(Boise, ID) The tax credit Idahoans receive for buying groceries would increase from $120 a year to $155 a year under a new bill introduced Monday in the Idaho Legislature.
House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, sponsored the new bill, House Bill 61, saying the state has not increased the tax credit for two years.
“We’ve seen a lot of inflation taking place lately on the groceries,” Monks said. “It’s important that individuals have the ability to purchase food without having to pay additional taxes on that, and so this particular legislation would increase that credit from $120 to $155.”
Before this bill, the Idaho Legislature last increased the grocery tax credit from $100 to $120 in 2023.
If Monks’ bill is passed into law, the credit would cover about $10,033 in groceries for a family of four every year with a $620 grocery credit, Monks said. That corresponds to covering $861 worth of groceries each month.
As is the case currently, the taxpayer filing the tax return, their spouse and each dependent would be eligible to receive the credit, which is why the credit would be $620 for a family of four.
However, in lieu of the new $155 per credit, Monks’ bill also allows Idaho taxpayers to save all of their grocery receipts for the whole year and submit their receipts to the Idaho State Tax Commission to receive a credit of up to $250 a year – in case they buy more groceries than the standard $155 credit would offset.
How would the new grocery tax credit bill affect Idaho’s seniors?
Under the new bill, the $155 grocery tax credit would apply uniformly to all Idahoans who do not submit itemized receipts. Currently, senior citizens receive a larger credit than the general public.
Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, expressed concern for seniors, many of whom may be retired or on a fixed income.
“It looks to me like seniors are only going to get $15 more on their grocery tax credit,” Gannon said.
Monks told Gannon the choice to make the $155 credit uniform was deliberate. Monks said he always thought the increased credit for seniors was off because he said in his experience teenagers eat more than seniors.
While Monks’ bill would increase the tax credit Idaho taxpayers receive each year, it would leave the sales tax in place on groceries so that the state can collect sales tax revenue on groceries that out-of-state visitors buy.
“Being that tourism is one of our largest industries in the state, we get a lot of money that comes in from that, and that wouldn’t change under this scenario,” Monks said.
A fiscal note attached to the new bill estimates that it would reduce sales tax revenue to the state by about $50 million.
Following a short debate, the House Revenue and Taxation Committee voted to introduce the new bill Monday, which clears the way for the bill to return to the committee for a full public hearing.
In an emailed statement, House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel and Senate Minority Leader Melissa Wintrow said that Idaho residents “deserve a meaningful break” on grocery costs.
“Yet Republicans are extending a pittance to working families in the form of a $35 increase in the tax credit for groceries,” they said. “Meanwhile, they have proposed a quarter of a billion dollar income tax cut that will overwhelmingly benefit the richest individuals and corporations, while leaving the state unable to adequately fund necessary services. We are frustrated by the priorities of the supermajority party that puts the most wealthy and well-connected ahead of those struggling to afford basic needs, including groceries.”
How to submit testimony to Idaho’s House Revenue and Taxation Committee
House Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman David Cannon, R-Blackfoot, said his committee is not accepting remote virtual testimony on bills this year. However, Cannon said he will allow Idahoans to submit written email testimony by 4 p.m. the day before a hearing.
To submit written testimony, people should send an email to hrev@house.idaho.gov with the subject line clearly marked for legislative testimony. Cannon said everyone submitting email testimony must include their name, legislative district and any organization or group they represent, followed by the bill number they wish to testify on and whether they are for or against the bill. Cannon encouraged email writers to keep their testimony short so that it would last two minutes or less if read aloud.
Cannon said the committee secretary would read some email testimony, giving preference to writers who live farther from the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.
This story first appeared on Idaho Capital Sun.