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Fuel taxes increase again

June 30, 2008

The summer vacation driving season is here. Do you know what your state’s fuel tax rate is?

The American Petroleum Institute (API) does. The national trade association for the U.S. oil and natural gas industry regularly tracks gasoline and diesel fuel tax rates.

Gas_can
Today it released its latest data compilation, which reflects changes that take effect tomorrow, July 1.

States with fuel tax changes since January include Connecticut (diesel only), Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Minnesota, Nebraska and Washington. 

API also tracks rate increases that are due to sales tax increases or increases in the price of fuel. States in which these type of changes have (or will occur July 1) include Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii (diesel only), Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York and West Virginia. 

Based on the July 1 effective date data, the average amount of tax imposed on a gallon of gasoline sold in the United States will be 49.4 cents per gallon, up 2.4 cents from the January report. That includes the 18.4 cents per gallon federal fuel excise tax. 

For diesel fuel, API found that the national average amount of tax was 56.4 cents per gallon, up 2.8 cents from six months ago.

The map below gives a good indication of where
gasoline is most costly, tax-wise. Red states have combined federal and state gas taxes greater
than 49.4 cents per gallon. Yellow state taxes are between 40 and 49.04
cents per gallon. Blue states charge less than 40 cents per gallon.

API_state_gas_taxes_July08

You
can click on the map for a larger version (or here if you’re reading via feed; to see a map of diesel taxes, click here).

More details on the latest state fuel tax rates can be found in API’s chart (PDF version), which reflects a weighted average for each state. This means that any taxes which can vary across a state’s jurisdiction are averaged according to the population of the local areas subject to each particular tax rate.

Where appropriate, the weighted average also takes into consideration the typical percentages of premium, mid-grade, and regular fuel purchased in each state.

In states where taxes vary depending upon the price of the motor fuel (for example, where the tax rate is set as a percentage of the sales price rather than a cents per gallon method), the state average listed on API’s chart is a snapshot based upon the price of fuel as reported by AAA. The fuel prices used by API for this latest chart were recorded on June 19, so it’s likely that the actual amounts right now are a bit higher.

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TAX-SAVVY WAYS 
TO WRAP UP 2026

It’s over! With October’s extended filing deadline behind us, it is now time to focus on year-end moves to reduce your 2026 tax bill. 

You’ll find ways to do just that on the Tax Tips page (see the More Tax Posts drop-down menu at the top of the blog), as well as the separate tax tip pages for each month, notably October through December. If you’re on the Tax Tips page, you’ll find a monthly list at the end of this column. If you’re on another blog page, you can head straight to the October tips; at the bottom of that tips page you’ll find links to all the other 11 months’ collections of tax advice.

Not to spoil what you’ll find in that tax advice, but it does cover such things as tax deductions for charitable donations, investment moves that could reduce tax due, and ways to max out your tax-favored retirement savings. 

Finally, as the year winds down, things get hectic. There are lots of other things to occupy our time, like the much more fun upcoming holidays. But don’t lose sight of taxes, since timing is key. To be of use, most tax moves must be made by the end of the tax year. That’s Thursday, Dec. 31, which also is the last business day of the year. 

So that you don’t miss that final tax year deadline, also keep an eye on the countdown clock below. It will keep you on top of just how much time is left to make important, tax-saving moves. (Note: I’m in the Central Time Zone, so adjust accordingly for where you live.)

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Comments
  • mapgirl
    18 years ago Reply

    Fascinating, but perhaps they should also mark the states with no income tax, like FL, WA, and NV.
    Then you can see how it’s totally crazy that high tax states like MA, CA, and NY have really high gas taxes too. (MA is only yellow, but even so… I guess they are still paying for the Big Dig with gas taxes?)

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