When you’re pinching your pennies and clipping coupons for $0.25, every bit counts. So as Washington starts taxing candy, bottled water and beer today (June 1, 2010) – I thought I’d do a little post about what food items are now taxable (and which ones surprisingly aren’t, like Twix!).
When I heard all the buzz about the new candy tax starting, I imagined mostly items you’d find in the checkout lines – the candy bars and gum, so I didn’t pay much attention to it. But did you know it also includes chocolate chips in the baking aisle? Or Sunkist fruit snacks? Sweet n Low coffee mix? Caramel popcorn? Altoids?
On the hand, Twix and Twizzlers are NOT taxable.
I tell you this because a lot of these types of products have coupons (especially gum!) and I’ve enjoyed lots of FREE items that will now be taxable. It’s just good to know before making the purchases so you aren’t surprised at the checkout when the tax shows up in your total.
So how do they decide what is taxable? Seems like the biggest deciding factor is the ingredient FLOUR – if it’s included in the ingredient list then it is generally NOT a taxable candy. So some candies are not taxable, for example candy bars that contain wafers made of flour are not taxable. Get a complete list of taxable and non-taxable candies here. They have an Excel document that is intense! It has every brand of food that would include a taxable item!
The new tax also includes beer (not micro-brews) and bottled water.
For the record – this post is not necessary in favor or against the tax, my goal was just to educate you on the new legislation and the new taxes you’ll see at the check stand!
I’m curious, will you curb your spending on these items because of the new tax?
Patrice says
Will I curb my spending? Probably not, but I will definitely make better use of coupons. By the way, I think the store with the best candy selection in Tacoma is Bartells…
Sheri says
Thank you so much for posting this, I was wondering where to find a detailed list!
Robin says
Sheri, do you by chance have a link to the actual list? I can’t seem to locate it. :-/