Mississippi's sales tax looks simple, one 7% state rate, but the details differ by what you buy and, in two cities, where you buy it. Groceries have been taxed at 5% since July 2025, cars and light trucks have their own 5% rate, and local add-ons mostly apply to hotels and restaurants.
This guide sets out the state rates, the grocery rate, the local levies, what is taxed and exempt, use tax on out-of-state purchases and what changed in 2026, using the Mississippi Department of Revenue's own pages read on 2 November 2026. The worked examples are our arithmetic on those rates.
The Department of Revenue states that all sales of tangible personal property in Mississippi are subject to the regular retail rate of 7% unless the law exempts the item or provides a reduced rate. The tax is based on gross proceeds of sales or gross income, depending on the type of business. The reduced rates that matter most to households are in the first rows of this table, which restates DOR's Sales Tax Rates page.
| What is sold | State rate |
|---|---|
| Tangible personal property in general (including alcoholic beverages and beer at retail) | 7% |
| Groceries: food and drink eligible to be bought with SNAP benefits | 5% |
| Automobiles and light trucks (10,000 lbs. or less) | 5% |
| Trucks over 10,000 lbs., aircraft, semitrailers, mobile homes and modular homes | 3% |
| Motorcycles, mopeds, motor bikes, boats and all-terrain vehicles | 7% |
| Farm tractors and logging equipment | 1.5% |
| Construction contracts over $10,000 (residential construction excepted) | 3.5% |
| Admissions to amusements (as listed by DOR) | 7% |
| Electricity and fuels, residential use | 0% |
| Electricity and fuels, commercial use | 7% |
| Water, residential consumption | 0% |
DOR's page is a long list with more reduced rates for farm, port, power-association, oil and gas and similar business sales; this guide covers the consumer-facing rows. Business buyers should read the full page linked under Official Sources.
Groceries are taxed, but at a reduced rate. DOR's rates page lists sales of groceries, defined as food and drink for human consumption eligible to be purchased with SNAP benefits, at 5%. The Department notified retailers on 1 May 2025 that, beginning 1 July, the tax on groceries would fall from 7% to 5% as part of House Bill 1 of the 2025 Regular Session, and the bill text reads "percent (5%) from and after July 1, 2025."
Food bought with food stamps remains exempt: DOR's exemption list includes retail sales of food for human consumption purchased with food stamps issued by the United States Department of Agriculture or another federal agency. The 5% rate applies to SNAP-eligible food that is not bought that way. This guide does not sort individual products (for example hot prepared food or non-food items sold in a grocery store) into the 5% or 7% rate, because the pages we read define the 5% rate only by SNAP eligibility; ask DOR if a specific item matters.
The state rate is the starting point, not always the whole rate. DOR keeps a list titled Tourism and Economic Development Taxes, which it describes as general information that does not constitute a regulation. Most entries are city or county levies on hotels, motels and restaurants. For example, the first entry taxes the gross proceeds of hotels, motels and restaurants located in Aberdeen at 1%, in addition to other taxes.
Two entries on that list reach general retail sales:
| Place | Local levy | What DOR says |
|---|---|---|
| Jackson (Special Infrastructure Tax) | 1% | Imposed on every person making sales of tangible personal property or services within the municipality, levied on activities taxed at 7% or more under the state law; DOR notes numerous exemptions. Effective 1 March 2014, repeal date 1 July 2035. |
| Tupelo (Water Procurement Facility Tax) | 0.25% | Imposed on all retail sales and services in Tupelo that are subject to the general state rate, and since 1 May 2026 also on groceries taxed at 5%. |
We read DOR's list for levies on general sales and found these two; the rest we found concern lodging, restaurants and prepared food (a few, such as Oxford and Hattiesburg, also reach beer or alcoholic beverage sales), and the list changes as local bills pass and expire, so a business should confirm the levy for its own location with DOR. We do not reproduce the list because it is long and changes with each legislative session. Jackson also has separate levies on restaurants, hotels and motels (a 1% Convention and Visitors Bureau tax and a Capital City Convention Center tax, among others), which are not general sales taxes.
An exemption must be specifically provided by law, according to DOR. Services are also taxed only where the law lists them. This is a selection from DOR's pages, not the full lists.
| Taxed at 7% of gross income (DOR service list, selection) | Exempt from sales tax (DOR exemption list, selection) |
|---|---|
| Computer software sales and services | Retail sales of prescription medicines and drugs |
| Automobile, motorcycle, boat or other vehicle repairing or servicing | Food bought with food stamps |
| Laundering, cleaning, pressing or dyeing | Electricity, gas or other fuel and potable water for residential consumption |
| Termite or pest control services | Motor fuel |
| Hotels, motels, tourist courts or camps, trailer parks | School textbooks sold to students |
| TV cable systems and subscription TV | Clothing and footwear under $100, only during the sale period the law sets |
The exemption list we read includes a clothing and footwear exemption for items priced below $100 that applies only to sales in a set period, and it excludes accessories and rentals. DOR's exemption page describes the period as starting on the last Friday in July and ending the following Saturday, but DOR's news notice of 2 June 2026 put the 2026 sales tax holiday (eligible clothing, footwear and school supplies under $100 per item) at Friday 10 to Sunday 12 July 2026, so the two DOR sources differ. That date has passed; check DOR's current notice for the next one. Over-the-counter medicine is not mentioned in the prescription entry we read, so do not assume it is exempt.
These examples are our arithmetic on the rates above, not official calculations. They ignore local hotel and restaurant levies and any exemptions.
Shopping basket of $200: $80 of SNAP-eligible groceries and $120 of other taxable goods.
| Where bought | Groceries ($80) | Other goods ($120) | Local levy | Total tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Mississippi location (state tax only) | $4.00 at 5% | $8.40 at 7% | none | $12.40 |
| Tupelo | $4.00 at 5% | $8.40 at 7% | $0.50 (0.25% of $200) | $12.90 |
| Jackson (simplified) | $4.00 at 5% | $8.40 at 7% | $1.20 (1% of the $120 taxed at 7%) | $13.60 |
The state-only total is 6.2% of the basket. The Jackson row applies the 1% only to the items taxed at 7% and ignores that tax's exemptions, because DOR describes it as levied on activities taxed at 7% or more.
Vehicles, by state rate:
| Purchase | Rate | State tax |
|---|---|---|
| $30,000 car | 5% | $1,500 |
| $10,000 motorcycle | 7% | $700 |
| $80,000 truck over 10,000 lbs. | 3% | $2,400 |
For comparison, the same $30,000 car at the general 7% rate would be $2,100, so the 5% automobile rate matters. Registration, title and local fees are separate and are not covered here.
Use tax applies to personal property acquired in any manner for use, storage or consumption in Mississippi when sales or use tax has not been paid to another state at a rate equal to or greater than the applicable Mississippi rate. The use tax rates are the same as the sales tax rates. The basis is the purchase price or value of the property when it is imported into Mississippi, including charges for deferred payment, installation, service charges and freight to the point of use.
Credit is allowed for sales or use tax paid to another state, with exceptions listed by DOR. Two matter to consumers: no credit is allowed for tax paid to another state on automobiles, motor homes, trucks, truck-tractors and semi-trailers, trailers, boats, travel trailers, motorcycles and all-terrain cycles imported and first used in Mississippi; and no credit is allowed for use tax paid elsewhere on property that was only stored or warehoused in the other state and first used in Mississippi.
DOR's Mississippi Sales and Use Taxes page says persons subject to use tax are required to submit periodic returns and should register with the Department, with the same due dates as sales tax returns (the 20th day after the period ends). Its Use Tax page says registration and filing are online through TAP and that an account holder must file a return for every period the account is active, even with no liability. The pages we read do not say how an individual with no account reports a one-off purchase, so ask DOR about that.
On the DOR pages we read on 2 November 2026 we found no change to the 7% general rate or the 5% grocery rate in 2026, and we found no announced 2027 rate. This is our reading of those pages, not a DOR statement that nothing else changed.
For sellers, DOR says a permit or registration license is required before engaging in any business in Mississippi subject to sales tax, with a separate permit for each location. Returns are due on or before the 20th day following the end of the reporting period.