TN Tax Holiday 2022 offers savings on groceries for all of August

By getting ready for these holidays, you might think ahead of what groceries you might need in the coming months — and stockpile those to fill your pantry and freezer.

I suggest that you make a list of what to buy at the tax-free rate – and then enjoy the savings in these trying financial times when every penny really does count. It is also a good time to stretch your dollars as you think of others, like needy school children and struggling food banks.

What’s new and different

In recent years, there have been some tax exemptions offered on grocery food, but this year, instead of having just a weekend or a week of tax-free foods, “food and food” ingredients will be tax exempt for the entire month of August.

“It includes most items at the grocery, but not everything,” said Department of Revenue spokeswoman Kelly Cortesi, who noted that alcoholic beverages, tobacco, dietary supplements, candy and prepared foods are not included in the sales tax holiday.

The Department of Revenue says “the most common example of a dealer selling food and food ingredients is a grocery store. Food and food ingredients are those items otherwise taxed at the 4% state sales tax rate.”

With the state sales tax standing at 4% on groceries and 7% on many other items, and with local counties adding as much as 2.75% on top of that, these tax holidays can offer significant savings. (Local tax is 2.25% in Davidson, Cheatham and Sumner counties and 2.75% in Williamson, Wilson and Rutherford counties.)

There is no restaurant food exemption this year, with the Revenue department saying that the exemption does not include “prepared foods” like restaurant food, food trucks, buffet lines, caterers, and even in house grocery food like sandwiches and fried chicken meals, which are prepared and sold inside the stores.

Gun safes and safety equipment

This tax-free offering, which started July 1 and ends June 30, 2023, is designed to promote gun safety. It includes “a locking container or other enclosure equipped with padlock, key lock, combination lock or other locking device that is designed and intended for the secure storage of one or more firearms.” It also includes gun safety devices, including computerized locking devices for guns.

And yes, items sold online are also eligible during all three sales tax holidays.

For more information on the sales tax holidays, go to www.tntaxholiday.com or email revenue.support@tn.gov or call (615) 253-0600.

Mary Hance, who has four decades of journalism experience in the Nashville area, writes a weekly Ms. Cheap column. She also appears on Thursdays on “Talk of the Town” on NewsChannel 5. Reach her at mscheap@mainstreetmediatn.com and follow her on Facebook as Facebook.com/mscheap.