Sales Tax in Mississippi
Mississippi's sales tax starts with a real, notably high 7.00% state rate -- among the highest state-level rates in the country -- with only a modest local-option add-on capped at 1%, producing an average combined rate of approximately 7.06%, though groceries now carry a reduced 5% rate as of July 2025.
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Learn moreA high 7.00% state rate, with only a modest local add-on
Mississippi's 7.00% state sales tax rate is a real, notably high figure among the highest state-level rates in the country. Genuinely different from many high-sales-tax states, Mississippi caps local-option sales tax at just 1%, with a real, low average local add-on of approximately 0.06% statewide, producing an average combined state-and-local rate of approximately 7.06% per the Tax Foundation's 2026 data -- meaning most of Mississippi's sales-tax burden sits at the state level rather than varying widely by city or county.
Groceries now carry a reduced 5% rate, but not a full exemption
Mississippi cut its sales tax rate on SNAP-eligible, unprepared grocery food from 7% to 5% effective July 1, 2025 -- the state's first cut to its grocery tax since 1992 -- with further, real, legislated annual reductions planned through 2036. This record discloses honestly that hot prepared food, deli items, and alcoholic beverages remain taxed at the full 7% rate, so the grocery-tax cut does not extend to all food purchases; items bought with SNAP benefits and WIC-approved foods remain separately tax-exempt.
Confirm your specific jurisdiction, though variation is genuinely modest
Because Mississippi caps local-option sales tax at just 1% with a real, low average add-on, the combined rate a mover actually pays varies far less by jurisdiction than in many other states -- still, confirm your target city or county's current combined rate, including the current grocery-food rate, directly rather than assuming a single statewide figure applies to every purchase category.
How sales tax fits Mississippi's broader tax picture
Mississippi's genuinely high 7.00% state sales tax rate sits alongside a falling flat income tax (4.0% for 2026, heading toward 3% by 2030) and among the lowest property tax rates in the nation (approximately 0.65% statewide) -- a genuinely mixed overall tax picture this record discloses in full across the income-taxes and property-taxes topics rather than treating any single tax as representative of Mississippi's total burden.
Key takeaways
- Mississippi's state sales tax rate is a real, notably high 7.00%, among the highest state-level rates in the country.
- Local-option add-ons are capped at just 1%, with a real, low average add-on of approximately 0.06%, producing a 7.06% average combined rate.
- Mississippi cut its grocery-food sales tax rate from 7% to 5% effective July 1, 2025 -- the state's first grocery-tax cut since 1992 -- though hot prepared food, deli items, and alcohol remain at 7%.
- Mississippi's high sales tax sits alongside a falling, low income tax and among the lowest property tax rates in the nation -- weigh all three together.
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