Sales Tax on Food in Illinois: Exemptions, Local Grocery Tax, and SNAP

Illinois no longer charges state sales tax on groceries. As of January 1, 2026, the sales tax on food in Illinois is zero at the state level for items bought at a store and taken home to eat. Prepared meals, candy, and soft drinks are the main exceptions, and they still ring up at the full 6.25% state rate. Cities and counties now have the option to add a 1% local grocery tax on top, so your actual receipt depends on what you’re buying and where you’re shopping.¹

What Counts as an Exempt Grocery

Before 2026, Illinois taxed groceries at a reduced 1% state rate. That 1% is gone. The exemption now covers the same items that qualified for the old reduced rate: produce, meat, dairy, bread, canned goods, frozen meals, and other food bought at a grocery store for home consumption.¹

The statute specifically leaves out alcoholic beverages, cannabis-infused food products, soft drinks, candy, and anything prepared for immediate consumption. Those stay at the full 6.25% state rate.²

Food Still Taxed at 6.25%

Prepared food is the biggest category that doesn’t get the grocery break. If a restaurant, deli counter, or food court sells you something ready to eat, it’s taxed at 6.25% at the state level plus whatever local taxes apply. The rule also catches food from retailers who provide eating facilities like tables, chairs, or microwaves. A hot sandwich from a grocery store deli can fall on the higher-tax side of the line if the store has seating, even if you take the sandwich home.²

The Candy Rule

Illinois defines candy as a product made from sugar, honey, or other sweeteners combined with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other flavorings, shaped into bars, drops, or pieces. The wrinkle: if the product contains flour or has to be refrigerated, it isn’t candy for tax purposes.³ A Kit Kat has flour wafers, so it’s taxed as a grocery. Gummy bears have no flour, so they’re candy taxed at 6.25%. Two products on the same shelf, two different rates.

The Soft Drink Rule

A soft drink is any non-alcoholic sweetened beverage, natural or artificial. Drinks that contain milk or a milk substitute (including soy and rice milk) are not soft drinks, and neither are beverages that are more than 50% vegetable or fruit juice by volume.² So a bottle of sweetened iced tea is taxed at 6.25%, but orange juice with at least 51% real juice qualifies as an exempt grocery. Plain water and unsweetened sparkling water are not soft drinks under this definition.

Medicines Are a Different Category

Medicines aren’t food, but shoppers often assume they’re bundled with groceries at the register. They’re not. Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines like pain relievers and cold medicine, insulin and diabetic supplies, and medical appliances such as wheelchairs, prosthetics, and corrective lenses are taxed at 1% at the state level. That’s the same reduced rate that used to apply to groceries.¹² Home rule sales taxes generally don’t apply to these items.⁴

Vending Machine Food

Food from a vending machine is treated as food for off-premises consumption, so it qualifies for the grocery exemption. The exceptions: soft drinks, candy, and any food dispensed hot from the machine. Those still get taxed at the general merchandise rate.⁵ A bag of chips from the machine is exempt. A can of soda from the same machine is 6.25%.

The New Local Grocery Tax

When the state repealed its 1% grocery tax, it handed municipalities and counties the power to impose their own 1% tax on groceries. The rate is locked at exactly one percent, and local governments can’t go higher or lower. If both a city and its county adopt the tax, the combined rate is still 1%, not 2%.⁶

Many Illinois municipalities moved quickly to adopt the local tax before the January 1, 2026, changeover, so residents in those places saw no change on their grocery bills. Others let the tax expire, passing the savings through to shoppers. To find out which side of that line your town falls on, check with your municipal government or the Illinois Municipal League.¹

Transit District Taxes Still Apply

Separate from the local grocery tax, regional transit authorities in parts of Illinois impose their own sales taxes on food, drugs, and medical appliances. The Metro East Mass Transit District charges 0.25% in Madison County and 0.75% in St. Clair County.⁷ The Regional Transportation Authority in the Chicago area levies taxes that can apply to food as well. These transit taxes stack on top of any local 1% grocery tax that applies.⁶

For prepared food, candy, and soft drinks, the local picture is steeper. Home rule municipalities can add their own sales taxes on top of the 6.25% state rate for general merchandise, and local rates vary widely.⁸ In parts of Chicago and Cook County, the combined rate on a restaurant meal or a bottle of soda can top 10%.

SNAP and WIC Purchases

Anything bought with SNAP (food stamps) or WIC benefits is exempt from all state and local sales taxes, no matter what the item is. Federal law bars states from taxing SNAP purchases; a state that tried would lose eligibility for the entire SNAP program.⁹ Even items that would normally be taxed at the full rate, like candy or soda, ring up tax-free when paid for with SNAP.

If Your Receipt Looks Wrong

Between the state repeal, the optional local 1% tax, transit district charges, and the special rules for prepared food, candy, and soft drinks, receipts have gotten harder to read since January 1, 2026. If you see state sales tax charged on plain groceries, something is off. Ask the store, and if the answer isn’t satisfying, the Illinois Department of Revenue is the place to raise it.

1
Illinois Department of Revenue. Illinois Grocery Tax Changes Effective January 1, 2026
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Compiled Statutes 35 ILCS 120/2-10 – Rate of Tax
3
Legal Information Institute. Illinois Administrative Code Title 86, Section 130.310 – Food, Soft Drinks and Candy
4
Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule Sales Taxes
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Administrative Code Section 130.310 – Food, Soft Drinks and Candy
6
Illinois Department of Revenue. Municipal and County Grocery Occupation Tax Rate Changes
7
Illinois Department of Revenue. Mass Transit District Sales Tax
8
Illinois Department of Revenue. Home Rule and Non-Home Rule Sales Taxes
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 7 Section 2013 – Establishment of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program