City of Madison is first to make hearing aids sales tax exempt

The City of Madison has become the first city in Alabama to make hearing aids exempt from sales and use tax. 

The change came out of a city council meeting on Monday, resulting in a unanimous vote to end the tax. Mayor Paul Finley shared during the meeting that the city made $19,656 in revenue from hearing aid sales tax during 2023. This year, from January through June, that number sits at about $16,000. 

The council states that although what they’re providing for the community outweighs what they’re receiving in taxes, the financial relief for its elderly community and those who are hearing impaired is of greater importance, given higher costs.

However, the impact on Madison’s revenue will be manageable. Out of the total 9 percent in tax that people would normally pay, 3.5 percent will be eliminated. 

This was made possible by HB51, sponsored by Rep. Margie Wilcox of Mobile, designed to exclude gross proceeds from hearing aid sales from state tax. HB51 will go into effect on Sept. 1 and Madison’s exemption will take effect on Oct. 1. 

Following HB51 being enacted, it’s still up to each municipality and county on their end to approve ending sales tax locally. Previously, Alabama was one of only three states that put a tax on hearing aids.