What is Rhode Island's cigarette tax per pack?

Rhode Island charges a $4.50 excise tax on each pack of 20 cigarettes, one of the highest cigarette taxes in the United States. The tax is collected from distributors and built into the shelf price, so it is already included in what you pay at the counter.

How much is the alcohol excise tax in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island taxes beer at $0.11 per gallon, still wine at $1.40 per gallon, and distilled spirits at $5.40 per gallon. Because the tax is per gallon, a single 750ml bottle of spirits carries about a dollar of excise tax, while a 12-ounce beer carries less than a penny.

Is sales tax charged on alcohol too?

Rhode Island's 7% sales tax generally applies to alcohol, though wine and spirits sold at licensed liquor stores have at times been exempt. Enter a retail price to see the 7% sales tax estimate, and confirm the current exemption rules at tax.ri.gov before relying on it.

Why don't I see the excise tax on my receipt?

Excise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are levied upstream on distributors and wholesalers, who pass the cost into the wholesale and retail price. Unlike sales tax, the excise is embedded in the shelf price rather than added as a separate line item at checkout.

How do you convert bottle sizes to gallons?

There are 128 fluid ounces in a U.S. gallon. A 750ml bottle is about 25.36 ounces, a standard 12-ounce can is 12 ounces. The tool divides the ounces you enter by 128 to get gallons, then multiplies by the per-gallon rate for the beverage you selected.

Rhode Island Cigarette & Alcohol Tax Calculator

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Rhode Island layers steep excise taxes onto cigarettes and alcohol: $4.50 per pack of cigarettes — among the highest in the nation — plus per-gallon taxes on beer, wine, and spirits. These taxes are collected upstream and built into the shelf price. This tool breaks out how much excise tax is hidden in a purchase, with an optional 7% sales tax on the retail price.

How it works

Cigarettes are taxed per pack and alcohol per gallon, so the tool converts your volume to gallons before applying the rate:

cigarette tax = packs × $4.50
gallons       = fluid ounces ÷ 128
alcohol tax   = gallons × per-gallon rate
                 (beer $0.11, wine $1.40, spirits $5.40)
sales tax     = retail price × 7%   (optional)

Because alcohol is taxed by volume, spirits carry far more tax per ounce than beer — a 750ml bottle of spirits holds about $1.07 of excise tax versus under a penny for a 12-ounce beer.

Example and notes

A single 750ml bottle of spirits is 25.36 ÷ 128 = 0.198 gallons, so the excise is 0.198 × 5.40 = 1.07 dollars. A pack of cigarettes adds the flat $4.50. If you also enter a $25 retail price, the 7% sales tax estimate is $1.75 — though wine and spirits at licensed liquor stores may be exempt from that sales tax. Excise taxes are embedded in the shelf price, not shown on your receipt. Confirm current rates and exemptions at tax.ri.gov.