Is Grocery Taxable in Maine?

Does Maine Tax Groceries?

Partially. Maine exempts grocery staples, taxes prepared food at 8%, and taxes candy, soft drinks, snacks, and bottled water at the general 5.5% rate. Maine has no local or municipal sales tax, so one statewide rate applies. Classification decides the rate, so every item must be mapped correctly, per the Maine Revenue Services (MRS) Sales, Use & Service Provider Tax Rates & Due Dates page.

What Is the Maine Sales Tax Rate on Food?

Maine charges 5.5% on taxable food and 8% on prepared food. The 5.5% general rate covers candy, soft drinks, snacks, and bottled water that fail the staple test. Maine has no local or municipal tax, so one rate applies everywhere. Both rates have been stable since October 1, 2013, per 36 Maine Revised Statutes (M.R.S.) § 1811. See the Commenda Maine sales tax rates page for filing details.

What Counts as a Grocery Staple in Maine?

Grocery staples are “food products ordinarily consumed for human nourishment,” defined in 36 M.R.S. § 1752(3-B) and exempted by 36 M.R.S. § 1760(3). The exemption clause is one line: “Sales of grocery staples.” These items are exempt statewide from sales, storage, and use tax. See the Commenda Maine sales tax exemption page for how the rules apply.

Which Foods Are Taxable in Maine?

Maine’s staple definition in 36 M.R.S. § 1752(3-B) excludes candy, soft drinks, snacks, bottled water, alcohol, and dietary supplements. These are taxed at the general 5.5% rate, not 8%. Only prepared food, or items sold under the 75% rule, triggers the 8% rate. This corrects a common misconception that snacks and beverages carry 8%.

Is candy taxable in Maine?

Yes, at the general 5.5% rate. Candy is excluded from grocery staples under 36 M.R.S. § 1752(3-B) and taxed even when sold beside exempt staples. At a location where prepared-food sales exceed 75% of gross receipts, that same candy bar is taxed at 8% under Maine’s 75% rule, per MRS Instructional Bulletin No. 27 (IB27).

Is bottled water taxable in Maine?

Yes, at the general 5.5% rate. 36 M.R.S. § 1752(3-B) excludes bottled, mineral, and carbonated water and ice from the grocery staples definition. MRS Instructional Bulletin No. 12 lists these items under taxable food products. So plain water is taxable in Maine, unlike in many states, and rises to 8% only under the 75% rule.

Is Prepared Food Taxable in Maine?

Yes, at 8%, per 36 M.R.S. § 1811 and MRS Instructional Bulletin No. 27 (IB27), whether dine-in or take-out. IB27 defines prepared food in three tests: food the retailer sells heated or served hot, food the retailer combines or mixes into a single ready-to-eat item, and any food ready for consumption without further preparation. Examples include a made-to-order sandwich, rotisserie chicken, and restaurant, café, take-out, or delivered meals.

Brewed coffee served to go is prepared food and taxable at 8%, while coffee beans sold to brew at home stay exempt as grocery staples, per IB27. Toasting, microwaving, or heating for palatability does not count as further preparation. The classification follows the item, not the store.

What Is Maine’s 75% Rule for Prepared Food?

If more than 75% of a location’s gross receipts come from prepared food, all food and drink sold there that needs no further preparation is taxed at 8%, per IB27. This includes chips, milk, soda, juice, candy, and ice cream that would otherwise be 5.5%. The test applies per location, and bulk sales of grocery staples stay excluded.

The rule hits delis, cafés, and convenience stores with heavy hot-food operations. A location just under the threshold charges normal rates on snacks and soda. A location just over it charges 8% on those same items, per IB27.

What Sales Tax Do Restaurants Charge in Maine?

Restaurants charge the 8% prepared food rate on meals, per MRS. There is no separate meals tax, and the rate is not 5.5%. A grocery store deli charges the same 8% on its prepared items, but the grocery store still sells exempt staples alongside them. The 75% rule decides whether its snack and soda sales flip from 5.5% to 8%.

How Is Alcohol Taxed in Maine?

Alcohol sold for on-premises consumption at a licensed establishment is taxed at the 8% prepared food rate, per IB27. Off-premises retail alcohol is excluded from grocery staples under 36 M.R.S. § 1752(3-B) and taxed at the general 5.5% rate. A beer poured at a bar carries 8%. A six-pack from a store carries 5.5%.

Are SNAP and WIC Purchases Taxed in Maine?

No. Items paid for with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) benefits are exempt from Maine sales tax, even normally taxable items like candy or soda. Federal law bars states from taxing SNAP-purchased items at checkout. Competitors rarely cover this, so build it into your point-of-sale rules.

For operators, point-of-sale (POS) systems must handle split tenders and apply the exemption only to the benefit-paid portion. When a customer pays part by SNAP and part by cash, the exemption covers the eligible items paid with benefits, while the cash-paid taxable items are taxed as usual.

Do I Need to Collect Sales Tax on Food in Maine?

Yes, if you have physical presence in Maine, or if you exceed $100,000 in gross Maine sales in the current or previous calendar year. Maine removed the 200-transaction test effective January 1, 2022, so stale pages citing it are wrong. Marketplace facilitators must collect for third-party sellers, so marketplace-only food sellers may not need to register directly.

Exempt grocery sales still count toward the $100,000 threshold, so a seller shipping only tax-exempt staples into Maine can cross the line and owe registration. This mirrors how New York counts exempt software-as-a-service (SaaS) sales toward its own threshold. Adding any taxable line, such as prepared food, alcohol, or candy, requires registration and per-item rate mapping once nexus exists.

How Do Ecommerce Sellers Handle Maine Grocery Sales Tax?

Map every stock-keeping unit (SKU) to one of three Maine buckets: exempt staple, 5.5% excluded item, or 8% prepared food. Apply the single statewide rate, since there are no rooftop rates to juggle. Let the marketplace collect where a facilitator sits in the chain. On direct channels, you collect and remit yourself, so the SKU mapping must be right before the first sale.

Mixed carts are the common trap. A single order can hold an exempt staple, a 5.5% candy bar, and an 8% prepared item, and each line needs its own rate. Manual SKU research does not scale across hundreds of products and multiple channels, so automation that maps each item to a Maine product tax code keeps collection accurate as the catalog grows.

How Do You Register and File Maine Food Sales Tax?

Register through the Maine Tax Portal, get a sales tax permit, collect at the correct per-item rate, file at your MRS-assigned frequency, and remit. MRS assigns each seller a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual schedule. Returns are due no later than the 15th of the month following the reporting period, per the MRS Rates & Due Dates page. See the Commenda Maine sales tax rates and filing page for details.

Does Maine Accept Resale and Exemption Certificates?

Yes, with conditions. A resale certificate requires a Maine sales tax account and at least $3,000 in annual gross sales, per 36 M.R.S. § 1754-B. Maine does not accept out-of-state resale certificates, except the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) Uniform Sales & Use Tax Certificate, which it accepts in place of a home-state certificate.

How Does Maine’s Food Tax Compare to Neighboring States?

Maine sits in the middle of its region. New Hampshire has no general sales tax but taxes prepared meals under its Meals & Rentals Tax. Vermont and Massachusetts exempt groceries but run their own meals rates, and Massachusetts also exempts candy as food. Each row below links to its full state guide.

How We Help With Maine Food Sales Tax

Commenda’s indirect tax platform gives food sellers certainty on Maine compliance. It tracks physical and economic nexus across every state, maps each SKU to a product tax code so the staple exemption, the 5.5% exclusions, and the 75% rule apply automatically, and handles registration and filing. That mapping replaces manual per-item research across every sales channel.

Use the US economic nexus guide to check your exposure and thresholds, and the sales tax calculator to look up rates. The calculator looks up rates only, not nexus. Book a demo to get a free nexus exposure assessment for your food sales into Maine.