TaxFreeDates

Is it taxable?

Are Vitamins Taxable?

Flip the bottle over: the label decides. A "Supplement Facts" box makes it a dietary supplement, and the states split almost evenly on those — half tax them like ordinary goods, half fold them into the grocery exemption. The same multivitamin is taxed in Minneapolis, tax-free in Philadelphia.

The carve-outs worth knowing

  • The label test is the actual law in several states: Texas exempts products with a Supplement Facts panel; Utah reads a supplement or nutrition facts box as "food" and charges its 3% grocery rate; Iowa uses the box to decide what counts as a taxable supplement.
  • Kansas went furthest: its food definition includes dietary supplements outright, so the state rate on vitamins hit 0% in January 2025 — local taxes still apply.
  • New York exempts "dietary foods and health supplements" by name — vitamins are in the exempt column of the state's own food listings.
  • Oklahoma cut its grocery tax in 2024 but deliberately kept supplements out: they pay the full 4.5% state rate while the food beside them is state-tax-free.
  • Florida lists dietary supplements on its official nontaxable grocery list, and Michigan settled the question in a letter ruling: vitamins and supplements are food, exempt.

Vitamins, state by state

29 states checked: 11 exempt · 16 taxable · 1 reduced rate · 1 it depends

Vitamins, state by state
State Tax status Source
Alabama Products with a Supplement Facts label aren't SNAP-eligible food, so the 2% grocery rate doesn't apply — vitamins pay the full 4% state rate plus local taxes. Taxable 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
California Products sold as food supplements or adjuncts — vitamin pills, protein powders — are excluded from the food-products exemption and taxed. Taxable California CDTFA, Regulation 1602: Food Products
Colorado Dietary supplements are excluded from Colorado's food exemption and taxed at the state level. Taxable 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 Dietary supplements — vitamins, minerals, herbs — are on Florida's official nontaxable grocery list, DR-46NT. Exempt Florida DOR, DR-46NT: Nontaxable Medical Items and General Grocery List
Hawaii The general excise tax reaches vitamins like everything else at retail. Taxable Hawaii Department of Taxation, Tax Facts 37-1
Idaho Idaho's 6% applies to vitamins as it does to groceries and everything else. Taxable Idaho State Tax Commission, grocery credit refund notice
Iowa Products in tablet, capsule, powder, or liquid form with a Supplement Facts box are taxable dietary supplements in Iowa. Taxable Iowa DOR, Iowa Sales Tax on Food
Kansas Kansas wrote dietary supplements into its food definition, so the state rate on vitamins is 0% since January 2025 — local sales taxes still apply. Depends Kansas DOR, Pub. KS-1223: Food Sales Tax Rate Reduction
Kentucky Dietary supplements are excluded from Kentucky's food exemption and pay the 6%. Taxable Kentucky Department of Revenue, Sales & Use Tax
Michigan Michigan ruled that vitamins and dietary supplements count as food for human consumption — exempt at the register. Exempt Michigan Treasury, LR 2000-01: Food for Human Consumption
Minnesota Vitamins, minerals, and herbal supplements are taxable in Minnesota — carved out of the food exemption by name. Taxable Minnesota DOR, Food and Food Ingredients guide
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 Dietary supplements — identified by the Supplement Facts box — are part of New Jersey's food exemption. Exempt New Jersey Division of Taxation, Food and Food Products notice
New York Vitamins, diet supplements, and health supplements sit in the exempt column of New York's own food listings. Exempt New York State Tax Department, Tax Bulletin ST-525
North Carolina Dietary supplements are non-qualifying food — the full state-plus-local rate, not the 2% food rate. Taxable NCDOR, Food, Non-Qualifying Food, and Prepaid Meal Plans
North Dakota Dietary supplements are excluded from the food exemption and taxed. Taxable N.D. Office of State Tax Commissioner, Sales Tax Exemptions
Ohio Dietary supplements are one of Ohio's carve-outs — taxed even sold for off-premises consumption. Taxable Ohio Department of Taxation, sales tax FAQ: what is and isn't taxable
Oklahoma Supplements were deliberately left out of the 2024 grocery cut — vitamins pay the full 4.5% state rate plus local while the food beside them is state-tax-free. Taxable 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 Food supplements — vitamins and therapeutic nutritional preparations — are nontaxable in Pennsylvania. Exempt Pennsylvania DOR, REV-717 Retailer's Information Guide
Rhode Island Dietary supplements are excluded from the food exemption by statute and taxed at 7%. Taxable Rhode Island General Laws § 44-18-30
Tennessee Dietary supplements are excluded from the 4% food rate — the full 7% state rate plus local applies. Taxable Tennessee DOR, SUT-53: Food and Food Ingredients
Texas Products labeled with a Supplement Facts panel are exempt dietary supplements in Texas — CBD products excepted. Exempt Texas Comptroller, publication 96-280: Grocery and Convenience Stores
Utah A supplement or nutrition facts box on the label makes it "food" in Utah — taxed at the 3% grocery rate rather than the full rate. Reduced rate Utah State Tax Commission, Grocery Food Sales & Use Tax
Washington Products requiring a Supplement Facts label are excluded from Washington's food exemption and taxed. Taxable Washington DOR rule, WAC 458-20-244: Food and Food Ingredients
Wisconsin Dietary supplements are one of Wisconsin's four food carve-outs, taxed at the general rate. Taxable Wisconsin DOR, Publication 220: Grocers

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 21 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:

Are groceries taxed?

Vitamins questions, answered

Why does the label matter so much?

Because most states define "dietary supplement" by the FDA's Supplement Facts panel. In Texas that panel makes the bottle exempt; in Iowa and Washington it makes the bottle taxable; in Utah it earns the 3% grocery rate. Same pill, three treatments.

Which states don't tax vitamins?

Verified so far: Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania exempt them; Kansas charges 0% state (local taxes apply); Utah charges its 3% grocery rate — plus the five states with no sales tax.

Are children's vitamins or gummies treated differently?

Generally no — the label test doesn't care about the format or the customer. One wrinkle: a gummy vitamin with a Nutrition Facts panel instead of a Supplement Facts panel can flip categories in label-test states.

Are prescription vitamins taxed?

Prescription medicines are exempt in essentially every state with a sales tax, and a vitamin dispensed on prescription generally rides that exemption rather than the supplement rules. The linked state sources cover the over-the-counter bottle.

Every row checked by hand against the linked guidance on 2026-08-19. More everyday items on the is-it-taxable index.