# How much tax is in petrol? url: https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/tax-on-petrol/ 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 # How much tax is in petrol? Last updated 22 September 2026. Figures refresh every night. [How each figure is worked out](/methodology/). As of 21 September 2026, **81.6p of the UK's 172.0p average litre of petrol is tax** — 47% of what you pay. That is 52.95p of fuel duty plus 28.7p of VAT, charged at 20% on the fuel *and* on the duty. The remaining 90.4p covers the crude oil, refining, distribution and the forecourt's margin. Pump prices are the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero's weekly UK average; the duty rate is the one HMRC applied that week. Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). ## What is in a litre of petrol? 172.0p/litre UK average, E10 unleaded, week to 21 September 2026 90.4p 53.0p 28.7p Fuel, refining and retail 53%Fuel duty 31%VAT 17% | Part of the price | Pence per litre | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | Fuel, refining and retail | 90.4p | 53% | | Fuel duty | 52.95p | 31% | | VAT at 20% | 28.7p | 17% | | Tax in total | 81.6p | 47% | | Pump price | 172.0p | 100% | ## How much tax do I pay on a tank? A 55-litre fill of petrol carries **£44.89 of tax**: £29.12 of duty and £15.77 of VAT. 172.0p UK average petrol, 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). 81.6p Tax per litre of petrol ▲ Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). £44.89 Tax on a 55-litre fill ▲ Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). 47.5% Tax as a share of the pump price ▼ Figure as of 21 September 2026. Source: [Department for Energy Security and Net Zero](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/weekly-road-fuel-prices). [Work out your own fuel costs and fuel tax](https://howlongisit.co.uk) ## Why is VAT charged on the duty? VAT applies to the whole pump price, duty included, so every penny of duty costs you 1.20p. At today's rate that tax on a tax adds about **10.6p** to a litre. It also means VAT always works out at exactly one sixth of whatever you pay at the pump, whichever forecourt you use. ## Is petrol taxed more than diesel? No. Duty is the same flat rate on both: 52.95p a litre. Petrol and diesel differ at the pump because of what they cost to make, not because of tax. Diesel averages 195.5p, so it carries 85.5p of tax against 81.6p on petrol — the difference is VAT following the higher price, not a higher rate. | Fuel | Pump price | Duty | VAT | Tax share | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Petrol (E10) | 172.0p | 52.95p | 28.7p | 47% | | Diesel (B7) | 195.5p | 52.95p | 32.6p | 44% | ## How has the tax on petrol changed? Duty is unchanged on a year ago, frozen at 52.95p until at least 31 December 2026. Total tax per litre still moves, because VAT is a percentage: when the pump price rises, the VAT on it rises too. Tax per litre is +6.3p (+8.4%) on a year earlier, while the pump price is +37.9p (+28.2%). **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). ## Common questions How much tax is on a litre of petrol in the UK? 81.6p of the 172.0p average litre, or 47%: 52.95p fuel duty plus 28.7p VAT, as of 21 September 2026.How much tax is on a 55-litre tank of petrol? About £44.89, of which £29.12 is fuel duty and £15.77 is VAT.Is VAT charged on fuel duty? Yes. VAT at 20% applies to the whole pump price including the duty, so each penny of duty costs 1.20p and the tax on the tax adds about 10.6p a litre. ## 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 - [UK average petrol pump price, weekly since 2003 (CSV)](/data/uk-petrol-pump.csv) [JSON](/data/uk-petrol-pump.json) - [Fuel duty on petrol, weekly since 2003 (CSV)](/data/uk-petrol-duty.csv) [JSON](/data/uk-petrol-duty.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 | ## Related questions - [What is the UK fuel duty rate, and how did it get there?](/fuel-duty/) - [How much tax is in diesel?](/tax-on-diesel/) - [What are UK petrol and diesel prices today?](/uk-fuel-prices/) - [Why does the pump price not fall when the oil price does?](/oil-price-vs-pump-price/) ## Share this page - WhatsApp - X - Facebook - LinkedIn - Reddit - Email - ## Related pages - [What is the UK fuel duty rate, and how did it get there?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/fuel-duty/) - [How much tax is in diesel?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/tax-on-diesel/) - [What are UK petrol and diesel prices today?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/uk-fuel-prices/) - [Why does the pump price not fall when the oil price does?](https://whereyourmoneygoes.co.uk/oil-price-vs-pump-price/) ## 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.