Affected by this? Read the update HERE.
New legislation in Alabama took effect on September 1, 2023, that reduced the state’s grocery tax by 1%. Non-food items are still taxed at 10% but FOOD items at the grocery store will only be taxed at 9%.
That’s great news, right?
Well, maybe not if you shopped at a Walmart in Alabama on September 1st.
On September 1, 2023, some Walmart customers and Sam’s Club members across Alabama were incorrectly overcharged sales tax while shopping at Walmart. They were charged 10% on their whole ticket and then an additional 9% on food items. (Applies to online grocery orders too!)
Walmart’s systems mistakenly charged both the old rate and the new rate at the time of sale. This issue has been fixed and if you paid with a card, you’re okay! Customers who used credit and debit cards will receive a notification their refunds were automatically applied.
If you used cash while shopping at Walmart on September 1st, check your receipts! If you see you’ve been charged two separate sales tax amounts, bring that receipt to Walmart or Sam’s Club and speak with a member of management to get a refund for the higher of the two taxes.
This is where it gets confusing. **Important note** All store receipts will from now on list two separate tax lines for food and non-food sales tax. If you spent $50 on food and $10 on non-food and your tax lines say “Sales Tax $1.00” and “Food Tax $4.50”. Then you were charged correctly – 10% on the $10 and 9% on the $50. But if your sales tax is $6.00 and your sales tax is $4.50, you were double taxed.
You only have to check your receipts from September 1, 2023. The mistake didn’t start until this day and was caught and corrected before the end of the day. So this does not apply to purchases made on any other date.
If you have additional questions, please reach out to the Walmart Press Office.
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