DEPARTMENT OF STATE REVENUE
SUBJECT: Local Food and Beverage Taxes
Aside from nonsubstantive, technical changes, this version of the directive has been changed from the previous version to include the new food and beverage taxes authorized for Steuben County and Monroe County, as well as the towns of Cloverdale and Fishers.
The purpose of this directive is to assist retail merchants in the proper application of the food and beverage tax. Generally, in counties or municipalities that adopt a food and beverage tax, the rate is 1% of the gross retail income received from taxable food and beverage transactions. In some instances where both a county and municipality within the county have adopted the food and beverage tax, the total tax rate for a taxable transaction inside the municipality is 2%.
The food and beverage tax applies only to transactions that take place in a county or municipality that adopts the tax. With regard to retail merchants that cater, the tax is not based on where the retail merchant is located. Rather, the tax is based on where the catering is provided. A retail merchant that caters in counties or municipalities that have not adopted the tax will not collect the tax on transactions in those counties and municipalities.
The food and beverage tax applies to any transaction in which food or beverage is furnished, prepared, or served by a retail merchant for consumption at a location or on equipment provided by the retail merchant in a county or municipality that adopts the tax.
Taxable transactions include:
• Food sold and served by a retail merchant that is performing catering activities;
• Food sold at a deli counter in a grocery store that is cooked or heated on the premises of the retail merchant; and
• Where the seller provides eating utensils, including plates, knives, forks, spoons, glasses, cups, napkins, or straws.
• Sales of food that is only cut, repackaged, or pasteurized by the seller; and
• Sales of eggs, fish, meat, and poultry requiring cooking by the consumer.
The food and beverage tax does not apply to the sale of food and beverages if the transaction is exempt from the sales tax.
The food and beverage tax is imposed, paid, and collected in the same manner as the sales tax. The filing of the return and the remittance of the tax collected are due 30 days after the end of the month in which the transaction occurs. The return for the food and beverage tax is a separate return from the sales and use tax return. A retailer that is required to collect and remit the tax may file a consolidated food and beverage tax return if the retailer operates multiple locations in the same county. A separate return is required to be filed by the retailer if the retailer has locations in different adopting counties.
| County | Rate | Effective Date |
| Allen County | 1% | July 1986 |
| Boone County | 1% | August 2005 |
| Delaware County | 1% | August 1986 |
| Hamilton County | 1% | August 2005 |
| Hancock County | 1% | August 2005 |
| Hendricks County | 1% | August 2005 |
| Henry County | 1% | October 1987 |
| Johnson County | 1% | August 2005 (collected by county treasurer) |
| Madison County | 1% | February 1989 |
| Marion County | 2% | July 1981 and July 2005 (rate increase) |
| Monroe County | 1% | Authorized March 13, 2009* |
| Shelby County | 1% | August 2005 |
| Steuben County | 1% | Authorized March 19, 2008* |
| Vanderburgh County | 1% | August 1985 |
| Municipality | Municipality Rate | Effective Date | County | County Rate | Total Rate |
| Avon | 1% | July 2005 | Hendricks | 1% | 2% |
| Brownsburg | 1% | August 1995 | Hendricks | 1% | 2% |
| Carmel | 1% | August 2005 | Hamilton | 1% | 2% |
| Cloverdale | 1% | September 1, 2013 | Putnam | n/a | 1% |
| Fishers | n/a | Authorized July 1, 2013* | Hamilton | 1% | 1% |
| Lebanon | 1% | November 2005 | Boone | 1% | 2% |
| Martinsville | 1% | July 2005 | Morgan | n/a | 1% |
| Mooresville | 1% | August 1990 | Morgan | n/a | 1% |
| Nashville | 1% | July 1987 | Brown | n/a | 1% |
| Noblesville | 1% | August 2005 | Hamilton | 1% | 2% |
| Plainfield | 1% | August 1995 | Hendricks | 1% | 2% |
| Shipshewana | 1% | July 1990 | LaGrange | n/a | 1% |
| Westfield | 1% | August 2005 | Hamilton | 1% | 2% |
| Zionsville | 1% | November 2005 | Boone | 1% | 2% |
*As of the date of publication of this directive, food and beverage taxes have been authorized, but not yet imposed, in this county.
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Michael J. Alley
Commissioner
