Sales tax on restaurant food and to-go orders in the US

Restaurant meals are taxable in every state that has a sales tax, and hot food sold to go is taxable too. Cold food to go is where states split: California usually exempts a cold sandwich sold on its own, while New York taxes every sandwich and Texas, Florida and Illinois tax ready-to-eat restaurant food whether it's eaten in or taken out. The rate is the state rate plus city, county or district taxes, so it changes by address. Voluntary tips aren't taxed in any of the five states below, but mandatory service charges often are.

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Five states compared

Rates vary by city and county, so use your state's rate lookup for your address. This is general information as of October 2026, not tax advice; check with your state revenue department or an accountant.

California: hot food, cold food and the 80/80 rule

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) explains restaurant tax in Publication 22, Dining and Beverage Industry (January 2025).

• Hot prepared food sold to go is taxable. Food counts as hot if it's heated above room temperature, even if it has cooled by the time the customer picks it up. Hot soup counts as food, not a hot beverage.
• Cold food sold on its own to go is not taxable, such as a cold sandwich, a salad or a smoothie. So are hot coffee and hot bakery goods sold for their own price. Soda and alcohol are always taxable.
• Combos change the answer. A to-go combo with any hot item is fully taxable. A cold combo with a soda is taxable only on the soda's share.

The 80/80 rule. It applies to a location when both are true:

1. More than 80% of its gross receipts come from food (soda and alcohol don't count as food), and
2. More than 80% of its retail food sales are taxable, because the food is eaten on site, is hot, or is sold at a drive-in.

If both apply, all food sold in a form you could eat on the premises is taxable, including cold food to go, unless you choose to account separately for cold to-go food (and hot bakery goods and hot coffee sold on their own). You need records for that, such as a separate register key, or tax is owed. CDTFA tests the rule location by location and asks new or changed businesses to re-test.

Delivery apps. Publication 22 says that when an online ordering service acts as the restaurant's agent, the restaurant owes tax on the full menu price, with no deduction for the commission. A written agreement should say which role the platform plays.

New York: sandwiches are always taxable

New York's Tax Bulletin ST-806, Sales by Restaurants, Taverns, and Similar Establishments, covers food "sold in a form ready to be eaten":

• Food eaten on the premises is taxable, hot or cold.
• Heated food and sandwiches are taxable in every case, including cold sandwiches to go.
• Other cold food to go is exempt only when it's sold in the same form, condition, quantity and packaging a grocery store would use. A dozen bagels to go is the bulletin's example.
• If taxable and exempt items are sold together for one price, the whole price is taxable.
• Delivery charges for taxable food are part of the taxable amount.
• Tips: voluntary tips aren't taxable. A mandatory charge escapes tax only if it's shown separately, is called a "tip" or "gratuity", and all of it goes to employees. A "service charge" that isn't identified as a gratuity is taxable.

The state rate is 4%. New York City's combined rate is 8.875%, according to Publication 718 (effective March 1, 2025).

Texas: ready-to-eat food is taxable even to go

The Texas Comptroller's Publication 94-117, Restaurants and the Texas Sales Tax, says ready-to-eat food is typically taxable even when sold to go. Bakery items sold without plates or eating utensils are not taxable.

• State rate 6.25%, plus up to 2% local tax, for a maximum combined rate of 8.25%.
• Voluntary tips aren't taxable. A mandatory gratuity of 20% or less isn't taxable when it's separately and clearly labeled as a tip or gratuity and goes only to the employees who serve the customer. Above 20%, it's taxable.
• Delivery charges connected with taxable items are taxable, per the Comptroller's FAQ.
• Delivery-app fees: on September 30, 2026 the Comptroller announced an executive order to propose removing marketplace fees, such as those restaurants pay DoorDash, Grubhub and Uber Eats, from the data processing tax. It's a rule proposal with a public comment period, not yet a final rule.

Florida: food sold for immediate eating stays taxable to go

Florida's Rule 12A-1.0115 (effective January 10, 2017) covers restaurants:

• Food served, prepared or sold by restaurants is taxable. Food ordinarily sold for immediate consumption stays taxable when it's sold to go, packaged and taken away.
• A restaurant with a separate grocery department doesn't charge tax on exempt groceries there if it keeps separate records, but prepared food is taxable wherever it's sold.
• Gratuities are part of the taxable price unless the charge is separately stated on the receipt and the restaurant receives no monetary benefit from it. Card fees withheld on the tip don't count as a benefit.
• Service charges, minimum charges, corkage and setup fees imposed by a restaurant are taxable.

The state rate is 6%, and a county discretionary sales surtax applies where the county imposes one.

Illinois: groceries got cheaper, restaurant food didn't

The Illinois Department of Revenue confirms that the state's 1% sales tax on groceries ended on January 1, 2026 (Public Act 103-0781, Bulletin FY 2026-03). Cities and counties may now adopt their own grocery tax of exactly 1% by ordinance, and the RTA and Metro-East grocery taxes still apply.

None of this reaches restaurants. PIO-115 (revised November 2025) keeps food prepared for immediate consumption at the high rate: 6.25% state plus local taxes. Hot food, sandwiches made to order and packaged snacks sold by a restaurant are high rate, and if you have seating, all your food sales are presumed high rate unless you can show separate areas and records.

Mandatory service charges separately stated on the bill are deductible only to the extent the money is turned over as tips to the staff who prepare, serve, host or clean up. Any part used for wages, benefits or other costs is taxable (Form ST-1 instructions, 2026).

Worked example: one US$40 to-go order in five states

Prices as of October 2026. A customer orders two hot pizzas at US$16.00 each and a cold turkey sandwich at US$8.00, all to go, for a subtotal of US$40.00. Tax below uses the state rate only; your local rate adds to it.

Add a US$5.00 delivery fee and New York taxes it too: US$0.44 more at 8.875% in New York City. In Texas it's taxable as well: US$0.41 more at 8.25%.

How Menuthere handles sales tax

Menuthere adds tax on every plan. Go to Settings → Payments & tax → Tax Settings, switch on Charge tax on orders, then enter your Tax percentage and your Tax number if you have one.

• The bill line is named "Sales tax" for US stores. You can rename it in Tax name on bills (up to 20 characters).
• One store rate. Enter your combined state and local rate for your location, for example 8.875% in New York City.
• Own tax rate per dish. In the dish editor, give an exempt item its own rate. A California restaurant tracking cold to-go food separately could set its cold sandwiches to 0%; dishes without their own rate use the store rate. When an order mixes rates, the bill shows one line per rate, and past orders keep the rate they were charged.
• Tax-inclusive prices are possible per dish, but in the US menu prices are normally shown before tax.
• Tips are never taxed. If you turn on tips at checkout, the tip is worked on food after discounts and no tax is added to it. How much customers tip on takeout is covered in our guide to tipping on takeout orders.
• The optional service charge is not taxed by Menuthere. It's dine-in only by default and the customer can remove it. Florida taxes service charges a restaurant imposes, and New York taxes a service charge not identified as a gratuity, so check your state before you use one. See tips and service charge.

One limit: Menuthere uses one tax name per store and a single rate per dish, so it can't print a state tax and a city tax as two separate lines; the combined rate goes on one line. See tax setup and tax-inclusive prices.

Checklist before you set your rate

1. Look up your combined rate for your exact address with your state's rate lookup.
2. California: test the 80/80 rule for each location and decide whether to track cold to-go food separately.
3. List exempt items (cold food to go in California, bakery items sold without utensils in Texas) and give them their own rate.
4. Decide how you'll handle service charges. If your state taxes them, either collect tax on them yourself or build the cost into menu prices instead.
5. Read your delivery app agreements to see who collects and remits tax on app orders. Compare apps in our DoorDash vs Uber Eats vs Grubhub guide.
6. Price your menu with tax in mind using the menu price calculator.

For a direct ordering page with tax set up for your state, see the online ordering system for the USA or pricing. Setting card fees? Read credit card surcharge laws by state. Selling from home? See cottage food laws.

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