Against a backdrop of gas prices that have risen sharply in the last two weeks, motorists are sure to be upset: they’ll be paying $4 billion more in gasoline taxes in 2018 than they did in 2017. That’s $76 billion, or $208 million every day, up from the $72 billion total in 2017.
The rise comes out to an average increase of about 2.6 cents per gallon, but the pain doesn’t hit everyone equally: California saw its gas taxes climb 15.3 cents to 73 cents per gallon, a rise of over 25% versus 2017. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, saw its gas taxes fall 0.6 cents per gallon, yet it still leads the nation with combined taxes amounting to over 77 cents per gallon.
“While motorists fill up and see the final price on their receipt, it’s not always clear just how much of that goes to gas taxes. What’s clear is that most states have recently raised gas taxes using the current environment of lower prices as cover,” said Patrick DeHaan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “An additional concern is that the federal gas tax has not been touched in decades and may be an attractive revenue option for the federal government if it moves forward on improving infrastructure. No matter the outcome, motorists can lower their fuel bill with common sense: shop around for lower prices and check out various payment options or loyalty programs for easy savings.”
States with the highest combined gasoline taxes and the yearly cost of gas taxes, according to the API.