An Albany County legislator is seeking to eliminate the 4% sales tax on many clothing and footwear purchases in the county.
Republican Mark Grimm is introducing legislation on April 13 to cut the county sales tax for shoppers buying clothing and shoes for less than $110 per item. While the Albany County Legislature has suspended the tax for brief holidays, Grimm said his law would make the tax break permanent.
“This is an effective way to make buying clothing and footwear more affordable, and it would mean the most to shoppers who have the least amount of money to spend,” Grimm said. “Young families with children and seniors on fixed income are struggling with the cost of living and this offers a long-term solution for some price relief.”
New York state already provides an exemption on its 4% portion of the clothing sales tax for items less than $110. Counties and municipalities can take legislative action to participate.
In addition to New York City, 10 counties have eliminated their local share of the sales tax: Chautauqua, Chenango (outside the city of Norwich), Columbia, Delaware, Dutchess, Greene, Hamilton, Monroe, Putnam, and Tioga, according to the state Department of Taxation and Finance.
There were more than $300 million in taxable clothing and footwear sales in the county from March 2024 to February 2025, according to the New York State Association of Counties.
Grimm said the county can afford to make up lost sales tax through its recent increase in its hotel tax, cannabis tax revenues, opioid and tobacco settlement money and projected fund balance.
A full list of tax-exempt items can be found here.