Gas Taxes: What You Pay at the Pump in Each State
In 2024, inflation has hit the U.S. and the global economy with a vengeance. From the perspective of the American consumer, the skyrocketing cost of gas has likely been the clearest indication of rising inflation, as taxes levied on gasoline, diesel fuel and gas prices, in general, have jumped around all year, but unfortunately still seem to land on the higher side.
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Even before inflation reared its ugly head, gas taxes comprised a significant portion of the overall cost of a gallon of gasoline. While federal gas taxes are the same across the country, each state levies its own gas and motor fuel tax as well, and in most cases, state gasoline taxes are much higher than the federal tax. Gas tax revenue for the state aside, here are some interesting takeaways:
The total federal gasoline tax, including the excise LUST fee, is $0.184.
The national average for state gas taxes is about $0.27.
The national average for state and federal gas taxes combined is approximately $0.51.
Varying factors that can affect both gas prices and taxes in each state can include infrastructure projects, highway trust funds, gas tax holidays and general sales taxes.
To determine the lowest and highest gas taxes in each state, GOBankingRates culled data to find the amount of tax each gallon of gas will cost from the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s State-by-State fuel taxes. For each state, the state tax and other taxes and fees were sourced and added to the federal gallon excise tax and other fees to find the total federal and state taxes a gallon of gas costs.
The average gas price was sourced from AAA’s Gas Price by State and the regular and diesel costs were recorded. Here is what was discovered for each state.
Gas Tax Rate: Alabama
Total state tax for gas: $0.30
Average price for regular gas: $3.22
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.76
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Gas Tax Rate: Alaska
Total state tax for gas: $0.09
Average price for regular gas: $4.37
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.92
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Gas Tax Rate: Arizona
Total state tax for gas: $0.19
Average price for regular gas: $3.93
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.97
Gas Tax Rate: Arkansas
Total state tax for gas: $0.25
Average price for regular gas: $3.13
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.60
Gas Tax Rate: California
Total state tax for gas: $0.68
Average price for regular gas: $5.26
Average price for diesel fuel: $5.32
Gas Tax Rate: Colorado
Total state tax for gas: $0.29
Average price for regular gas: $3.30
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.62
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Gas Tax Rate: Connecticut
Total state tax for gas: $0.25
Average price for regular gas: $3.71
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.16
Gas Tax Rate: Delaware
Total state tax for gas: $0.23
Average price for regular gas: $3.48
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.72
Gas Tax Rate: Florida
Total state tax for gas: $0.39
Average price for regular gas: $3.50
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.77
Gas Tax Rate: Georgia
Total state tax for gas: $0.33
Average price for regular gas: $3.41
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.90
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Gas Tax Rate: Hawaii
Total state tax for gas: $0.19
Average price for regular gas: $4.81
Average price for diesel fuel: $5.55
Gas Tax Rate: Idaho
Total state tax for gas: $0.33
Average price for regular gas: $3.84
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.82
Gas Tax Rate: Illinois
Total state tax for gas: $0.67
Average price for regular gas: $3.90
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.98
Gas Tax Rate: Indiana
Total state tax for gas: $0.52
Average price for regular gas: $3.54
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.97
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Gas Tax Rate: Iowa
Total state tax for gas: $0.30
Average price for regular gas: $3.24
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.66
Gas Tax Rate: Kansas
Total state tax for gas: $0.25
Average price for regular gas: $3.16
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.61
Gas Tax Rate: Kentucky
Total state tax for gas: $0.30
Average price for regular gas: $3.38
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.73
Gas Tax Rate: Louisiana
Total state tax for gas: $0.21
Average price for regular gas: $3.16
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.63
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Gas Tax Rate: Maine
Total state tax for gas: $0.31
Average price for regular gas: $3.61
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.22
Gas Tax Rate: Maryland
Total state tax for gas: $0.47
Average price for regular gas: $3.57
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.94
Gas Tax Rate: Massachusetts
Total state tax for gas: $0.27
Average price for regular gas: $3.57
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.19
Gas Tax Rate: Michigan
Total state tax for gas: $0.48
Average price for regular gas: $3.60
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.91
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Gas Tax Rate: Minnesota
Total state tax for gas: $0.29
Average price for regular gas: $3.24
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.73
Gas Tax Rate: Mississippi
Total state tax for gas: $0.18
Average price for regular gas: $3.07
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.62
Gas Tax Rate: Missouri
Total state tax for gas: $0.25
Average price for regular gas: $3.23
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.58
Gas Tax Rate: Montana
Total state tax for gas: $0.34
Average price for regular gas: $3.49
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.93
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Gas Tax Rate: Nebraska
Total state tax for gas: $0.30
Average price for regular gas: $3.31
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.63
Gas Tax Rate: Nevada
Total state tax for gas: $0.24
Average price for regular gas: $4.41
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.02
Gas Tax Rate: New Hampshire
Total state tax for gas: $0.24
Average price for regular gas: $3.53
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.17
Gas Tax Rate: New Jersey
Total state tax for gas: $0.42
Average price for regular gas: $3.54
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.89
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Gas Tax Rate: New Mexico
Total state tax for gas: $0.19
Average price for regular gas: $3.31
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.73
Gas Tax Rate: New York
Total state tax for gas: $0.26
Average price for regular gas: $3.71
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.38
Gas Tax Rate: North Carolina
Total state tax for gas: $0.41
Average price for regular gas: $3.63
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.89
Gas Tax Rate: North Dakota
Total state tax for gas: $0.23
Average price for regular gas: $3.43
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.72
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Gas Tax Rate: Ohio
Total state tax for gas: $0.39
Average price for regular gas: $3.46
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.87
Gas Tax Rate: Oklahoma
Total state tax for gas: $0.20
Average price for regular gas: $3.14
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.45
Gas Tax Rate: Oregon
Total state tax for gas: $0.40
Average price for regular gas: $4.41
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.24
Gas Tax Rate: Pennsylvania
Total state tax for gas: $0.59
Average price for regular gas: $3.76
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.41
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Gas Tax Rate: Rhode Island
Total state tax for gas: $0.38
Average price for regular gas: $3.60
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.25
Gas Tax Rate: South Carolina
Total state tax for gas: $0.29
Average price for regular gas: $3.21
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.71
Gas Tax Rate: South Dakota
Total state tax for gas: $0.30
Average price for regular gas: $3.31
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.59
Gas Tax Rate: Tennessee
Total state tax for gas: $0.27
Average price for regular gas: $3.21
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.71
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Gas Tax Rate: Texas
Total state tax for gas: $0.20
Average price for regular gas: $3.20
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.51
Gas Tax Rate: Utah
Total state tax for gas: $0.37
Average price for regular gas: $3.76
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.70
Gas Tax Rate: Vermont
Total state tax for gas: $0.33
Average price for regular gas: $3.63
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.12
Gas Tax Rate: Virginia
Total state tax for gas: $0.39
Average price for regular gas: $3.43
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.93
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Gas Tax Rate: Washington
Total state tax for gas: $0.53
Average price for regular gas: $4.63
Average price for diesel fuel: $4.66
Gas Tax Rate: West Virginia
Total state tax for gas: $0.36
Average price for regular gas: $3.50
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.91
Gas Tax Rate: Wisconsin
Total state tax for gas: $0.33
Average price for regular gas: $3.31
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.66
Gas Tax Rate: Wyoming
Total state tax for gas: $0.24
Average price for regular gas: $3.34
Average price for diesel fuel: $3.73
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed each state to find the average price of regular gas and diesel as well as the amount of tax costs from each state. First GOBankingRates found the amount of tax each gallon of gas will cost from the US Energy Information Administration’s State-by-State fuel taxes. For each state the state tax and other taxes and fees were sourced and added to the federal excise tax and LUST fee to find the total federal and state taxes a gallon of gas costs. The average gas price was sourced from AAA’s Gas Price by State and the regular and diesel costs were recorded. The states were sorted to show the highest to the lowest gas tax cost for each state. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 15, 2024.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Gas Taxes: What You Pay at the Pump in Each State