How much is the gas tax in Massachusetts?

Massachusetts charges a 24-cents-per-gallon gasoline excise plus a 2.65-cent underground storage tank fee, for about 26.65 cents per gallon in state charges. Adding the 18.4-cent federal excise brings the total to roughly 45 cents per gallon.

Is the Massachusetts gas tax a percentage or fixed?

It is a fixed per-gallon excise, not a percentage of price. The 24-cent rate stays the same whether gas costs three dollars or five dollars a gallon, which means the tax is a smaller share of the price when prices are high.

What is the federal gas tax?

The federal gasoline excise tax is 18.4 cents per gallon and has been unchanged since 1993. It funds the Highway Trust Fund and is collected on top of state taxes at the pump nationwide.

How do I figure my gas tax per mile?

Divide the total per-gallon tax by your miles per gallon. At about 45 cents combined tax and 30 miles per gallon, you pay roughly 1.5 cents of fuel tax per mile driven, before any other vehicle costs.

Does diesel have a different rate?

Yes. Massachusetts and the federal government tax diesel at different rates than gasoline — Massachusetts also charges 24 cents on diesel, but the federal diesel excise is 24.4 cents. This calculator uses the gasoline rates.

Massachusetts Gas Tax Calculator

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Every gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts carries a fixed state and federal tax. This calculator adds up the Massachusetts excise, the underground storage fee, and the federal excise so you can see what you pay per fill-up, per year, and per mile.

How it works

The taxes are fixed cents-per-gallon amounts, not percentages:

MA excise        = $0.240 per gallon
MA storage fee   = $0.0265 per gallon
Federal excise   = $0.184 per gallon
total per gallon = $0.4505 per gallon

per fill-up = total per gallon * gallons
annual gallons = annual miles / MPG
annual tax = total per gallon * annual gallons
per mile = total per gallon / MPG

Because the rate is fixed, the share of your fuel bill that is tax shrinks when prices rise and grows when they fall. The federal portion has been 18.4 cents since 1993.

Example

A 14-gallon fill-up carries about 6.31 dollars of combined fuel tax (14 times 0.4505). Driving 12,000 miles a year at 30 miles per gallon uses 400 gallons, so your annual fuel tax is about 180 dollars — or roughly 1.5 cents of tax per mile.

Notes

These are the gasoline rates; diesel is taxed at slightly different state and federal amounts. The Massachusetts excise and storage fee are set by statute, and the federal rate is set by Congress. Rates can change, so confirm current figures with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue at mass.gov/dor and the IRS for the federal excise.