Mall of America is partly tax-free: Minnesota exempts clothing and footwear from sales tax, so every shirt, coat, pair of jeans, and pair of shoes rings up at the sticker price with nothing added. Everything else you buy there, from a phone to a pretzel, is taxed at a combined 9.025 percent as of 2026.1Minnesota Department of Revenue. Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Guide 2026 Q2
Clothing and Shoes Ring Up Tax-Free
Minnesota law defines exempt clothing as “all human wearing apparel suitable for general use.”2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 297A.67 – General Exemptions That pulls in coats, jackets, boots, sandals, sneakers, formal wear, uniforms, rainwear, scarves, gloves, hats, underwear, hosiery, and wedding apparel.
There is no price cap. A $15 t-shirt and a $2,000 designer dress are both tax-free as long as they qualify as general-use apparel. The exemption applies automatically at the register. You don’t need to show ID, fill out a form, or prove you live anywhere in particular. Visitors from other states and other countries get the same price Minnesota residents do, which is a big part of why the mall draws shoppers from states that still tax clothes.
What Doesn’t Count as Clothing
The rule has real limits, and they catch people out. Several things you might wear or carry are specifically excluded and taxed at the full rate.
- Accessories: handbags, jewelry, watches, wallets, umbrellas, non-prescription sunglasses, wigs, and cosmetics are all taxable. The statute treats these as incidental rather than actual clothing.2Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 297A.67 – General Exemptions
- Sports and recreational gear: cleated athletic shoes, ski boots, roller and ice skates, wetsuits, baseball gloves, goggles, and shoulder pads are taxable because they’re designed for a specific activity.
- Protective equipment: hard hats, helmets, safety glasses, breathing masks, and welding gear are taxable even though you wear them.
- Fur clothing: if the fur component of a garment is worth more than three times the next most valuable material, it’s classified as fur clothing and fully taxable.3Minnesota Department of Revenue. Clothing
- Sewing supplies: fabric, thread, yarn, zippers, buttons, patterns, and sewing machines are all taxable, even though you’d use them to make clothing.
The working line: if an average person would wear it as regular clothing, it’s exempt. A winter jacket is tax-free. The ski goggles in the next store are not.
What You Actually Pay on Everything Else
Outside clothing and footwear, Mall of America is not a tax-free zone. Electronics, toys, home goods, kitchen appliances, furniture, candles, beauty products, and perfume all take the full combined rate. That rate is 9.025 percent, stacked from six separate levies:1Minnesota Department of Revenue. Local Sales and Use Tax Rate Guide 2026 Q2
- Minnesota state sales tax: 6.875%
- Metro area transportation tax: 0.75%
- Hennepin County transit tax: 0.50%
- City of Bloomington sales tax: 0.50%4City of Bloomington, Minnesota. Local Sales Tax
- Metro area housing tax: 0.25%
- Other local (Hennepin County): 0.15%
On a $100 taxable purchase, that’s $9.03 at the register. On a $500 laptop, $45.13. Bloomington’s own 0.5 percent city tax took effect in April 2024, which pushed the mall’s total above the 8.525 percent rate in many other Hennepin County cities.
Food, Drinks, and Attractions
Prepared food at mall restaurants and food court vendors is taxed at the same 9.025 percent. Minnesota taxes anything prepared by the seller or served with eating utensils.5Minnesota Department of Revenue. Sales – Food
Alcohol takes an extra hit. Bloomington adds a 3 percent liquor tax on top of all other sales taxes for drinks sold at bars, restaurants, and clubs inside city limits.6City of Bloomington, Minnesota. 2026 Liquor, Lodging and Admissions Tax Reporting Information and Instructions It applies to drinks above 3.2 percent alcohol and is calculated on the beverage portion even when a drink is bundled with a meal. A mandatory service charge on your bill is taxable; a voluntary tip is not.
Bloomington also collects a local admissions tax that applies to entertainment venues like Nickelodeon Universe and Sea Life Aquarium, under the same local ordinance framework as its liquor and lodging taxes.
No Refund for International Visitors
Minnesota does not run a VAT-style refund program for tourists. If you buy a taxable item and walk out with it, you pay the full tax regardless of where you live. The one workaround is having a retailer ship your purchase directly to an address outside the United States so you never take physical possession in Minnesota; in that case sales tax generally does not apply.
Use Tax If You’re From Out of State
Buying a taxable item in Minnesota doesn’t always end your tax obligation. Most states require residents to pay a “use tax” on out-of-state purchases when the sales tax paid was lower than what they’d owe at home. If your home state’s rate is higher than 9.025 percent, you may technically owe the difference when you file your state return. Enforcement on individual retail purchases is minimal in practice, but the obligation sits on the books in most states.