What is Delaware's gas tax rate?

Delaware levies a gasoline excise tax of 23 cents per gallon. Diesel is taxed at 22 cents per gallon. These state rates are added at the pump to the federal excise, so the combined tax on each gallon is higher than either rate alone.

What is the federal gas tax?

The federal gasoline excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and has not changed since 1993. Diesel is taxed federally at 24.4 cents per gallon. Combined with Delaware's state rate, gasoline carries about 41.4 cents of excise tax per gallon.

How is tax per mile calculated?

Tax per mile equals the combined per-gallon tax divided by your fuel economy. A car getting 30 miles per gallon pays about 41.4 cents of tax every 30 miles, or roughly 1.4 cents per mile. Less efficient vehicles pay more tax per mile.

Does this include sales tax on fuel?

No, and Delaware has no general sales tax, so there is no sales tax layered on fuel. The figure shown is excise tax only — the per-gallon amounts charged by Delaware and the federal government. The pump price also includes the cost of the fuel itself.

Are these rates current?

The tool uses Delaware's published 23-cent gasoline and 22-cent diesel excise rates and the long-standing federal rates. Fuel taxes can be adjusted by legislation, so verify the current figures with the Delaware Department of Transportation if precision matters.

Delaware Gas Tax Calculator

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Every gallon you buy in Delaware carries excise tax from two governments: the state and the federal government. This calculator adds Delaware’s 23-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax to the 18.4-cent federal tax and shows what that costs per fill-up and per mile you drive.

How it works

Tax is a flat amount per gallon, so the total scales with gallons burned:

combined rate = state rate + federal rate   (gas: $0.23 + $0.184 = $0.414/gal)
gallons       = tank gallons  OR  annual miles ÷ mpg
total tax     = combined rate × gallons
tax per mile  = combined rate ÷ mpg

Unlike a percentage sales tax, the excise does not rise with the price of fuel — it is fixed per gallon — so the only way to pay less is to burn fewer gallons.

Example and tips

Driving 12,000 miles a year in a 28-mpg car burns about 429 gallons, so the combined 41.4-cent excise costs roughly 177 dollars a year, or about 1.5 cents per mile. Diesel drivers pay 22 cents state plus 24.4 cents federal. Improving fuel economy is the only lever on this fixed per-gallon tax, since the rate never changes with pump price.