Grocery Tax Holiday Ends Tuesday Night; Final Hours To Stock Up

Get your last minute tax-free shopping in before the Grocery Tax Holiday ends Tuesday night.

The three-month tax-free period on food will end at midnight. Putnam County Ag Extension Agent Michelle Parrott said the savings from no taxes on food may seem small, but it adds up. She said you can stock up and save.

“If you freeze those properly, you can enjoy that savings when you take it out in February, March or April and go hey, you know I saved money on this particular item,” Parrott said. “I would definitely encourage folks to go out today if they haven’t already and get some items for their freezer.”

Parrott said food can be frozen and stored for up to a year. She said now would also be a good time to buy the expensive turkey and ham for the upcoming holidays.

“When you think about spending that $100 and getting those few bags of food that $10 to me could go towards buying some more items,” Parrott said. “So it has been a tremendous benefit. I hope folks have really used this period of time to think about what really they can prepare at home.”

Parrott said she thinks everyone benefited from the Grocery Tax Holiday.

“No matter where you’re at in life, it takes a lot to live with gas price and with food dollars and just the cost of every day living with clothing items, particularly on the size of your family, and even for single folks,” Parrott said. “All of these costs add up to your monthly budget. So when your thinking about going to the store, just doing average math if you spend $100 saving that $10 can add up time and time again.”

Parrott said people also have to plan their budget accordingly as taxes come back.

“They need to look at what they spent recently while it was tax free and go back,” Parrott said. “If they do any type of online banking, they’re able to pull those expenses on the report and see exactly what they spent at food establishments, so they can kind of see the difference. And that would really tell you like hey, I’ve saved $150 by this tax free on my food dollars but coming up starting in November and December of next month, I’m gong to start paying those taxes again.”

Alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy and dietary supplements are exempt from the Tax-Free Holiday.