Idaho and South Dakota charge their normal sales tax rate for groceries: 6 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, according to nonprofit tax policy group Tax Foundation. Five states tax groceries at a lower rate than the state sales tax rate. Some 45 states charge sales tax at the state level, and another three levy it at the local level, according to Tax Foundation. Alaska, Montana and New Hampshire don’t have statewide sales tax, but local sales tax rates range from an average of 1.82 percent to 8.5 percent, depending on the state. Future retirees typically look at income tax before sales tax, he wrote in an email to The Independent.