What is Nebraska's cigarette tax rate?

Nebraska charges a state excise tax of 64 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes, one of the lowest in the country. This is on top of any federal excise tax and the retail price.

How is Nebraska alcohol tax charged?

Nebraska levies a per-gallon excise: about 31 cents per gallon on beer, 95 cents per gallon on wine, and 3.75 dollars per gallon on spirits. These are paid by distributors and built into shelf prices.

Does this include sales tax?

No. This calculator shows only the state excise tax. Nebraska sales tax (5.5% state plus local) also applies at the register and is calculated separately.

Why is Nebraska's cigarette tax so low?

Nebraska has not raised its 64-cent-per-pack rate in many years, leaving it well below neighboring states like Iowa or the national average, which often exceed 1.50 dollars per pack.

Are these rates exact?

The rates reflect Nebraska's published excise schedule. Spirit and wine rates can vary by alcohol content for certain products, and federal excise is separate, so totals are close estimates.

Nebraska Cigarette & Alcohol Tax Calculator

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Excise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are baked into the shelf price, but they vary widely by state. This calculator shows exactly how much Nebraska state excise tax is added to a given quantity of cigarettes, beer, wine, or spirits, using Nebraska’s current per-pack and per-gallon rates — which are notably lower than many neighboring states.

How it works

Nebraska taxes these products with flat per-unit excise rates, not a percentage:

Cigarettes: $0.64 per pack of 20.
Beer: $0.31 per gallon.
Wine: $0.95 per gallon.
Spirits: $3.75 per gallon.

The calculator multiplies your quantity by the matching rate. For cigarettes the quantity is packs; for alcohol it is gallons (1 gallon is about 7.6 standard 750 ml wine bottles, or roughly 10.7 twelve-ounce beers). Sales tax is separate and not included here.

Tips and example

Buying 10 packs of cigarettes adds 10 × $0.64 = $6.40 of Nebraska excise. A 5-gallon keg of beer adds 5 × $0.31 = $1.55. A single 750 ml bottle of spirits is about 0.198 gallons, so its excise is roughly 0.198 × $3.75 ≈ $0.74.

These excise taxes are paid upstream by distributors and passed into retail prices, so you rarely see them itemized. Remember Nebraska’s 5.5% state sales tax plus local rates apply on top, and federal excise taxes are separate.