May 1, 2026, DOR's Notice 72-26-07 says groceries sold in Tupelo also carry the water tax, making Tupelo's grocery rate 5.25% and its general rate 7.25%.

Elsewhere, expect restaurant and hotel taxes, typically 1% to 3%, in cities such as Hattiesburg, Vicksburg, Greenwood, Ridgeland and along the Gulf Coast. In 2025 alone the Legislature authorized new restaurant taxes for Ridgeland, Verona and Water Valley, subject to local elections, and extended repeal dates for more than a dozen other levies. DOR's tourism and economic development page lists every one with its rate and dates. Look up each city where you operate a restaurant or hotel.

Services and contractors

Mississippi taxes services by naming businesses in Miss. Code Ann. 27-65-23, and the statute reaches further than many states. Taxable services include repairing and servicing vehicles and other tangible property, laundry and dry cleaning, pest and termite control, and a group of building trades. DOR's contractor guide lists plumbing, heating and air conditioning, electrical work, excavating, landscaping, sheet metal and insulating as trades taxed at 7% on their gross income when the job is residential or the contract is $10,000 or less. Painting, drywall, masonry, carpentry and structural steel work aren't taxed on gross income; those contractors pay 7% on the materials and services they buy instead.

Larger commercial jobs follow a different system. A non-residential construction contract over $10,000 carries a 3.5% contractor's tax on the total contract price, and the prime contractor buys component materials without sales tax using a Material Purchase Certificate (MPC) obtained on TAP before work starts. The tax applies even when the owner is a government agency or a nonprofit. On contracts over $75,000, and on any contract over $10,000 by a contractor without a Mississippi location, the tax must be prepaid or covered by a surety bond before work begins. Apartments and condominiums count as non-residential.

Professional services such as accounting, legal, consulting and medical care aren't on the taxable list.

How construction work is taxed in Mississippi

Job	Tax	Who pays
Commercial building, $500,000	3.5% of contract	Contractor, via MPC and return
Plumbing repair at a home, $800	7% of the bill	Customer, charged by plumber
Electrical work at a shop, $6,000	7% of the bill	Customer, charged by electrician
Painting a house, $4,000 labor	None on labor	Painter pays 7% on paint and supplies
Apartment complex, $2 million	3.5% of contract	Contractor (apartments aren't residential here)

Commercial building, $500,000

Tax: 3.5% of contract
Who pays: Contractor, via MPC and return

Plumbing repair at a home, $800

Tax: 7% of the bill
Who pays: Customer, charged by plumber

Electrical work at a shop, $6,000

Tax: 7% of the bill
Who pays: Customer, charged by electrician

Painting a house, $4,000 labor

Tax: None on labor
Who pays: Painter pays 7% on paint and supplies

Apartment complex, $2 million

Tax: 3.5% of contract
Who pays: Contractor (apartments aren't residential here)

Worked examples in dollars

A television in Jackson. A Jackson electronics store sells a $1,000 television. Tax at 8% is $80, for a total of $1,080. The same sale in a city without a general levy carries 7%, or $70.

A grocery run. A shopper in a city without a general levy spends $200 on groceries, including $15 of soda and candy, plus $20 of paper towels and detergent. The $200 is taxed at 5%, which is $10. The household goods pay 7%, or $1.40. Before July 2025, the groceries alone would have cost $14 in tax. In Tupelo since May 2026, the same groceries would carry 5.25%, or $10.50.

Dinner in Jackson. A family's restaurant bill in Jackson is $80 before tax. At 10%, tax is $8, for a total of $88. The restaurant reports the state tax and each city levy on its return.

A commercial contract. A contractor bids a $300,000 office renovation. The contractor's tax at 3.5% is $10,500, and the contractor buys materials tax-free with an MPC. DOR suggests multiplying the pre-tax total by 1.0362694 to build the tax into a bid. Because the contract exceeds $75,000, the tax must be prepaid or bonded before work starts.

Try it — Jackson sales tax on $1,000

Purchase AmountState

Local / County Rate

Purchase Amount$1,000.00

State Tax (6.25%)$62.50

Local Tax (2%)$20.00

Combined Rate8.25%

Total Amount (Including Tax)$1,082.50

Open the full Sales Tax Calculator (PDF, save, compare)

Getting a Mississippi sales tax permit

Anyone making retail sales in Mississippi needs a sales tax permit before opening. You register online through the Taxpayer Access Point (TAP), and there's no fee: the permit is free. DOR mails a packet with your permit and filing information; allow about two weeks, and call DOR if it doesn't arrive. You need a separate permit for each location.

DOR can require a bond before issuing a permit. Its FAQs say that owners or officers with a history of late filing or late payment have to pay outstanding liabilities, post a bond, or both before getting a new permit. Construction contractors also need an MPC for each qualifying contract, separate from a retail permit.

Have your federal EIN, legal name and structure, owner and officer details, business addresses and start date ready. Out-of-state businesses with Mississippi salespeople, and remote sellers above the economic threshold, register through the same system.

Before your first Mississippi sale

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Filing frequency, due dates and the discount

DOR sets your frequency by the tax you remit in a year. Less than $600 a year means one annual return. From $600 to $3,599 a year, you file quarterly. Above $3,599 you file monthly. Returns are due on or before the 20th day after the period ends, moving to the next business day if the 20th falls on a weekend or holiday. DOR reviews frequencies every year.

There are no extensions for sales tax returns, and a return is required for every period even with no sales. Penalties start the day after the due date: DOR's FAQs set a 10% penalty on deficient or late tax from negligence and interest of 0.5% a month until paid. You must file online through TAP if you report more than four tax rates, have more than one location or account, or owe certain other taxes, such as hotel occupancy or tire fees.

Filing and paying on time earns a 2% discount, capped at $50 per return ($600 a year). A monthly filer collecting $2,000 of tax gets a $40 discount; one collecting $5,000 gets the $50 cap. The discount doesn't apply to utility taxes, the 8% wholesale vending tax or the contractor's tax, and a single late or underpaid return wipes out the discount for all of your locations for that period. Keep records for at least four years, which is what DOR recommends for audits.

Shops along West Main Street in downtown Tupelo, Mississippi — Tupelo's 0.25% water tax has applied to groceries since May 1, 2026, making its grocery rate 5.25%.· Image: Ron Cogswell (CC BY 2.0)

Remote sellers, marketplaces and use tax

Mississippi adopted its economic nexus rule in 2018. Out-of-state sellers must register and collect when their sales into Mississippi exceed $250,000 in any 12-month period. That's two and a half times the $100,000 used by most states, and there's no transaction count. Marketplace facilitators collect on the sales they facilitate. Remote sellers report on the use tax return with the out-of-state rate codes, including code 41 for groceries.

Mississippi businesses owe use tax on taxable goods bought out of state without Mississippi tax, such as equipment and supplies ordered online. Report it on your return at the rate that would have applied. Use tax also covers property brought into the state for use, with credit for tax paid to another state at a lower rate.

Sales tax holidays

Mississippi has two annual holidays. The back-to-school holiday in 2026 ran from 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 10, through midnight Sunday, July 12, exempting clothing, footwear and school supplies priced under $100 per item. Computers, tablets, jewelry and handbags weren't covered. The Second Amendment holiday ran Friday, August 28 through Sunday, August 30, exempting firearms, ammunition and some hunting supplies.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Charging 7% on groceries. The grocery rate has been 5% since July 1, 2025. Check every SNAP-eligible item in your system, including soft drinks and candy, which qualify under current rules.

Taxing hot food at 5%. Hot prepared food and fountain drinks aren't SNAP-eligible, so they stay at 7%. Convenience stores with hot food bars often mix these up.

Missing a city levy. Restaurants in Jackson and other tourism-tax cities must add those levies. Check DOR's list for each location, and recheck when a city's levy is renewed or expires.

Treating a home job like a commercial one. Residential work never carries the 3.5% contractor's tax. Plumbers and electricians charge 7% on the bill; painters and carpenters pay tax on materials instead.

Filing late. One late return cancels the discount for every location. Pay electronically a few days before the 20th.

Official links

What to do next

Register each location on TAP, set SNAP-eligible food to 5% and everything else to 7%, and add any city levy that applies where you sell. If you're a contractor, sort your jobs into residential, small commercial and large commercial before you price them. Put the 20th on your calendar to keep the 2% discount. Use the sales tax calculator to check receipts at 8% or your local rate, and see our guide to calculating sales tax. Selling into neighboring states? Compare our Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee and Arkansas guides, and read about economic nexus.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

The general state rate is 7%. Groceries are taxed at 5% since July 1, 2025, and there are reduced rates for cars (5%) and manufacturing and farm machinery (1.5%). Mississippi has no county sales taxes, but a few cities add special levies, such as Jackson's 1% infrastructure tax and Tupelo's 0.25% water tax.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 11 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1.Sales Tax Rates — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
2.Reduced Sales Tax on Groceries Begins July 1 — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
3.2025 Legislation — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
4.Tourism and Economic Development Taxes — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
5.Notice 72-26-07: Tupelo Water Procurement Facility Tax — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
6.Reporting Requirements — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
7.Guide for Construction Contractors — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
8.Business Tax Frequently Asked Questions — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
9.Intro to Sales and Use Taxes — Mississippi Department of Revenue · accessed 11 October 2026
10.State's grocery tax reduction begins July 1 — WLBT 3 News · accessed 11 October 2026
11.Mississippi Reduces Sales Tax Rate on Groceries, Effective July 1, 2025 — Sales Tax Institute · accessed 11 October 2026
12.Proposed amendments, Title 35 Part IV Subpart 9 (food and beverage rules) — Mississippi Secretary of State (DOR rule filing) · accessed 11 October 2026
13.Governor Reeves Requests Waivers To Encourage Healthier Purchases While Using SNAP Benefits — Office of Governor Tate Reeves · accessed 11 October 2026
14.Mississippi sales tax holiday set for July 10-12 — WLOX · accessed 11 October 2026

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We provide tools, guides and information for general educational purposes only. Always refer to official government websites for the latest and most accurate information.