Governor Little approves $35 increase for Idaho grocery tax credit

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Governor Brad Little has signed a bill increasing the grocery tax credit from $120 to $155 per person and removing the increased rate for seniors.

Little signed House Bill 231 Thursday morning a week after the bill passed the Senate 30 to 3.

Governor Little released the following statement regarding HB 231:

"After four years of disastrous economic policies under the Biden administration, the cost of just about everything, including food, is up, making it harder for Idaho families to save money or prioritize other household needs. I love the signal we send to Idaho families every year when we deliver even more tax relief while taking care of the needs of a growing state. As we continue to deliver historic tax relief, we must ensure our budget balances as the Idaho Constitution requires,” Governor Little said.

The Idaho Senate passed House Bill 231 on March 6, 2025, with broad support. Before it passed, the Senate debated to send the bill to an amending order so that they could fully repeal the sales tax on food.  

Senator Christy Zito, R - Hammett, told legislators Idaho is only 1 of 4 states to have a sales tax on groceries. She believes it needs to change. 

"This is just not a good idea. This means that Idaho businesses are losing customers to other states," argued Sen. Zito. "They claim that grocery stores will raise their prices by 6% if we repeal. The grocery tax has been proven to be simply not true. Other states have not raised their grocery prices. It's time for Idaho to catch up."

Bill sponsor, Senator Doug Ricks (R) of Rexburg, says removing the sales tax on groceries would just cause more headaches. 

"Utah has removed a portion of sales tax, most of it on their, food.  But they have a 28-page manual that determines what items or food items, what is and what's not," said Sen. Ricks. "And so it's created a whole nother little bureaucracy and competition in the the food stores of the suppliers of what items qualify for food that's tax exempt versus what items or not."

The amending order failed. Senators passed the bill after nearly an hour of debate.