Will groceries be tax-free again in Tennessee this year? Why there's no grocery tax break in 2024

Last year, Tennessee hosted a three-month long event where shoppers wouldn't pay tax on groceries but the holiday will not return in 2024.

It was estimated that residents saved up to $288 million in taxes through last year's event. There was an estimated $100 saved per family through the three-month tax break. Tennessee's 4% grocery tax is one of 13 left in the country.

Despite efforts throughout the year to either bring the tax break back for a short period or to fully abolish the tax, there has been no change and the tax-free grocery holiday won't happen this year. Here's why:

When was Tennessee's grocery tax-free holiday?

Unfortunately for residents of the Volunteer state, there won't be a grocery tax break in 2024. The state did not budget for the event which ran from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31, 2023.

The event included a break from Tennessee's 4% grocery tax on " food and food ingredients " that are "sold to be ingested or chewed by humans and are consumed for their taste or nutritional value."

That included substances that are liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried or dehydrated. Items not included were: alcoholic beverages, tobacco, candy and dietary supplements.

Why is Tennessee not hosting a grocery tax break?

Earlier this year, Gov. Bill Lee announced his top spending priority would be more than $1.6 billion in tax breaks for businesses and corporations. The state budget proposal did not include tax breaks for consumers, such as the 4% grocery tax holiday or a break on the 7% tax on diapers and formula.

Were there efforts to bring back the grocery tax holiday?

In January, Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, and Sen. Charlane Oliver, D-Nashville, joined forces on legislature to fully abolish the Tennessee grocery tax. The bill would have abolished the grocery tax and required corporations who do business in Tennessee to pay taxes based on worldwide combined reporting, aggregating profits and losses of all affiliated entities worldwide, and paying taxes based on a Tennessee specific share. This bill was removed from committee consideration in April.

After the bill was removed from consideration, Rep. Behn and Sen. Oliver continued their efforts to try and provide some sort of tax relief to Tennesseans.

In April, House Republicans voted down an amendment from Rep. Behn that sought to offer consumers a six-month grocery tax holiday by reallocating funding set aside for franchise tax rebates. Senate Republicans also voted down a proposal by Sen. Oliver to reallocate $352 million put toward franchise tax refunds.

- Tennessean reporters Melissa Brown, Kirsten Fiscus and Vivian Jones contributed to this report .

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Will groceries be tax-free again in Tennessee this year? Why there's no grocery tax break in 2024