See Exactly How Much Each State Taxes Your Gas

Banking, finance, and taxes

Published: March 24, 2024 11:30 am

March doesn’t just mean the beginning of spring and the peak of college basketball madness. It is also the month when oil refineries begin transitioning from winter gasoline production to the legally required summer fuel blend. This blend produces lower levels of evaporative emissions during the warmer summer weather, but it also costs more to produce. That rise in production cost is, of course, passed on to consumers at the gas pump. However, this more eco-friendly gasoline blend is not the only reason your spring and summer road trips will cost more. Every gallon of fuel you purchase is also taxed, but gasoline tax rates can vary widely from state to state.

Gas taxes are not as simple as they may seem. It is certainly not one flat tax. Instead, gasoline taxes are a combination of excise taxes, operational taxes, fees imposed by wholesalers, and so forth. However, as complex as gas taxes may be, the end result is very straightforward: higher gas prices for American drivers. (And if you want to Marty McFly back in time, here is a look at the price of gasoline through the decades.)

Gas Taxes

Gas pump — Do you know how much you are paying in taxes each time you fill your tank?

Using information provided by The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy nonprofit organization, 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of the total taxes and fees charged per gallon of gasoline in all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C.

The average tax per gallon of gas in the U.S. is just over 32.5¢. However, to illustrate just how disparate these taxes can be, the difference between the states with the lowest and highest gas tax rates is 68.95¢ per gallon!

Taxes, of course, are only part of determining the total price for a gallon of gas in any locality. But, while it won’t explain the total cost at the pump, consumers can use this list to see just how much of their gasoline budget goes to pay taxes each time they fill their tanks.

Here is the list of the per-gallon gas taxes in all U.S. states and the District of Columbia. The states are ranked from the lowest to the highest gas taxes.