Kentucky Gas Tax
Kentucky’s state taxes and fees on gasoline total 26.4¢ a gallon, the 18th-lowest of 51; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, drivers pay 44.8¢ a gallon in combined tax. Rates are from U.S. Energy Information Administration data as of July 2026.
What makes up Kentucky’s 44.8¢
| Kentucky state excise tax | 25.0¢ |
|---|---|
| Other Kentucky taxes & fees sales/use taxes, inspection and environmental fees | 1.4¢ |
| Total Kentucky state tax | 26.4¢ |
| Federal excise + LUST fee 18.3¢ excise + 0.1¢ LUST, unchanged since 1993 | 18.4¢ |
| Combined state + federal | 44.8¢ |
Petroleum Storage Tank Environmental Assurance Fee: $0.0140/gal. Rates are calculated quarterly on the average wholesale price of fuel. Beginning July 1, 2016, rates calculated and adjusted on an annual basis. Governor Beshear's Executive Order 2026-235 in May 2026 temporarily reduced motor fuel tax rates by 10 cents per gallon, which expired June 30, 2026.
A tax tied to the wholesale price
Kentucky does not set its main gas tax as a fixed number of cents in law. The main excise is 9 percent of an average wholesale price, which the Department of Revenue sets once a year from quarterly surveys of fuel dealers, plus a 5-cent supplemental highway user tax. The wholesale price used in the formula can move no more than 10 percent from one year to the next, and state law sets a floor below which it cannot fall. The rate is recalculated each July 1. A separate petroleum storage tank fee adds 1.4¢ a gallon.
Because the formula follows wholesale prices, the rate has fallen in recent years: including the fee, it was 30.1¢ in fiscal 2024, 27.8¢ in fiscal 2025, and 26.4¢ in fiscal 2026. In May 2026 Governor Andy Beshear’s Executive Order 2026-235 cut the tax by 10 cents a gallon during a fuel-price emergency; the EIA reports that reduction expired June 30, 2026. A companion emergency regulation held the rate at 26.4¢ instead of letting the formula raise it to about 27¢ on July 1, 2026.
At 26.4¢ a gallon in the EIA’s July 2026 (revised August 2026) table, Kentucky’s total is the 18th-lowest of the 50 states and D.C., against a 51-jurisdiction average of 33.8¢. For prices at the pump, see Kentucky gas prices.
Sources: current rates and rankings are from the EIA motor fuel tax table in our database; other facts are from the sources listed here.
- U.S. EIA, Federal and State Motor Fuels Taxes (Petroleum Marketing Monthly)
- Kentucky Department of Revenue, Motor Fuels Tax
- Kentucky Association of Counties, “Beshear orders cuts to gas tax: What it means for counties” (May 2026)
- Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, “Kentucky’s Motor Fuels Tax” (July 2022)
- Kentucky Today, “Beshear issues order to extend freeze on Ky. gas tax rates” (May 2026)
Kentucky's Gas Tax Beside Its Neighbors
Kentucky has 7 bordering states, and in the EIA's July 2026 table all 7 of 7 have a higher state total. Among them, Tennessee has the lowest total at 27.4¢ (EIA table, July 2026); Kentucky is 1.0¢ below that. Missouri lists 30.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026), which leaves Kentucky 3.6¢ below. West Virginia lists 35.7¢ (EIA table, July 2026) and Ohio 38.5¢, putting Kentucky 9.3¢ below the first and 12.1¢ below the second.
Kentucky is 16.0¢ (EIA table, July 2026) below Virginia's 42.4¢ and 38.1¢ below Indiana's 64.5¢. Illinois, the bordering state with the highest total, lists 71.7¢ (EIA table, July 2026), and Kentucky is 45.3¢ below it.
Against all 50 states and D.C., Kentucky's total is 7.4¢ below the average in the EIA's July 2026 table. Of those jurisdictions, 17 (EIA table, July 2026) sit below Kentucky's total and 33 sit above it. The highest state total in the July 2026 table is 73.6¢ (California), and the lowest is 9.0¢ (Alaska).
Of Kentucky's state total in that July 2026 table, 25.0¢ is excise, a 95% share. Kentucky's state portion comes to 59% (EIA table, July 2026) of the combined state and federal total. No local option gasoline taxes appear for Kentucky in the EIA's July 2026 table, and county and local taxes fall outside what the EIA lists.
How much of a gallon in Kentucky is tax
Kentucky gasoline is estimated at $4.12 a gallon. Against that, the 44.8¢ of combined state and federal tax is about 10.9% 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 Kentucky).
Kentucky vs. the other 50 states
Kentucky’s state gas tax of 26.4¢ is 7.4¢ below the 33.8¢ average across 50 states and D.C. — it is the 18th-lowest.
Neighboring states' gas tax
| State | State tax | vs. Kentucky |
|---|---|---|
| Illinois gas tax | 71.7¢ | +45.3¢ |
| Indiana gas tax | 64.5¢ | +38.1¢ |
| Virginia gas tax | 42.4¢ | +16.0¢ |
| Ohio gas tax | 38.5¢ | +12.1¢ |
| West Virginia gas tax | 35.7¢ | +9.3¢ |
| Missouri gas tax | 30.0¢ | +3.6¢ |
| Tennessee gas tax | 27.4¢ | +1.0¢ |
Kentucky gas tax, answered
- What is the gas tax in Kentucky?
- 26.4¢ a gallon in state taxes and fees; with the 18.4¢ federal tax, 44.8¢ (EIA, July 2026).
- How does Kentucky's gas tax compare to other states?
- The 18th-lowest of the 50 states and D.C.; the average is 33.8¢.
- What is the federal gas tax in Kentucky?
- The federal gasoline tax is 18.4¢ per gallon in Kentucky, the same as in every other state.
- Does Kentucky charge local gas taxes too?
- EIA does not flag Kentucky as allowing local option taxes.
Related to Kentucky gas tax
EIA, “Federal and state motor fuels taxes” (July 2026 (revised August 2026)); how these figures are built.
More Kentucky 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, “Kentucky Gas Tax,” usgasgauge.com/gas-tax/kentucky. Source data: U.S. Energy Information Administration.