Gas Taxes by State, 2026
California levies the highest tax on gasoline at 73.6 cents per gallon (cpg), followed by Illinois at 70.4 cpg and Indiana at 63.1 cpg.
10 min read
Expert
Adam Hoffer
Director of Excise Tax Policy
Adam Hoffer is the Director of Excise Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation. Dr. Hoffer earned his PhD in Economics from West Virginia University and his undergraduate degree from Washington & Jefferson College.
Prior to joining the Tax Foundation, Dr. Hoffer was the Menard Family Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and the inaugural Director of the Menard Family Midwest Center for Economic Engagement and Research. Dr. Hoffer was also a Bradley Freedom Fellow with the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and a senior editor with the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.
Dr. Hoffer published 30 peer-reviewed academic journal articles and he is the lead author and editor of two books: For Your Own Good: Taxes, Paternalism, and Fiscal Discrimination in the Twenty-First Century and Regulation and Economic Opportunity: Blueprints for Reform.
He lives in La Crosse, Wisconsin with his wife and two children.
Latest Work
New Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Should Reform the Center for Tobacco Products
In 2025, the CTP reduced the backlog of premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) by about 70 percent. This year, the CTP is already accelerating PMTA reviews further and allowing some leeway for products under review but not yet officially authorized. This is great progress, but much more can be made.
7 min read
Vehicle Miles Traveled Taxes Need Not Invade Drivers’ Privacy
Privacy concerns are a primary driver of opposition to vehicle miles traveled (VMT) tax systems, but VMT taxes do not need to invade drivers’ privacy to efficiently fund the roads.
6 min read
Electric Vehicle Tax Treatment by State, 2026
As the market share of electric vehicles (EVs) on the road grows, the gas tax’s ability to fund road projects and decrease traffic congestion erodes. Both federal and state real tax revenue per vehicle mile traveled has been on a steady decline for decades, creating a fiscal gap for road expenditures even as the demand for road infrastructure improvements has grown.
6 min read
Cigarette Taxes by State, 2026
The highest state tax on cigarettes is levied by New York at $5.35 per pack of 20. The next highest tax jurisdiction is the District of Columbia at $5.07 per pack of cigarettes, followed closely by Maryland at $5.00 per pack, Rhode Island at $4.50 per pack, and Connecticut at $4.35 per pack.
6 min read
The WHO’s Excise Tax Policy Aims at the Wrong Target
Retail prices make poor targets for excise tax policy, often reflecting factors that have little to do with the underlying reasons for which an excise tax is levied in the first place. Unfortunately, the World Health Organization (WHO) has a growing preference for using tax share of retail price (tax incidence) as a primary policy target.
6 min read
Can New York City Tax Itself Out of Traffic?
NYC’s congestion tolling has reduced congestion, raised money for the MTA, and sped up vehicles in the city. Its success has inspired proposals for congestion tolling in other major US cities, like Los Angeles and Washington, DC.
4 min read
Illinois’ Alcohol Tax Is Almost As Old as America. It Needs Reform.
As the alcohol industry innovates with newer products like high alcohol content beer or ready-to-drink cocktails, the efficacy of a categorical system continues to break down.
Wine Taxes by State, 2026
Whether a sommelier or a casual enjoyer, wine drinkers may not be aware of just how much they are paying in taxes to uncork their drink of choice.
6 min read
Beer Taxes by State, 2026
In the United States, taxes are the single most expensive ingredient in beer. The tax burden accounts for more of the final price of beer than labor and materials combined—the many different layers of applicable taxes combining to total as much as 40.8 percent of the retail price.
7 min read
Oregon’s Recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility Programs Experience Rocky Rollout
Oregon’s Extended Producer Responsibility program to incentivize recycling does so with a complicated and unprincipled series of regulations, including confidentially determined tax rates on various materials derived from a revenue goal.
8 min read
Illinois Proposes Fixing Alcohol Taxes by Breaking Them Again
Alcohol taxes in Illinois have been broken for decades, and the state is now considering a “fix” that moves policy in the wrong direction.
6 min read
Distilled Spirits Taxes by State, 2026
The significant disparity in tax rates across states underscores the complex tax and regulatory environment governing distilled spirits.
9 min read
New Taxes on Nicotine Pouches in the EU Could Hamper Health Goals
Academic research has continually found that making alternative nicotine products to cigarettes more expensive results in fewer smokers switching to less harmful products.
7 min read
Renting a Car? Half Your Bill May Be Taxes and Fees
Rental cars are some of the most heavily taxed transactions in the US. Rather than levying additional taxes on rental cars by trying to export the tax burden to nonresidents, municipalities should enact principled, neutral transportation tax policy that is unlikely to discourage visitors, tourists, and other economic activity.
5 min read
Louisiana and Oklahoma Propose a More Principled Tax on Moist Snuff Tobacco
Two bills in Oklahoma and Louisiana shift towards a weight-based system for taxing moist snuff tobacco (MST), a policy that ensures neutral taxation across products and less revenue volatility.
4 min read
Recreational Marijuana Taxes by State, 2026
Nearly half of US states regulate and tax recreational markets, and only 10 states still lack a comprehensive medical marijuana program.
8 min read
Cigarette Taxes in Europe, 2026
Cigarette smokers in the European Union pay far more in excise taxes than they do for the cigarettes themselves. Our latest map illustrates the wide variance in cigarette excise taxes across EU Member States.
6 min read
Gas Tax Holidays Sound Politically Tempting. Too Bad They Don’t Work.
Gas tax prices are soaring across the country, and lawmakers are naturally looking for ways to alleviate the pain at the pump. While gas tax holidays—which temporarily suspend fuel taxes to artificially lower the price of gas—are a politically welcomed intervention, taxpayers shouldn’t be so quick to celebrate.
Road Taxes and Funding by State, 2026
The amount of revenue states raise through roadway-related revenues varies significantly across the US. Only two states raise enough revenue to fully cover their highway spending.
5 min read