Fuel taxes explained: federal and state
How much of the pump price is tax, and why it varies so much from state to state.
The federal excise tax is 18.4¢ a gallon on gasoline and 24.4¢ on diesel and has not changed since 1993. States add their own excise taxes, and some add sales taxes or environmental fees, so the total tax on a gallon varies widely across state lines.
As of January 2026, EIA puts the average of total state taxes and fees at 33.27¢ a gallon on gasoline and 35.50¢ on diesel, on top of the federal 18.40¢ and 24.40¢ (EIA: How much tax do we pay on a gallon of gasoline and diesel?). The Federal Highway Administration's Highway Statistics tables list each state's rate.
EIA's weekly retail prices include all taxes. Because taxes are a fixed number of cents, they are a bigger share of the price when fuel is cheap. Every state’s rate, ranked, is on the fuel taxes by state page.