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SB1239 • 2026

Authorizes a sales tax exemption for food

Authorizes a sales tax exemption for food

Taxes
Passed Legislature

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

Sponsor
Coleman, Mary Elizabeth; House handler: N/A
Last action
2026-02-25
Official status
Bill Combined w/SCS SBs 1017 & 1239
Effective date
2026-08-28

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Authorizes a sales tax exemption for food

This Bill has been combined with SB 1017, please refer to it for current information.

What This Bill Does

  • This Bill has been combined with SB 1017, please refer to it for current information.
  • The following summaries of this bill are available: Print All Summaries Introduced Print SB 1239 - Current law taxes retail sales of food, as defined in current law, at a rate of one percent.
  • This act provides that retail sales of food shall be exempt from state sales taxes.
  • This provision is identical to SCS/SB 161 (2023) and to a provision in SCS/HCS/HB 154 (2023), and is substantially similar to HB 1418 (2024), HB 1464 (2024), HB 2174 (2024), HB 260 (2023), HB 452 (2023), HB 591 (2023), HB 896 (2023), HCS#2/HB 1992 (2022), HB 1817 (2022), and HB 2530 (2022), and to a provision in HB 2815 (2024), HB 2887 (2024), HB 377 (2023), HCS/HBs 876, 771, 676 & 551 (2023), HB 1136 (2023), HB 1779 (2022), and HB 2249 (2022).

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-02-25 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Bill Combined w/SCS SBs 1017 & 1239

  2. 2026-02-11 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Hearing Conducted S Economic and Workforce Development Committee

  3. 2026-01-27 S239

    Second Read and Referred S Economic and Workforce Development Committee

  4. 2026-01-07 S73

    S First Read

  5. 2025-12-01 Missouri House of Representatives and Missouri Senate

    Prefiled

Official Summary Text

This Bill has been combined with SB 1017, please refer to it for current information.

The following summaries of this bill are available:

Print All Summaries

Introduced

Print

SB 1239 - Current law taxes retail sales of food, as defined in current law, at a rate of one percent. This act provides that retail sales of food shall be exempt from state sales taxes.

This provision is identical to SCS/SB 161 (2023) and to a provision in SCS/HCS/HB 154 (2023), and is substantially similar to HB 1418 (2024), HB 1464 (2024), HB 2174 (2024), HB 260 (2023), HB 452 (2023), HB 591 (2023), HB 896 (2023), HCS#2/HB 1992 (2022), HB 1817 (2022), and HB 2530 (2022), and to a provision in HB 2815 (2024), HB 2887 (2024), HB 377 (2023), HCS/HBs 876, 771, 676 & 551 (2023), HB 1136 (2023), HB 1779 (2022), and HB 2249 (2022).

This act also provides that, beginning on January 1, 2027, local sales taxes imposed on food shall annually be reduced in four equal increments over a period of four years. Beginning January 1, 2031, there shall be no local sales taxes imposed on food. (Section 144.014)

This act is identical to provisions in SB 57 (2025).
JOSH NORBERG

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1239
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR COLEMAN.
4351S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 144.014, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof one new section relating to a sales
tax exemption for food.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 144.014, RSMo, is repealed and one new 1
section enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as section 144.014, 2
to read as follows:3
144.014. 1. (1) Notwithstanding other provisions of 1
law to the contrary, [beginning October 1, 1997, the tax 2
levied and imposed under this chapter on] all retail sales 3
of food shall be [at the rate of one percent. The revenue 4
derived from the one percent rate pursuant to this section 5
shall be deposited by the state treasurer in the school 6
district trust fund and shall be distributed as provided in 7
section 144.701] exempted from the provisions of and from 8
the computation of the tax levied, assessed, or payable 9
pursuant to this chapter. 10
(2) Beginning January 1, 2027, the rate of sales tax 11
imposed on all retail sales of food pursuant to the local 12
sales tax law as defined in section 32.085, and section 13
238.235, shall annually be reduced in four equal increments 14
over a period of four years. Beginning January 1, 2031, 15
notwithstanding other provisions of law to the contrary, all 16
retail sales of food shall be exempted from the provisions 17
SB 1239 2
of and from the computation of the tax levied, assessed, or 18
payable pursuant to the local sales tax law as defined in 19
section 32.085 and section 238.235. 20
2. For the purposes of this section, the term "food" 21
shall include only those products and types of food for 22
which food stamps may be redeemed pursuant to the provisions 23
of the Federal Food Stamp Program as contained in 7 U.S.C. 24
Section 2012, as that section now reads or as it may be 25
amended hereafter, and shall include food dispensed by or 26
through vending machines. For the purpose of this section, 27
except for vending machine sales, the term "food" shall not 28
include food or drink sold by any establishment where the 29
gross receipts derived from the sale of food prepared by 30
such establishment for immediate consumption on or off the 31
premises of the establishment constitutes more than eighty 32
percent of the total gross receipts of that establishment, 33
regardless of whether such prepared food is consumed on the 34
premises of that establishment, including, but not limited 35
to, sales of food by any restaurant, fast food restaurant, 36
delicatessen, eating house, or café. 37
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