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HB2839 • 2026

municipal tax; exemption; food

HB2839 - municipal tax; exemption; food

Taxes
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Leo Biasiucci, Cesar Aguilar, Neal Carter, Pamela Carter, Joseph Chaplik, Lupe Diaz, John Gillette, Matt Gress, Gail Griffin, Alma Hernandez, Consuelo Hernandez, Lydia Hernandez, Rachel Keshel, Alexander Kolodin, David Marshall, Sr., Justin Olson, Beverly Pingerelli, Tony Rivero, James Taylor, Michael Way, Justin Wilmeth, Brian Fernandez
Last action
2026-06-13
Official status
House Rules: None
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The effective date is tied to the general effective date of the act and applies retroactively, but no specific calendar date is provided in this excerpt.

HB2839: Rules for City Taxes on Food

This law requires cities to tax all food items at a single uniform rate and bans taxes on certain manufacturing, distribution, packaging, and sales of food bought with federal benefits or by specific groups.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires cities to apply one uniform tax rate to all food sold for home consumption without extra fees for specific items.
  • Requires cities to apply one uniform tax rate to all food sold for eating at the restaurant location without extra fees for specific items.
  • Bans taxes on making, wholesaling, or distributing food intended for human consumption.
  • Removes taxes from containers and packaging used only for moving, protecting, or consuming these food items.
  • Exempts sales of food bought with federal nutrition benefits like SNAP or WIC vouchers.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Cities, towns, and other local taxing jurisdictions in Arizona
  • Businesses that sell, make, or distribute food for human consumption
  • People who buy food using government assistance programs

Terms To Know

Transaction Privilege Tax
A tax charged to businesses on the privilege of doing business in a city or town.
Uniformly
Applied in the same way without differences for specific items.
SNAP Benefits
Money from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program used to buy eligible food.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not state a specific calendar date when it becomes effective.
  • Cities may still tax other sales of food that do not use government benefits or fall under these exemptions.
  • The definition of 'food items' depends on rules created by the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-13 House

    House Rules: None

  2. 2026-06-13 House

    House first read

Official Summary Text

HB2839 - municipal tax; exemption; food

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
HB2839 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
municipal tax; exemption; food

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2839

Introduced by

Representatives
Biasiucci: Aguilar, Carter N, Carter P, Chaplik, Diaz, Gillette, Gress,
Griffin, Hernandez A, Hernandez C, Hernandez L, Keshel, Kolodin, Marshall,
Olson, Pingerelli, Rivero, Taylor, Way, Wilmeth;� Senator Fernandez

AN
ACT

amending section 42-6015, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to MUNICIPAL transaction PRIVILEGE tax.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 42-6015, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
42-6015.

Municipal transaction privilege tax; food; exemption

A. If a city, town or other taxing jurisdiction
imposes a transaction privilege, sales, use, franchise or other similar tax or
fee, however denominated, on:

1. The sale of food items intended for human
consumption as defined by rule adopted pursuant to section 42-5106 or
items prescribed by section 42-5106, subsection D for home consumption,
the tax must be applied uniformly with respect to all
food, and an additional tax or fee differential may not be assessed or applied
with respect to any specific food item.

2. The sale of food items intended for human
consumption as defined by rule adopted pursuant to section 42-5106 or
items prescribed by section 42-5106, subsection D for consumption on the
premises, the tax must be applied uniformly with respect to all food items, and
an additional tax or fee differential may not be assessed or applied with
respect to any specific food item.

B. A city, town or other taxing jurisdiction may not
levy a transaction privilege, sales, use, franchise or other similar tax or
fee, however denominated, with respect to:

1. The manufacture, wholesale or distribution to or
among any wholesalers, distributors or retailers, of food items intended for
human consumption as defined by rule adopted pursuant to section 42-5106
or items prescribed by section 42-5106, subsection D for home consumption
or for consumption on the premises.

2. Any container or packaging used exclusively for
transporting, protecting or consuming food items intended for human consumption
as defined by rule adopted pursuant to section 42-5106 or items prescribed by
section 42-5106, subsection D for home consumption or for consumption on
the premises.

3. The sale of food or other items
purchased

that are eligible for purchase
with
United
States department of agriculture food stamp coupons issued under the food stamp
act of 1977 (P.L. 95-113; 91 Stat. 958)

benefits
issued pursuant to the supplemental nutrition assistance program under 7 United
States Code sections 2011 through 2036
d

or food
instruments issued
pursuant to the special supplemental food
program for women, infants, and children
under
section 17
of the child nutrition act (P.L. 95-627; 92 Stat. 3603;
P.L. 99-661, section 4302;
42 United States Code section 1786
)

regardless of whether the purchaser is
eligible to participate in the supplemental nutrition assistance program or the
special supplemental food program for women, infants, and children,
but
may impose such a tax consistent with this section on other sales of food.

4. The sale of low or reduced-cost articles of food
or drink to eligible elderly or homeless persons or persons with a disability
by a business subject to tax under the restaurant classification pursuant to
section 42-5074 that contracts with the department of economic security
and that is approved by the food and nutrition service of the United States
department of agriculture pursuant to the supplemental nutrition assistance
program established by the food and nutrition act of 2008 (7 United States
Code sections 2011 through 2036c), if the purchases are made with the benefits
issued pursuant to the supplemental nutrition assistance program.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2.
Applicability

This act applies retroactively to
taxable periods beginning on or after the first day of the month following the
general effective date.