- California has the highest combined gas tax at $0.780 per gallon (state + federal), narrowly ahead of Pennsylvania ($0.760).
- Alaska has the lowest at $0.264 per gallon, a difference of $0.516/gallon versus California.
- The national average combined gas tax is approximately $0.480 per gallon (unweighted, 50 states and D.C.), which is 14.5% of the 2024 average regular price of $3.30.
- For 28 of the 50 states and D.C., the current gasoline rate has an effective date in 2020 or later, and 23 of those dates are January 1 or July 1.
01 Top 10 and Bottom 10 States
The Federal Highway Administration publishes state motor-fuel tax rates. Combined with the federal excise tax of $0.184 per gallon, total gas tax burden varies by more than $0.51 per gallon across states. The table below shows the 10 highest-tax and 10 lowest-tax states.
FHWA, Highway Statistics Series, Table MF-121T: State Motor-Fuel Tax Rates, 2024 reporting period| State | State Tax | Federal Tax | Combined Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. California | $0.596 | $0.184 | $0.780 |
| 2. Pennsylvania | $0.576 | $0.184 | $0.760 |
| 3. Washington | $0.494 | $0.184 | $0.678 |
| 4. Illinois | $0.470 | $0.184 | $0.654 |
| 5. Maryland | $0.461 | $0.184 | $0.645 |
| 6. New Jersey | $0.423 | $0.184 | $0.607 |
| 7. North Carolina | $0.404 | $0.184 | $0.588 |
| 8. Oregon | $0.400 | $0.184 | $0.584 |
| 9. Ohio | $0.385 | $0.184 | $0.569 |
| 10. Rhode Island | $0.370 | $0.184 | $0.554 |
| State | State Tax | Federal Tax | Combined Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 41. New Hampshire | $0.222 | $0.184 | $0.406 |
| 42. Colorado | $0.220 | $0.184 | $0.404 |
| 43. Louisiana | $0.200 | $0.184 | $0.384 |
| 44. Texas | $0.200 | $0.184 | $0.384 |
| 45. Oklahoma | $0.190 | $0.184 | $0.374 |
| 46. Mississippi | $0.184 | $0.184 | $0.368 |
| 47. Arizona | $0.180 | $0.184 | $0.364 |
| 48. New Mexico | $0.170 | $0.184 | $0.354 |
| 49. Hawaii | $0.160 | $0.184 | $0.344 |
| 50. Alaska | $0.080 | $0.184 | $0.264 |
02 What the Combined Figure Includes
The combined figure is the FHWA state gasoline tax rate plus the federal rate of 18.4 cents per gallon, which has been in effect since 10/01/97 according to the same table. FHWA notes that its table includes "only taxes that are levied as a dollar amount per volume of motor fuel"; taxes that apply to all petroleum products are omitted. State or local sales taxes on fuel and other fees may therefore not be captured, and the actual tax on a gallon in a state can differ from the combined figure here.
FHWA, Highway Statistics, Table MF-121T (2024 reporting period), note (1) and the Federal Tax row.03 Annual Tax Cost by Vehicle
A vehicle that uses more gallons pays more fuel tax, whatever the pump price. The table shows the combined tax paid in a year at 12,000 miles for four vehicle classes, using the average combined MPG of each EPA class in model years 2024 and 2025.
| State (combined tax per gallon) | Compact car (28.2 MPG) | Small SUV (26.1 MPG) | Standard SUV (19.6 MPG) | Standard pickup (18.3 MPG) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California ($0.780) | $332 | $359 | $478 | $511 |
| Pennsylvania ($0.760) | $323 | $349 | $465 | $498 |
| Washington ($0.678) | $289 | $312 | $415 | $445 |
| U.S. Average ($0.480) | $204 | $221 | $294 | $315 |
| Texas ($0.384) | $163 | $177 | $235 | $252 |
| Mississippi ($0.368) | $157 | $169 | $225 | $241 |
| Alaska ($0.264) | $112 | $121 | $162 | $173 |
Estimate your vehicle's driving cost using official EPA fuel economy data.
Use the Calculator04 Recent Tax Changes
The table's effective-date column shows when each state's current gasoline rate took effect. For 28 of the 50 states and D.C., the effective date is in 2020 or later. Of the 28 dates, 13 are July 1 and 10 are January 1, the two dates most often used for scheduled changes. The federal rate has been 18.4 cents since 10/01/97.
FHWA, Highway Statistics, Table MF-121T (2024 reporting period), gasoline effective-date column. The table does not say why a rate changed, so this article does not separate scheduled adjustments from legislated changes.05 Tax as Share of Pump Price
The share of the pump price that is tax depends on the price. Against the 2024 average regular gasoline price of $3.30, the national average combined tax of 48.0 cents is 14.5% of the price. The table shows the share at four illustrative prices for the U.S. average and for California.
| Pump price per gallon | Tax share, U.S. average ($0.480) | Tax share, California ($0.780) |
|---|---|---|
| $2.00 | 24.0% | 39.0% |
| $3.00 | 16.0% | 26.0% |
| $4.00 | 12.0% | 19.5% |
| $5.00 | 9.6% | 15.6% |
Because the tax is a fixed amount per gallon, a rise in pump price lowers the tax share, and a fall raises it. See gas prices over time for how the national price has moved year by year.
06 Data Sources
- FHWA: State Motor-Fuel Tax Rates, Table MF-121T, 2024 reporting period. fhwa.dot.gov
- EPA/DOE: Fuel Economy Guide dataset (FuelEconomy.gov), model years 2024–2025, class average combined MPG. fueleconomy.gov
- EIA: Weekly Retail Gasoline and Diesel Prices, U.S. regular, 2024 annual mean. eia.gov
- Massachusetts General Laws: Part I, Title IX, Chapter 64A, §1 (gasoline excise tax rate).
- Utah Code: §59-13-201 (motor fuel tax rate, formula, and annual adjustment), effective May 6, 2026.