(The Center Square) – Nashville and Davidson County residents will see a slight break in the grocery costs later this year.
The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County approved a reduction in the grocery tax by one-half percent.
The tax cut would return $9.2 million to taxpayers, according to the resolution approved Tuesday night as part of the council’s $3.85 billion budget.
State law allows cities and counties to add 2% to 2.75% to the state’s 4% grocery sales tax. Nashville-Davidson County’s current sales tax rate is 2.25%.
The Tennessee General Assembly passed House Bill 2186 in April, which authorizes metropolitan governments to reduce the tax on food and food ingredients.
“Lowering the grocery tax lets Nashvillians keep some of their hard-earned pay because feeding your family shouldn’t be a luxury,” said Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell in a statement. “Cutting the local grocery tax by 22% at a time when we’re all paying more for everything because of inflation is the right thing to do for Nashvillians and with tonight’s vote, we put $9 million back into the hands of our residents.”
The sales tax change must be sent to the Department of Revenue for approval.
House Bill 2186, signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee, was opposed by Democrats because of an additional caveat concerning the effective dates of a 2023 bill that would require metropolitan governments to have 20 members or fewer. The Nashville Metro Council currently has 40 members.
Tennessee’s two other metropolitan governments, Lynchburg/Moore County and Hartsville/Trousdale County, have fewer than 20 members, so the bill doesn’t apply to them.
The second part of House Bill 2186 removes the 2023 effective dates, leaving the requirement open to enforcement now if the Tennessee Supreme Court sides with the state in the Metro Council’s challenge to the law.
The Tennessee Court of Appeals sided with the state in 2025. The Metro Council appealed and the case is pending in the Tennessee Supreme Court.
State lawmakers from both parties have proposed eliminating the state’s 4% grocery sales tax, but those measures have failed.
During the 2026 session, Democrats proposed replacing the $800 million in tax revenue collected from the grocery sales tax with a minimum corporate tax and requiring companies to report profits earned in foreign countries. The bill did not make it to the full General Assembly.
