# Fuel duty: the rate, and how it got there url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/fuel-duty/ updated: 22 September 2026 licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) publisher: Tekstak Ltd [Where your money goes](/) › Road fuel # Fuel duty: the rate, and how it got there Last updated 22 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). UK fuel duty is **52.95p a litre** as of 21 September 2026, the same flat rate on petrol and diesel, and it is frozen until at least 31 December 2026. It has not risen since 2011, and was cut by 5p in March 2022. VAT at 20% is then charged on top of it. Fuel duty raised £24.6bn in the most recent year HMRC has published. Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices), [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk). ## What is the fuel duty rate? 52.95p Fuel duty, pence per litre ▬ Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). £24,558m Fuel duty raised, most recent year ▲ Figure as of 6 April 2025. Source: [HM Revenue and Customs](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk). 81.6p Tax per litre of petrol in total ▲ Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). at least 31 December 2026 Frozen until Figure as of 22 September 2026. Source: [HMRC](https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hydrocarbon-oils-duty-rates). Checked by hand 22 September 2026. [Work out your own fuel costs and fuel tax](https://howlongisit.co.uk) ## How has fuel duty changed over time? **Fuel duty on petrol, pence per litre** **The numbers behind this chart** | Year | Duty | | --- | --- | | 2003 | 45.82p | | 2004 | 47.10p | | 2005 | 47.10p | | 2006 | 47.10p | | 2007 | 48.35p | | 2008 | 50.35p | | 2009 | 52.35p | | 2010 | 56.19p | | 2011 | 58.95p | | 2012 | 57.95p | | 2013 | 57.95p | | 2014 | 57.95p | | 2015 | 57.95p | | 2016 | 57.95p | | 2017 | 57.95p | | 2018 | 57.95p | | 2019 | 57.95p | | 2020 | 57.95p | | 2021 | 57.95p | | 2022 | 57.95p | | 2023 | 52.95p | | 2024 | 52.95p | | 2025 | 52.95p | | 2026 | 52.95p | | 2026 | 52.95p | Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). Headline duty on the main unleaded grade, pence per litre, nominal, as published alongside each week of the DESNZ price series. - **1993**The fuel duty escalator starts: duty is to rise faster than inflation every year, first 3% above inflation, later 5% and then 6%. The stated aims were cutting emissions and raising revenue. - **1999**The escalator is scrapped. Duty has roughly doubled in six years. - **2000**Fuel protests: hauliers and farmers blockade refineries and many forecourts run dry within days. - **2008-2010**Duty rises resume with inflation as oil spikes; VAT goes from 17.5% to 20% in January 2011, adding to the tax on tax. - **2011**Duty is cut 1p to 57.95p and frozen. It stays frozen for over a decade. - **2022**After Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends prices to record highs, duty is cut 5p to 52.95p as a temporary measure. - **2025**The Budget plans to unwind the 5p cut in steps from September 2026. - **2026**With the Middle East conflict pushing prices up, the September and December rises are cancelled; duty stays at 52.95p until at least the end of the year. - **2028**A per-mile charge on electric vehicles is due from April 2028, as duty receipts shrink with fewer petrol and diesel cars. Timeline checked by hand 22 September 2026. Rates for each week come from the DESNZ weekly series, not from this list. ## What has the freeze done to the tax? Because duty is a fixed number of pence rather than a percentage, inflation erodes it. Real-terms fuel duty receipts peaked in 2010–11 and are 39.4% below that peak today, even though the number of vehicles on the road has grown. The tax share of a litre is also lower than in the late 1990s, when cheap oil and the escalator pushed it above 80%; it is 47% now. ## Why does the UK tax fuel this heavily? There is no single reason. Several have piled up over fifty years. ### It raises a lot of money, reliably About £24.6bn a year, similar to the whole budget of some government departments. Demand for fuel barely drops when prices rise, so the Treasury can count on it. That is the main reason governments of both parties have kept it high even while freezing it. ### It is not a road tax Fuel duty goes into general taxation, not roads. The link between motoring taxes and road spending was broken in the 1930s. Duty and vehicle excise duty together raise far more than is spent on roads, which is a common complaint, but the same is true of most taxes: they are not tied to what they fund. ### The environment and congestion case The 1990s escalator was justified partly on climate grounds, and economists often argue fuel duty is a rough stand-in for the costs driving imposes on others: emissions, air pollution, congestion and accidents. Critics reply that duty is a blunt tool for congestion, because a litre burned on an empty Highland road is taxed the same as one in London traffic. ### North Sea oil does not make it cheaper UK crude sells at world prices, so domestic production does not lower the pump price. The countries with very cheap fuel, such as Libya, Iran and Venezuela, subsidise it from state oil revenues rather than taxing it. ### The case for high fuel duty - Large, stable revenue that is hard to avoid. - Puts a price on emissions and pollution. - Encourages efficient cars and less driving. - Replacing it would mean higher taxes elsewhere. ### The case against - Hits rural drivers and low earners hardest, as a share of income. - Feeds through to the price of food and goods via haulage. - Tax on tax, through VAT charged on the duty. - A poor tool for targeting congestion. ## Common questions What is the UK fuel duty rate? 52.95p a litre on both petrol and diesel as of 21 September 2026, frozen until at least 31 December 2026.When did fuel duty last rise? The rate has not risen since 2011. It was cut by 1p that year and frozen, then cut by a further 5p in March 2022.How much does fuel duty raise? £24.6bn in the most recent financial year published by HMRC. ## Use this data Everything on this page is published under [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). You may republish it, including commercially, if you credit Tekstak Ltd and link back to this page. ### Download - [Fuel duty on petrol, weekly since 2003 (CSV)](/data/uk-petrol-duty.csv) [JSON](/data/uk-petrol-duty.json) - [Fuel duty receipts by financial year (CSV)](/data/receipts-fuel.csv) [JSON](/data/receipts-fuel.json) - [All data and field definitions](/data/) ### Embed the live figure Paste this into your page. It updates itself every night and links back here. Embed code ## Sources for this page | Source | Publisher | Figures as of | Updated | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | [Weekly road fuel prices](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices) | Department for Energy Security and Net Zero | 21 September 2026 | weekly | | [HMRC tax receipts and National Insurance contributions for the UK](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmrc-tax-and-nics-receipts-for-the-uk) | HM Revenue and Customs | 6 April 2025 | annual | ## Related questions - [How much tax is in petrol?](/tax-on-petrol/) - [What is the electric car pay-per-mile tax, and what happens to fuel duty?](/ev-pay-per-mile-tax/) - [When does raising a tax rate stop raising money?](/when-tax-rises-lose-revenue/) - [What are UK petrol and diesel prices today?](/uk-fuel-prices/) ## Share this page - WhatsApp - X - Facebook - LinkedIn - Reddit - Email - ## Related pages - [How much tax is in petrol?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/tax-on-petrol/) - [What is the electric car pay-per-mile tax, and what happens to fuel duty?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/ev-pay-per-mile-tax/) - [When does raising a tax rate stop raising money?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/when-tax-rises-lose-revenue/) - [What are UK petrol and diesel prices today?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/uk-fuel-prices/) ## More from this publisher - [UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) - [Work out your own figure with our UK tax calculators](https://howlongisit.co.uk) Published by Tekstak Ltd under CC BY 4.0. Figures last updated 22 September 2026.