Is it taxable?
Is Bottled Water Taxed?
Water would seem to be the safest grocery on the shelf — and in most states plain bottled water is exempt food. But New York, Washington, and Indiana all tax the plain bottle, and nearly everywhere the answer flips the moment the label says "sweetened."
The carve-outs worth knowing
- New York taxes plain bottled water. The ST-525 and TB-ST-65 listings put "bottled water" squarely in the taxable-beverage column, flavored or not — while bottled iced coffee sits in the exempt column.
- Washington taxes bottled water too, and has since August 2017; the narrow outs are water bought with a prescription and households with no other potable water source, which can claim a refund from the Department of Revenue.
- Indiana taxes all bottled water except natural spring water — the label's sourcing language literally decides the tax.
- Texas exempts the whole water aisle, sparkling and mineral included — but flavored water is taxable. Most states draw the same line the moment a sweetener appears, when the bottle legally becomes a "soft drink."
- North Dakota is the mirror image of its neighbors: bottled water — mineral, carbonated, and distilled included — is food, exempt.
Bottled water, state by state
34 states checked: 17 exempt · 6 taxable · 7 reduced rate · 4 it depends
| State | Tax status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama Bottled water is SNAP-eligible food, so it pays the 2% state grocery rate plus local taxes. | Reduced rate | Alabama Department of Revenue, notice: state rate on food reduced Sept. 1, 2025 |
| Alaska No state sales tax; local city and borough sales taxes can still apply. | Exempt | Alaska Remote Seller Sales Tax Commission, Seller FAQs |
| Arkansas SNAP-eligible, so the state rate fell to zero with groceries in January 2026; city and county taxes still apply. | Depends | Arkansas DFA, State Sales and Use Tax Rates |
| California Noncarbonated bottled water is an exempt food product; carbonated and effervescent waters are taxed. | Exempt | California CDTFA, Regulation 1602: Food Products |
| Colorado Plain still water is exempt food for home consumption; carbonated water in containers is taxed alongside soft drinks. | Exempt | Colorado Department of Revenue, FYI Sales 4 |
| Delaware No state or local sales tax at all. | Exempt | Delaware Division of Revenue, Doing Business in Delaware |
| Florida Plain bottled water is on the exempt grocery list; carbonated and flavored waters are taxed as soft drinks. | Exempt | Florida DOR, DR-46NT: Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List |
| Hawaii The general excise tax reaches every bottle — Hawaii has no food exemption for the GET. | Taxable | Hawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 37-1 |
| Idaho Idaho taxes groceries at the full 6%, bottled water included; the grocery credit gives some back at tax time. | Taxable | Idaho State Tax Commission, grocery credit refund notice |
| Indiana All bottled water is taxable in Indiana except natural spring water — the sourcing on the label decides it. | Taxable | Indiana DOR, Sales Tax Information Bulletin #29 |
| Iowa Bottled water is exempt unless it's sweetened — then it's a taxable soft drink. | Exempt | Iowa DOR, Iowa Sales Tax on Food |
| Kansas Kansas wrote bottled water into its food definition, so the state rate on it is 0% since January 2025. Local rates still apply. | Depends | Kansas DOR, Pub. KS-1223: Food Sales Tax Rate Reduction |
| Michigan Bottled water is exempt food in Michigan — the prepared-food rules name it as one of the items the utensil test never reaches. | Exempt | Michigan Treasury, RAB 2022-4: Food for Human Consumption |
| Minnesota Plain bottled water is exempt; sweetened water is a taxable soft drink. | Exempt | Minnesota DOR, Food and Food Ingredients guide |
| Mississippi SNAP-eligible, so bottled water pays the 5% grocery rate rather than the general 7%. | Reduced rate | Mississippi DOR, "Reduced sales tax on groceries begins July 1" |
| Missouri SNAP-eligible food — 1.225% state rate plus local taxes. | Reduced rate | Missouri DOR, Sales Tax Reduction on Food |
| Montana No general sales tax. | Exempt | Montana Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Guidance |
| New Hampshire No general sales tax on goods. | Exempt | New Hampshire DRA, "Does New Hampshire have a sales tax?" |
| New Jersey Bottled and naturally carbonated water are exempt; add a sweetener and it's a taxable soft drink. | Exempt | New Jersey Division of Taxation, Food and Food Products notice |
| New York Plain bottled water is a taxable beverage in New York — the listings say so twice, in ST-525 and TB-ST-65 — as are seltzer and mineral water. | Taxable | New York State Tax Department, Tax Bulletin TB-ST-65: Beverages |
| North Carolina Bottled water is qualifying food — the uniform 2% local food rate, no state tax. | Reduced rate | NCDOR, Food, Non-Qualifying Food, and Prepaid Meal Plans |
| North Dakota Bottled drinking water — mineral, carbonated, and distilled included — is food and exempt; the soft-drink exclusion needs a sweetener. | Exempt | N.D. Office of State Tax Commissioner, Sales Tax Exemptions |
| Ohio Unsweetened bottled water is exempt food for off-premises consumption; sweetened water is a taxable soft drink. | Exempt | Ohio Department of Taxation, sales tax FAQ: what is and isn't taxable |
| Oklahoma Bottled water rode the food exemption to a 0% state rate in August 2024; local taxes still apply. | Depends | Oklahoma Tax Commission, State Sales Tax on Food and Food Ingredients |
| Oregon No general sales tax. | Exempt | Oregon Department of Revenue, Sales Tax in Oregon |
| Pennsylvania Plain, unflavored water — nonflavored mineral water included — is exempt; flavored, sweetened, or vitamin waters fall under Pennsylvania's soft-drink definition and are taxed. | Exempt | Pennsylvania DOR, REV-717 Retailer's Information Guide |
| South Carolina SNAP-eligible unprepared food — no state tax, but most local sales taxes still apply. | Depends | South Carolina DOR, Sales Tax Manual ch. 21: Unprepared Food Exemption |
| South Dakota South Dakota taxes groceries at the full 4.2% plus municipal tax; bottled water pays it too. | Taxable | South Dakota DOR, Sales & Use Tax |
| Tennessee Bottled water is food and food ingredients — the 4% state food rate plus local tax. | Reduced rate | Tennessee DOR, SUT-53: Food and Food Ingredients |
| Texas Water is exempt across the aisle — plain, mineral, spring, and sparkling. Flavored water is taxable. | Exempt | Texas Comptroller, publication 96-280: Grocery and Convenience Stores |
| Utah Bottled water is grocery food at Utah's 3% statewide rate. | Reduced rate | Utah State Tax Commission, Grocery Food Sales & Use Tax |
| Vermont Bottled water — carbonated or not, even flavored — is exempt so long as no sweetener is added; sweetened, it's a taxable soft drink. | Exempt | Vermont Department of Taxes, Soft Drinks guidance |
| Virginia Bottled water sold for home consumption pays only the 1% local option tax, like other groceries. | Reduced rate | Virginia Tax, Tax Bulletin 22-12 |
| Washington Bottled water has been taxable in Washington since August 2017. The outs: water bought by prescription, or a household with no other potable source — both can claim the tax back. | Taxable | Washington DOR, bottled water tax topic |
Local sales taxes can differ — a city or county rate can apply even where the state rate doesn't, and a few local carve-outs go the other way. The linked guidance is the place to check your town.
Still being checked
These 16 states are not in the table yet because we haven't finished checking the official guidance — and a guessed row is worse than no row. Until then, the agency itself:
- Arizona — Arizona Department of Revenue
- Connecticut — Connecticut DRS
- Georgia — Georgia Department of Revenue
- Illinois — Illinois Department of Revenue
- Kentucky — Kentucky Department of Revenue
- Louisiana — Louisiana Department of Revenue
- Maine — Maine Revenue Services
- Maryland — Comptroller of Maryland
- Massachusetts — Massachusetts Department of Revenue
- Nebraska — Nebraska Department of Revenue
- Nevada — Nevada Department of Taxation
- New Mexico — New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department
- Rhode Island — Rhode Island Division of Taxation
- West Virginia — West Virginia Tax Division
- Wisconsin — Wisconsin Department of Revenue
- Wyoming — Wyoming Department of Revenue
Bottled water questions, answered
Which states tax plain bottled water?
New York, Washington, and Indiana tax the plain bottle outright (Indiana spares natural spring water). Hawaii's general excise tax and the full-rate grocery states — Idaho and South Dakota — reach it too, and the grocery-rate states charge it their reduced food rates.
Why is sweetened or flavored water taxed where plain water isn't?
Because a sweetener turns it into a "soft drink" under most states' definitions. Pennsylvania, Texas, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, New Jersey, and Vermont all exempt the plain bottle and tax the sweetened one — Texas flips on flavor alone.
Is sparkling or mineral water treated like still water?
Not everywhere. California and Colorado tax carbonated water while exempting still; Texas, North Dakota, and Vermont exempt them all (unsweetened); New York taxes the whole shelf.
Can I get Washington's bottled water tax back?
In two cases: the water was prescribed, or your household's primary drinking source isn't potable. Washington's Department of Revenue takes refund requests directly from buyers in both situations.
Every row checked by hand against the linked guidance on 2026-08-19. More everyday items on the is-it-taxable index.