MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) – Lawmakers in Alabama are looking to eliminate the state’s grocery tax.
Alabama’s gubernatorial candidates, Tommy Tuberville and Doug Jones, agree.
Over the past few years, Alabama’s tax on groceries has gone down from four cents on the dollar to two cents.
“It’s important that we take care of our citizens and our residents and us that we have a break and some relief on the things it takes for us to live,” said Rep. Penni McClammy, D-Montgomery.
Rep. McClammy said eliminating the state’s grocery tax has been a party priority for years.
The democratic party’s gubernatorial candidate, Doug Jones, has it listed on his website as a top priority.
Republican gubernatorial candidate, Tommy Tuberville, also released a TV ad saying he would push for the grocery tax to be eliminated.
“I’m glad that people are now realizing, and I hope that this is not something they want to campaign off of,” said Rep. McClammy. “I hope that they really understand the need for it.”
Rep. McClammy sponsored House Bill 336 during the 2026 legislative session, which looked to eliminate the state sales tax on food starting Sept. 1. The bill did not make it past the initial committee stage.
Republicans in Montgomery agree that the tax needs to go.
Rep. Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, acknowledged the past democratic effort to eliminate the grocery tax. However, he said the republican party is also focused on reducing taxes overall.
“[Democrats] have been advocating for this particular tax for a long time, but I would say overall, republicans have a lot stronger record when it comes to reducing taxes and lessening tax burden in Alabama than the democratic party,” he said.
Rep. Garrett sponsored House Bill 386 in 2025 that reduced the tax from three percent to two percent.
When the change happened, it was estimated that the state’s education trust fund would lose nearly $122 million annually. Rep. Garrett said the state’s budget is capable of withstanding the tax going away entirely.
“We now know what our projected revenues are going to be,” he said. We have managed accordingly, managed to fund education and even though we will hopefully be reducing the grocery tax, that will not impact education funding, we’ll continue to invest more dollars into the education budget.”
Both Representatives Garrett and McClammy said they plan to file legislation for 2027 to get rid of the remaining two percent tax on groceries.
During the 2026 legislative session, lawmakers put a two-month pause on the grocery tax, which was in place for May and June 2026.
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