Oklahoma is the latest state to cut grocery taxes, but who does this really benefit?

Starting Thursday, Oklahoma will become the latest state to end its state tax on groceries.

It’s a move more states across the country are considering to ease the burden of inflation and grocery prices on families, and in Oklahoma, it’s expected to save families as much as $650 a year.

“I was so excited,” Oklahoma resident Debbie Reyn said. “You know that is really going to help us. We’re on fixed income, and you don’t think that’s gonna make much difference, but it does. It makes a big difference in the grocery bill.

Kansas became one of the first states to tackle its grocery tax in 2022, an added cost that goes to the state and is separate from local sales tax. It voted to phase out the 6.5% tax, so by next year, it will be gone. Now, more states are following suit.

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Illinois voted to do away with its grocery tax starting in 2026, and when Oklahoma’s 4.5% grocery tax goes away on Thursday, only 12 states will still have the tax. That number could decrease to only seven by 2026.

On November’s ballot, voters in Utah and South Dakota will decide the fate of their state grocery taxes, and Idaho will consider if it wants to eliminate its 6% grocery tax in a legislative session next year.

“Most of the benefit of a grocery exemption actually flows to the middle income and higher income,” said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan non-profit. “It doesn’t actually do what it says on the label, but it’s very popular.”

Walczak says that while grocery taxes are a popular policy and do provide relief, they typically benefit higher-income earners since those who purchase groceries on SNAP and other subsidized benefits are tax-exempt. He says while Oklahoma’s grocery tax elimination will save taxpayers around $370 million, there is still the fine print.

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“Oklahomans need to recognize when they go to the grocery store, even after this takes effect, they’re still paying sales tax, partially because they’re still paying their local sales tax. That hasn’t been repealed,” Walczak said. “Also partially because much of what you buy at the grocery store isn’t actually classified as a grocery. Prepared foods aren’t, a lot of the other items you buy aren’t.”

It’s an important distinction: After Thursday, if you buy a rotisserie chicken in Oklahoma, you will still pay a 4.5% grocery tax, but if you buy raw chicken, you will not.

Even still, those who struggle know a little bit can go a long way, like Ivris Owens who spoke to Scripps News shortly after Kansas passed its bill in 2022

“Sometimes you’ll have to go without, you know?” Owens said. “There have been times where I’ve had to go without, and I never wanted my kids to feel that. I never want them to know of me struggling.”