Delaware Gas Tax
Delaware’s state taxes and fees on gasoline total 23.0¢ a gallon, the 8th-lowest of 51; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, drivers pay 41.4¢ a gallon in combined tax. Rates are from U.S. Energy Information Administration data as of July 2026.
What makes up Delaware’s 41.4¢
| Delaware state excise tax | 23.0¢ |
|---|---|
| Other Delaware taxes & fees sales/use taxes, inspection and environmental fees | — |
| Total Delaware state tax | 23.0¢ |
| Federal excise + LUST fee 18.3¢ excise + 0.1¢ LUST, unchanged since 1993 | 18.4¢ |
| Combined state + federal | 41.4¢ |
Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA): 1.1902% tax on gross receipts from the sale of petroleum or petroleum products, and the adjustable rates cannot be lower than 0.675% or higher than 1.675%.
Delaware's tax: unchanged since 1995
Delaware’s motor fuel tax is a flat 23.0¢ a gallon on gasoline. It took effect on January 1, 1995 and has not changed since, making it one of the older unchanged rates in the country. It is not indexed to inflation or fuel prices, and the EIA lists no local option fuel taxes for the state.
The state also levies a tax under its Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act on gross receipts from the sale of petroleum products. That rate is set within a range of 0.675 to 1.675 percent and is currently about 1.19 percent. Because it applies to receipts rather than gallons, it is not included in the per-gallon figure above. Delaware has no general sales tax, so no sales tax applies at the pump.
Delaware’s total state tax of 23.0¢ a gallon is the 8th-lowest of the 50 states and D.C., against a 51-jurisdiction average of 33.8¢. The state’s legislature has studied a mileage-based user fee as a possible future replacement for the per-gallon tax.
How the tax fits with fuel supply and price history is covered on the Delaware 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.
Delaware Against Its Bordering States
All 3 of the 3 states bordering Delaware show a higher state total in the EIA's July 2026 table, and their totals run from 46.8¢ to 58.7¢. Maryland's 46.8¢ (EIA table, July 2026) is the lowest among them, and Delaware's total is 23.8¢ below it. New Jersey's total is 49.2¢ (EIA table, July 2026), and Delaware's is 26.2¢ below it. Delaware's total is 35.7¢ (EIA table, July 2026) below Pennsylvania's 58.7¢, the highest among the bordering states.
In the EIA's July 2026 table, Delaware's 23.0¢ is entirely state excise tax. Other state taxes and fees on gasoline come to 0.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026), so excise is 100% of the state total. Set with the 18.4¢ (EIA table, July 2026) federal tax, the state's part of the combined 41.4¢ is 56%.
The lowest state total in the July 2026 table is Alaska's 9.0¢, and the highest is California's 73.6¢. Delaware's 23.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026) has 7 jurisdictions below it and 43 above it. The average across the 50 states and D.C. is 33.8¢ (EIA table, July 2026), and Delaware's total is 10.8¢ below that average. The EIA's July 2026 table shows no local option gasoline taxes for Delaware, and the EIA lists state taxes of general application and excludes county and local taxes.
How much of a gallon in Delaware is tax
Delaware gasoline is estimated at $4.35 a gallon. Against that, the 41.4¢ of combined state and federal tax is about 9.5% of what a driver pays — with local taxes, where they apply, on top.
Tax rate from EIA as of July 2026; pump price is this week’s US Gas Gauge estimate from EIA regional prices (EIA publishes no weekly average for Delaware).
Delaware vs. the other 50 states
Delaware’s state gas tax of 23.0¢ is 10.8¢ below the 33.8¢ average across 50 states and D.C. — it is the 8th-lowest.
Neighboring states' gas tax
| State | State tax | vs. Delaware |
|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania gas tax | 58.7¢ | +35.7¢ |
| New Jersey gas tax | 49.2¢ | +26.2¢ |
| Maryland gas tax | 46.8¢ | +23.8¢ |
Delaware gas tax, answered
- What is the gas tax in Delaware?
- 23.0¢ a gallon in state taxes and fees; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, 41.4¢ (EIA, July 2026).
- How does Delaware's gas tax compare to other states?
- The 8th-lowest of the 50 states and D.C.; the average is 33.8¢.
- What is the federal gas tax in Delaware?
- The federal gasoline tax is 18.4¢ per gallon in Delaware, the same as in every other state.
- Does Delaware charge local gas taxes too?
- EIA does not flag Delaware as allowing local option taxes.
Related to Delaware gas tax
EIA, “Federal and state motor fuels taxes” (July 2026 (revised August 2026)); how these figures are built.
More Delaware 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, “Delaware Gas Tax,” usgasgauge.com/gas-tax/delaware. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.