Vermont Cannabis Tax 2026: What You Actually Pay at the Register

The short version: Vermont's recreational cannabis carries a 14% state excise tax plus a 6% state sales tax — roughly 20% added to whatever the menu lists. On a $100 cart before taxes, you pay $120 at the register. The Senate passed a bill (S.278) in 2026 to cut the excise to 10%, but the House removed that provision; as of mid-2026 the two chambers haven't reconciled and the 14% rate is unchanged. Some municipalities add up to 1% on top.

How Vermont's cannabis tax works

Vermont taxes recreational cannabis in two layers, both charged at the point of sale:

• Cannabis excise tax: 14% of the retail selling price, collected by the dispensary and remitted to the Vermont Department of Taxes
• Sales and use tax: Vermont's standard 6% sales tax, applied to the retail selling price

Both taxes are calculated on the pre-tax menu price — they don't stack on top of each other. A $50 item generates $7 in excise tax and $3 in sales tax, for $10 total. Your out-of-pocket is $60.

Most Vermont dispensaries display pre-tax prices on their menus (both in-store and on Dutchie/online). The 20% tax is added at checkout, which is why the receipt total is always higher than the menu suggests.

Worked examples: $50, $100, and $200 baskets

Quick mental math: multiply the menu total by 1.20. That's your out-of-pocket for a standard Vermont dispensary run.

The optional municipal tax (up to 1% more)

Vermont law allows municipalities to impose a local cannabis tax of up to 1% on retail sales within their borders. Not every town in Vermont has adopted this, but some have. If you see a line on your receipt labeled "local cannabis tax" or "municipal cannabis tax," that's this charge.

Where it applies, the effective combined rate is 21% instead of 20%. On a $100 menu cart, that's $21 in total taxes instead of $20 — a $1 difference. For most shoppers it's not a meaningful factor when choosing which dispensary to visit.

Burlington, where most of the Burlington dispensaries are located, does levy a local cannabis tax — check your receipt to confirm the current rate, as local rates can change with each fiscal year.

Where does Vermont's cannabis tax revenue go?

Vermont's 14% cannabis excise tax brought in roughly $19.7 million in 2024, and the 6% sales tax adds several million more on top. The state allocates this revenue across several funds:

• Cannabis excise tax proceeds are split between the General Fund and a Substance Misuse Prevention Special Fund (30% of excise revenue, up to $10 million annually, directed to substance abuse prevention and treatment — a provision that took effect July 1, 2025)
• Sales and use tax proceeds are directed to afterschool programs
• Licensing fees fund Cannabis Control Board operations

The revenue earmarks were expanded as part of a political compromise: the state's cannabis expansion bills required some excise revenue to fund treatment programs, which made the overall package acceptable to Governor Phil Scott, who has been skeptical of cannabis expansion.

Vermont vs. neighboring states: how the tax compares

Vermont sits at the upper end of the regional range, but the gap narrowed in 2026. Maine raised its cannabis sales tax from 10% to 14% on January 1, 2026, so a $100 cart there now runs about $114 out-the-door versus $120 in Vermont — roughly a $6 difference, not the double-digit savings Maine offered a year earlier. Massachusetts is comparable to Vermont once its local-option taxes (up to 3%) are added, though its base rate is about 3 points lower before those add-ons.

New York's potency-based structure is genuinely different: the THC tax means a gram of 20% THC flower carries less per-gram excise than a gram of 30% THC flower. Vermont's flat percentage makes the math simpler but doesn't reward buying lower-potency products.

The 2026 tax-cut proposal that stalled

Vermont's 2026 cannabis bill (S.278) originally included a Senate-passed provision to reduce the excise tax from 14% to 10%. That would have saved consumers roughly $4 on a $100 cart and brought Vermont's rate closer to Massachusetts.

The Senate passed S.278 on March 27, 2026, with the excise cut included, but the House removed the tax-cut provision from its version of the bill. As of mid-2026 the two chambers had not reconciled their versions, so the excise rate remains 14%. Vermont's combined effective rate of roughly 20% is among the highest of New England's operating cannabis markets.

Advocates intend to keep pushing the excise reduction, but it faces House resistance over the revenue hit unless Vermont's General Fund picture changes.

How to spend less on taxes without crossing a state line

The tax rate is fixed — but there are legitimate ways to reduce the total you pay per gram:

• Daily deals and tier discounts: Several Burlington dispensaries offer percentage-off discounts on specific days or for specific customer groups (veterans, seniors, medical patients). Since the tax percentage is constant, a 20% deal on the pre-tax price is a genuine 20% saving on your total bill. Check the deals tracker for current offers across Burlington-area shops.
• Loyalty programs: Shops like Lake Effect Cannabis and Greenleaf Elite run points systems. Redeemed loyalty credits reduce your pre-tax subtotal, which reduces the absolute dollar amount of tax you pay.
• Bulk pricing: Quarter-ounce and ounce tiers at most dispensaries carry a lower per-gram price than eighths. Lower price-per-gram × the same 20% rate = lower tax in dollar terms.
• Medical registration: Registered Vermont medical patients are exempt from the 14% cannabis excise tax. If you qualify for medical use, registration can save meaningful money over time. See the Vermont Cannabis Control Board site for eligibility and application details.

Frequently asked questions about Vermont cannabis taxes

See also our Vermont cannabis guide for possession limits, purchasing rules, and what changed in 2026.