Idaho Legislature: Ask Legislators to VOTE NO on H0231 - Food tax credit (posted 02/17/25)

• Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…

• Contact Legislators: emailidaho.com

(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)

This bill replaces H0061.

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Idaho is one of only four states that fully taxes groceries. Its 6% grocery tax is the second highest in the country (behind Mississippi).

H0231 increases the tax credit for food purchases to $155 per person (a mere $35 increase per person from the previous $120). Alternatively, taxpayers can claim a credit up to $255 per person using an exhausting, painstaking, not-worth-their-time method of itemizing qualifying food items when filling out their tax forms.

So, taxpayers pay at the register, then must wait until they file their taxes to get their own money back (and it’s not that much, given high food prices). If they take the flat credit, they’re done, but if they want the full $255, they must jump through hoops to categorize and itemize their food purchases.

Specifics:

• Provides flat credit $155 per person for tax year 2025 and beyond.

• Alternatively, taxpayers can itemize to claim a credit of up to $255 per person for the actual sales tax paid.

• Itemizing taxpayers must submit scanned receipts proving their food purchases, using federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) guidelines for “food,” excluding items such as candy, soda, restaurant meals, and prepared foods. There’s more complexity, but this certainly is enough to send most tax preparers running for the exits.

To claim the full credit, this complicated bill requires citizens to keep massive amounts of paperwork, track their expenditures, and then report them during the already onerous process of completing their annual income taxes. Who would do this paperwork for so little return on their time (or fees if they pay outside tax preparers)?

The only clean solution is to repeal the grocery tax at the point of sale. Or, come up with different methods for simple, real tax relief such as stopping income and property taxes and taxing sales only.

Related:

• Idahoans Deserve Real Grocery Tax Relief—Not More Government Games (02/16/25): zitoforidaho.substack.c…

• Grocery Tax Repeal. Time to give Idahoans relief at the register! By Glenneda ZUIDERVELD (02/15/25):