Mississippi Sales Tax Calculator

Mississippi’s 7% rate and its many reduced rates

Mississippi's regular retail sales tax rate is 7%, tied for the second-highest state rate, but the state applies reduced rates to many purchases instead of exempting them outright. Local add-ons are rare: the average local rate is only 0.06%, and the combined maximum is 8%.

The rate depends on what you buy:

Groceries: a 5% rate, not an exemption

House Bill 1 of the 2025 session cut the tax on groceries from 7% to 5% starting July 1, 2025. "Groceries" means food and drink for human consumption that can be bought with SNAP benefits, so hot prepared food, which SNAP does not cover, stays at the full rate.

On a $200 weekly grocery bill, the change cut the tax from $14.00 to $10.00, a saving of $4 a week or about $208 a year.

Retail sales of prescription medicines and drugs are exempt. Over-the-counter medicines are not on the Department of Revenue’s exemption list, so they are taxed at the regular 7% rate.

Local taxes: Jackson and tourism levies

Local add-ons in Mississippi are small and city-specific. Two levies in the capital show how they work; the Department of Revenue collects both:

Tourism and economic development taxes in other cities work similarly, typically on restaurants and hotels. If your receipt shows more than 7% on a restaurant meal, a local tourism tax is likely the reason.

• Jackson Special Infrastructure Tax: 1% on sales within the city that are taxed at 7% or more under state law. Restaurant food sales, hotel rooms and groceries not bought with SNAP benefits are among its exemptions, and since April 24, 2014 it no longer applies just because goods are delivered into Jackson
• Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau Tax: 1% on sales by restaurants (those with $100,000 or more in annual sales), hotels and motels, including beer and alcohol consumed on the premises
• Jackson Occupancy Tax: $0.75 per occupied room per day at hotels and motels with more than 10 rental units

Mississippi’s two sales tax holidays

Mississippi holds two sales tax holidays a year. In 2026, the back-to-school holiday ran from 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 10, through midnight Sunday, July 12, and exempted clothing, footwear and school supplies priced under $100 per item. The Second Amendment holiday ran from Friday, August 28, to Sunday, August 30, and exempted firearms, ammunition and certain hunting supplies.

During the July holiday, a $95 pair of school shoes saves $6.65. A $110 pair gets no exemption at all.

Calculating Mississippi sales tax and use tax

Forward at the regular rate: a $600 mattress costs $42.00 in tax. Backward: divide a regular-rate receipt by 1.07, so $85.60 is $80.00 of goods and $5.60 of tax. For a car at 5%, a $25,000 purchase carries $1,250.00.

Use tax applies to items bought for use in Mississippi when Mississippi sales tax was not paid, at the same rate the item would have been taxed in-state, so an untaxed online furniture order owes the regular rate and an untaxed light truck owes the vehicle rate.

Mississippi compared with its neighbors

Mississippi's 7.06% average combined rate is lower than Louisiana (10.13%), lower than Tennessee (9.61%) and lower than Alabama (9.46%). Neighboring states have bigger local layers, while Mississippi relies on a high state rate with very small local add-ons.

Common Mississippi mistakes

These come up often with Mississippi purchases:

• Assuming groceries are tax-free. They are taxed at 5%, not exempt.
• Using 7% for a car. Light vehicles are taxed at 5%.
• Expecting over-the-counter medicine to be exempt. Only prescription drugs are on the exemption list.
• Buying a $100 item on the holiday. The item must be priced under $100.

Big-ticket purchases at reduced rates

Mississippi’s reduced rates matter most on large purchases. Some examples at the rates the Department of Revenue publishes:

A mixed Mississippi grocery receipt

Since groceries and other items are taxed at different rates, one receipt can show two tax amounts. Suppose you buy $90 of SNAP-eligible groceries, a $8 hot plate lunch from the deli and a $12 bottle of over-the-counter pain reliever. The groceries pay 5%: $4.50. The hot food and the over-the-counter medicine pay 7%: $1.40. Total tax: $5.90.

The SNAP test is a useful shortcut: if the item could be bought with SNAP benefits, it gets the 5% grocery rate. Hot food cannot, so it stays at the full rate.