City of Madison becomes first in state to exempt hearing aid sales tax

MADISON, Ala. ( WHNT ) – The City of Madison made history and great strides for those in the community who are hearing impaired by becoming the first city in Alabama to exempt hearing aids from sales and use tax.

The ordinance was passed during the July 22 city council meeting in a unanimous vote. Council members marked the defining moment with cheers and applause.

Before the vote, Mayor Paul Finley shared the city made $19,656 in revenue from hearing aid sales tax in 2023. This year, from January through June, that number sits at about $16,000.

During the discussion the council still noted that what they’re giving outweighs what they are receiving, pointing to the financial relief it would bring its elderly community and those who are hearing impaired.

Ahead of the meeting, Madison City Attorney Brian Kilgore was optimistic about the vote. He tells News 19 it’s the “right thing to do” to help counter the high costs.

“The city looked at this and realized this is not going to impose any significant impact on our revenue,” said Kilgore. “If it were to pass that would exempt 3.5% of the normal sales tax that you have to pay. there’s a total of 9% that people normally pay, this would eliminate 3.5% Of that.”

House Bill 51 helped eliminate the state sales tax on hearing aids but it is still up to each municipality and county to approve the abatement. Kilgore said he is not sure if or when the county would consider doing the same.

The new hearing aid ordinance will go into effect on October 1st.

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