2026 Gas Tax Rates by State

Every state and Washington, DC levies a per-gallon gasoline tax. Most use a statutory excise rate plus smaller environmental, inspection, or storage fees. Tax Foundation Facts & Figures 2026 rolls those pieces into a total state cents-per-gallon figure used for this ranking.

Federal tax adds 18.5¢/gal on every gallon nationwide. Drivers in California therefore face roughly 89.42¢/gal in combined federal and state tax components, versus about 27.45¢/gal in Alaska—before wholesale fuel costs and any local levies.

Use this hub to compare commute costs, relocation offers, and fleet budgets. Open a state profile for fill-up and annual mileage examples, or a compare page for head-to-head savings.

The excise column is the main statutory cents-per-gallon charge. “Other fees” capture cleanup, inspection, and similar per-gallon add-ons that Tax Foundation includes in the state total.

Unlike sales tax at checkout, fuel taxes are generally collected upstream and already included in the price on the pump. That is why posted prices differ so much across state lines even when wholesale crude costs are similar.

A few states also apply percentage-based sales or gross-earnings taxes on fuel. Those effects may appear partly in “other fees,” or may still understate retail tax in states such as Connecticut.

Annual state fuel tax ≈ (miles ÷ MPG) × (state ¢/gal ÷ 100). At the default 12,000 miles and 25 MPG, that is 480 gallons.

Example: California state tax alone is about $340.42 per year at that mileage; Alaska is about $42.96. Add federal tax of about $88.80 in either state.

Higher mileage or lower MPG scales the gap linearly. Compare pages show the dollar difference between two states at the same driving assumptions.

State and federal fuel taxes are designed as user fees for highways, bridges, and often transit. The federal Highway Trust Fund is supported by the federal gasoline and diesel excises.

States earmark most fuel tax revenue for transportation, though budgets and bonding rules vary. EV fees and registration surcharges are growing in some states as gallons decline.

This guide ranks tax rates only—it does not score pavement quality, congestion, or how efficiently each state spends motor-fuel revenue.