An old saying states two things in life are certain, death and taxes. You pay taxes on gasoline every time you fill up at the pump, but do you know how much gasoline tax you actually pay? It’s easy to not notice when gas prices alone are nearing $3 a gallon.
Both the federal and state governments tax gasoline heavily because it’s a product many people absolutely have to buy.
The federal government collects 18.4 cents per gallon, but the states’ tax rates vary considerably.
State and Federal Gas Taxes
The average state gasoline tax is 33.72 cents per gallon. When you add in the 18.4 cents the federal government takes, the average gasoline tax is 52.12 cents per gallon.
The table below lists the gasoline tax assessed by each state, as well as the total tax per gallon once you include the federal government’s share. These values in the first two columns are expressed in cents per gallon (CPG). The table also includes the annual and monthly gasoline tax paid by a driver burning the average consumption of gasoline per year: 656 gallons. The states are in order of the lowest gas taxes to the highest.
| State | State Tax | Total State + Federal Taxes (@18.4 CPG) | Average Annual Gasoline Taxes | Average Monthly Gasoline Taxes |
| Alaska | 14.36 | 32.76 | $214.91 | $17.91 |
| Oklahoma | 17.00 | 35.40 | $232.22 | $19.35 |
| Missouri | 17.35 | 35.75 | $234.52 | $19.54 |
| Mississippi | 18.79 | 37.19 | $243.97 | $20.33 |
| New Mexico | 18.88 | 37.28 | $244.56 | $20.38 |
| Arizona | 19.00 | 37.40 | $245.34 | $20.45 |
| Texas | 20.00 | 38.40 | $251.90 | $20.99 |
| Louisiana | 20.01 | 38.41 | $251.97 | $21.00 |
| South Carolina | 20.75 | 39.15 | $256.82 | $21.40 |
| Alabama | 20.91 | 39.31 | $257.87 | $21.49 |
| Arkansas | 21.80 | 40.20 | $263.71 | $21.98 |
| Colorado | 22.00 | 40.40 | $265.02 | $22.09 |
| Virginia | 22.40 | 40.80 | $267.65 | $22.30 |
| Delaware | 23.00 | 41.40 | $271.58 | $22.63 |
| North Dakota | 23.00 | 41.40 | $271.58 | $22.63 |
| District of Columbia | 23.50 | 41.90 | $274.86 | $22.91 |
| New Hampshire | 23.83 | 42.23 | $277.03 | $23.09 |
| Wyoming | 24.00 | 42.40 | $278.14 | $23.18 |
| Kansas | 24.03 | 42.43 | $278.34 | $23.20 |
| Tennessee | 25.40 | 43.80 | $287.33 | $23.94 |
| Kentucky | 26.00 | 44.40 | $291.26 | $24.27 |
| Massachusetts | 26.54 | 44.94 | $294.81 | $24.57 |
| Ohio | 28.01 | 46.41 | $304.45 | $25.37 |
| Minnesota | 28.60 | 47.00 | $308.32 | $25.69 |
| Nebraska | 29.30 | 47.70 | $312.91 | $26.08 |
| Utah | 29.41 | 47.81 | $313.63 | $26.14 |
| South Dakota | 30.00 | 48.40 | $317.50 | $26.46 |
| Maine | 30.01 | 48.41 | $317.57 | $26.46 |
| Iowa | 30.50 | 48.90 | $320.78 | $26.73 |
| Vermont | 30.80 | 49.20 | $322.75 | $26.90 |
| Georgia | 31.59 | 49.99 | $327.93 | $27.33 |
| Montana | 32.25 | 50.65 | $332.26 | $27.69 |
| Wisconsin | 32.90 | 51.30 | $336.53 | $28.04 |
| Idaho | 33.00 | 51.40 | $337.18 | $28.10 |
| Nevada | 33.78 | 52.18 | $342.30 | $28.53 |
| Maryland | 33.80 | 52.20 | $342.43 | $28.54 |
| Rhode Island | 34.00 | 52.40 | $343.74 | $28.65 |
| North Carolina | 35.35 | 53.75 | $352.60 | $29.38 |
| West Virginia | 35.70 | 54.10 | $354.90 | $29.57 |
| Illinois | 35.75 | 54.15 | $355.22 | $29.60 |
| Oregon | 36.77 | 55.17 | $361.92 | $30.16 |
| New Jersey | 37.10 | 55.50 | $364.08 | $30.34 |
| Connecticut | 39.30 | 57.70 | $378.51 | $31.54 |
| Florida | 41.36 | 59.76 | $392.03 | $32.67 |
| Indiana | 41.90 | 60.30 | $395.57 | $32.96 |
| Michigan | 42.42 | 60.82 | $398.98 | $33.25 |
| New York | 44.69 | 63.09 | $413.87 | $34.49 |
| Hawaii | 46.92 | 65.32 | $428.50 | $35.71 |
| Washington | 49.40 | 67.80 | $444.77 | $37.06 |
| California | 54.73 | 73.13 | $479.73 | $39.98 |
| Pennsylvania | 58.70 | 77.10 | $505.78 | $42.15 |
Readers, how much of what you’ve read here surprises you — how much do you pay attention to taxes when you buy gas? And how does the gas tax in your state compare to the national average?
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