California Gas Tax
California’s state taxes and fees on gasoline total 73.6¢ a gallon, the highest of 51; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, drivers pay 92.0¢ a gallon in combined tax. Rates are from U.S. Energy Information Administration data as of July 2026.
What makes up California’s 92.0¢
| California state excise tax | 63.4¢ |
|---|---|
| Other California taxes & fees sales/use taxes, inspection and environmental fees | 10.2¢ |
| Total California state tax | 73.6¢ |
| Federal excise + LUST fee 18.3¢ excise + 0.1¢ LUST, unchanged since 1993 | 18.4¢ |
| Combined state + federal | 92.0¢ |
2.25% state sales tax on gasoline, 13.00% state sales tax on diesel (prepaid rates for these sales taxes: gasoline $0.0800/gal; diesel $0.4250/gal). Additional District sales taxes may apply. State Underground Storage Tank fee (all products): $0.02/gal. Oil Spill Prevention and Administration (OPSA) Fee (all products): $0.0990 per barrel ($0.0024/gal). Gasoline and diesel are also subject to costs associated with the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and Cap-and-Trade programs.
California's tax: indexed every July, plus sales tax
California’s gasoline taxes come in three layers. The excise tax, now 63.4¢ a gallon, is the largest. A 2.25 percent state sales tax also applies to gasoline, prepaid by distributors at a per-gallon rate, and local district sales taxes are added on top. Smaller fees fund underground storage tank cleanup and oil spill prevention.
The current structure dates from Senate Bill 1 of 2017, which raised the excise tax by 12¢ on November 1, 2017 and requires it to be adjusted every July 1 for inflation, using the California Consumer Price Index. Voters kept the law in November 2018 by rejecting Proposition 6, which would have repealed it. The most recent adjustment raised the rate from 61.2¢ to 63.4¢ on July 1, 2026.
California’s total state tax of 73.6¢ a gallon is the highest of the 50 states and D.C., against a 51-jurisdiction average of 33.8¢. Costs from the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard and cap-and-trade program also reach the pump price, but they are program costs rather than taxes and are not in this figure.
How the tax fits with fuel supply and price history is covered on the California gas prices page.
Sources: current rates and rankings are from the EIA motor fuel tax table in our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
California's Rate Beside Its Three Neighbors
Arizona, Nevada and Oregon each sit below California in the EIA's July 2026 table. Arizona's state total is 19.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026), Nevada's is 23.8¢ and Oregon's is 40.0¢. California's 73.6¢ (EIA table, July 2026) stands 54.6¢ above Arizona, 49.8¢ above Nevada and 33.6¢ above Oregon.
Oregon is the bordering state with the highest state total, at 40.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026), and Arizona holds the lowest of the bordering states, at 19.0¢. California's 73.6¢ is the highest state total in the July 2026 table, and Alaska's 9.0¢ is the lowest.
Of California's 73.6¢, the excise tax is 63.4¢ and the other state taxes and fees are 10.2¢ in the EIA's July 2026 table. Excise accounts for 86% (EIA table, July 2026) of the state total. Adding the 18.4¢ (EIA table, July 2026) federal tax gives 92.0¢, and the state's portion of that combined figure is 80%.
The table's average state total is 33.8¢ (EIA table, July 2026), and California's total is 39.9¢ above it. No jurisdiction has a higher state total than California, and 50 (EIA table, July 2026) have a lower one.
The EIA's figures cover state taxes of general application and leave out county and local taxes. Local option taxes on gasoline apply in parts of California, so none of them are included in the 73.6¢ (EIA table, July 2026).
How much of a gallon in California is tax
California gasoline currently averages $6.23 a gallon. Against that, the 92.0¢ of combined state and federal tax is about 14.8% of what a driver pays — with local taxes, where they apply, on top.
Tax rate from EIA as of July 2026; pump price is the current EIA weekly average.
California vs. the other 50 states
California’s state gas tax of 73.6¢ is 39.9¢ above the 33.8¢ average across 50 states and D.C. — it is the highest.
Neighboring states' gas tax
| State | State tax | vs. California |
|---|---|---|
| Oregon gas tax | 40.0¢ | −33.6¢ |
| Nevada gas tax | 23.8¢ | −49.8¢ |
| Arizona gas tax | 19.0¢ | −54.6¢ |
California gas tax, answered
- What is the gas tax in California?
- 73.6¢ a gallon in state taxes and fees; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, 92.0¢ (EIA, July 2026).
- How does California's gas tax compare to other states?
- The highest of the 50 states and D.C.; the average is 33.8¢.
- What is the federal gas tax in California?
- The federal gasoline tax is 18.4¢ per gallon in California, the same as in every other state.
- Does California charge local gas taxes too?
- Yes: EIA flags California as allowing local option taxes, which are not in the figures here.
Related to California gas tax
EIA, “Federal and state motor fuels taxes” (July 2026 (revised August 2026)); how these figures are built.
More California data
Use this data
Download: Gas tax by state, federal + state rates (CSV).
Column definitions, coverage and every file: gas price data. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with credit.
Cite as: US Gas Gauge, “California Gas Tax,” usgasgauge.com/gas-tax/california. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.