Listings of Taxable and Exempt Foods and Beverages Sold by Food Stores and Similar Establishments

Tax Bulletin ST-525 (TB-ST-525) Printer-Friendly Version (PDF)

Issue Date: April 13, 2011

Introduction

Most food is exempt from sales tax. The exemption for food includes:

food products;
dietary foods;
health supplements; and
certain beverages.

Food must meet these conditions to be exempt from tax:

it must be sold for human consumption;
it must be sold unheated; and
it must be sold in the same form and condition, quantities, and packaging as is commonly used by retail food stores.

These foods and beverages, however, are not exempt from tax:

candy and confectionary;
alcoholic beverages;
soft drinks, fruit drinks, sodas, or similar beverages;
heated or prepared meals (sandwiches, salad bars, etc.); and
food or beverage sold for on-premises consumption.

Additional resources relating to sales of food and beverages (e.g., sales by restaurants, sales from vending machines, or sales of candy or sandwiches) are listed at the end of this bulletin.

Listings of taxable and exempt food and beverages

The charts below list some examples of taxable and exempt foods and beverages sold at retail food markets and similar establishments. (Note: Any brand name product shown in italics is included as an example and is not to be construed as an endorsement of the product.)

Exempt foods and beverages
Arnold Palmer Half & Half® Artificial sweeteners Baby food Bakery products Baking products Beefamato® Boost® Bouillon cubes Bread Brownies Butter Cereals Chicory Chocolate (for cooking purposes only) Clamato Juice Cocktail® Cocoa Coconut Coffee Coffee creamers Condiments (e.g., salt, pepper) Cookies Crackers Cupcakes Dehydrated fruit Dehydrated vegetables Diet foods (but not diet candy) Diet substitutes Diet supplements Doughnuts Dressings Eggs and egg products Ensure® Fats Fish and fish products Flavorings (e.g., vanilla or almond extract) Flour Food coloring Frozen desserts Frozen dinners	Fruit Fruit juices containing 70% or more of natural fruit juice (unless carbonated) Fruit Rollups® Game (e.g., partridges, rabbits, wild turkeys) Grain products Granola bars Gravies Great Shakes® Health bars Health food Health supplements Herbs Honey Ice cream (prepackaged) Iced coffee Iced tea (frozen or liquid) Iced tea mix Instant breakfast mix Jams (fruit preserves) Jelling agents Jellies Ketchup Lard Leavening agents Liquid diet products Mayonnaise Meats and meat products Milk and milk products Mustard Non-stick cooking sprays Nutrament® Nuts and nut products (but not chocolate- or candy-coated or honey- roasted nuts) Oils (cooking, salad) Oleomargarine Olives Ovaltine® Peanut butter Peanuts	Pepper Popcorn Potato chips Poultry Poultry products Preservatives Pretzels Quik® Relishes Salad dressing mixes Salad dressings Salt Sandwich spreads Sauces Seafood Seasonings Sesame seeds (for baking) Sherbet Shortening Slim-Fast® Soup Spices Starch (for cooking) Start® Sugar Sugar substitutes Sunflower seeds (sold for human consumption) Syrups Tang® Tea Vanilla extract Vegetables Vegetable juices Vegetable oils V8 Juice® Vitamins Yeast

Taxable foods and beverages
5-Hour Energy® Beer Bottled water Candied apples Candy and confectionery Caramel-coated popcorn Caramels Carbonated beverages Carbonated water Chewing gum Chocolate candy Chocolate-coated nuts Chocolate-coated pretzels Coated candy Cocktail mixes Collins mixer Cranberry juice cocktails Dietetic candy Dietetic carbonated beverages Dietetic soft drinks	Fountain drinks (e.g., sodas, milkshakes, etc.) French burnt peanuts Fruit drinks¹ Fruit nectars¹Fruit punch¹Fudge Gatorade® Glazed fruit Hi-C® Honey-roasted nuts Ice Ice cream cones (made to order) Ice cream sodas Ice cubes Jordan almonds Kool-Aid® Lemonade Licorice	Maple sugar candy Mineral water Monster Energy Drink® MiO Liquid Water Enhancer® Nuts (chocolate or candy coated) Orange Crush® Pet foods²Powerade® Red Bull® Rockstar Energy Drink® Seltzer (water) Soft drinks smartwater^TMVegetable plants (used to grow food) Vegetable seeds (used to grow food) Vichy water vitaminwater^TM Yoo Hoo®

Coupons and food stamps

For information about foods and beverages purchased with coupons or food stamps, see Tax Bulletin Coupons and Food Stamps (TB-ST-140).

¹If product contains less than 70% real fruit juice. (back)
²Pet food purchased for guide, hearing, and service dogs is exempt. See Tax Bulletin Exemptions Relating to Guide, Hearing, and Service Dogs (TB-ST-245). (back)

Note: A Tax Bulletin is an informational document designed to provide general guidance in simplified language on a topic of interest to taxpayers. It is accurate as of the date issued. However, taxpayers should be aware that subsequent changes in the Tax Law or its interpretation may affect the accuracy of a Tax Bulletin. The information provided in this document does not cover every situation and is not intended to replace the law or change its meaning.

References and other useful information

Tax Law: Sections 1105(a); 1105(d); and 1115(a)(1)

Regulations: Sections 527.8 and 528.2

Publications:

Publication 750, A Guide to Sales Tax in New York State
Publication 840, A Guide To Sales Tax For Drugstores and Pharmacies

Bulletins:

Beverages Sold by Food Stores, Beverage Centers, and Similar Establishments (TB-ST-65)
Candy and Confectionery (TB-ST-103)
Coupons and Food Stamps (TB-ST-140)
Dietary Foods and Health Supplements (TB-ST-160)
Food and Beverages Sold from Vending Machines (TB-ST-280)
Food and Food Products Sold by Food Stores and Similar Establishments (TB-ST-283)
Purchases by Restaurants, Taverns, and Similar Establishments (TB-ST-695)
Recordkeeping Requirements for Sales Tax Vendors (TB-ST-770)
Sales by Restaurants, Taverns, and Similar Establishments (TB-ST-806)
Sales Tax Credits (TB-ST-810)
Sandwiches (TB-ST-835)

Updated: April 13, 2011