Alabama temporarily suspends state sales tax on food beginning May 1, 2026

Temporary state tax suspension: Alabama Act 2026‑604 suspends the state portion of sales and use tax on qualifying food items for May 1–June 30, 2026; local (city and county) taxes remain in force, using the federal SNAP definition of “food” (7 U.S.C. § 2012).
Retailer compliance requirements: Retailers must quickly adjust tax systems to apply the temporary exemption, report gross sales of qualifying food on the state return, and then deduct those sales before calculating state tax, while leaving local tax reporting unchanged.
Operational complexity and risk: The short implementation window and product‑specific scope create compliance challenges, requiring retailers to review processes to ensure correct pricing, reporting, and risk mitigation during the suspension period.

Source PwC

Alabama Suspends State Sales Tax on Groceries for Two Months in 2026

Alabama will temporarily eliminate the state sales tax on most groceries from May 1 to June 30, 2026.
The tax break applies to foods defined by SNAP guidelines, excluding alcohol, tobacco, and hot prepared foods.
Local city and county sales taxes on groceries will still apply.
The measure aims to provide short-term financial relief amid high food prices.
Businesses must still report all grocery sales but will deduct qualifying food sales from state tax calculations; local tax reporting remains unchanged.

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.